NASHVILLE, Ind. (AP) – The former owner of an Indiana hotel is being sued for charging a woman $350 for posting a negative online review saying there was hair and dirt on the sheets in her room.
The state of Indiana’s lawsuit contends Andrew Szakaly (SUH’-kay-lee) violated the state’s deceptive consumer sales act by charging guests $350 if they posted negative reviews but didn’t inform management about problems during their stay at the Abbey Inn & Suites.
It seeks reimbursement for the former guest and an order barring the Nashville, Indiana, hotel from enforcing any such policy.
Szakaly says he’s no longer the hotel’s owner-operator.
Former guest Katrina Arthur tells WRTV-TV she wrote a negative review after a March 2016 stay. She says her room was dirty, with hairs and dirt on bed sheets.