Hotel Sues Guest for Posting Scathing Review

The Ashley Inn in Lincoln City, Oregon, says its rooms and breakfast aren't nasty; the owner doesn't smoke weed; laundry and housekeeping are neither high nor drunk; Jen at the front desk wasn't having phone sex—and it's suing the guest who claimed otherwise in a scathing TripAdvisor review. The hotel has filed a $74,500 defamation lawsuit against the person who posted the review last month under the name "12Kelly," reports the Oregonian, which notes that the offending review has been taken down and most of the remaining ones are positive.

The lawsuit says that once the reviewer can be identified, he or she will be named as the defendant who "made the statements deliberately, maliciously, and willfully with the specific intent to cause damage to the character and reputation" of the hotel and its parent company. Earlier this year, Oregon's Court of Appeals ruled that people who posted scathing reviews could be sued by business owners, including the owners of a wedding venue who wanted to sue a guest who described an event there as the "worst experience of my life!" (A growing problem: TripAdvisor reviewers who blackmail businesses.)