Indiana Hotel Charges Guests $350 For Writing Bad Review

The Indiana Attorney General is investigating an Indiana hotel and is accused of a truly outrageous practice of charging customers hundreds of dollars when they write bad reviews of the hotel.  Katrina Arthus and her husband were hit with a $350 fine when they panned the Abbey Inn & Suites on a social media site.  They complained about the room smelling of sewage and the sheets were dirty. That led to the fine for disclosing their opinions and later a lawsuit by Arthus.

The hotel posts this outrageous notice to guests (which most likely fail to read):

“Guests agree that if guests find any problems with our accommodations, and fail to provide us the opportunity to address those problems while the guest is with us, and/or refuses our exclusive remedy, but then disparages us in any public manner, we will be entitled to charge their credit card an additional $350 damage. Should the guest refuse to retract any such public statements legal action may be pursued.”

It is really quite unbelievable but this hotel has actually imposed this fine and threatened legal action.  The fines leave the impression that the hotel is willing pay lawyers to threaten guests rather than put that money to actually improving conditions at its hotel.

Now The Indiana Attorney General is investigating the hotel for violations of the Indiana Deceptive Consumer Sales Act.

The state believes that the fine and threats violated Indiana’s Deceptive Consumer Sales Act as an “unfair, abusive, and deceptive” practice.

The practice of Abbey Inn & Suites seems to easily meet those terms and far worse descriptions.