Hotel owner hits out at YouTube vloggers who flooded his business with bad reviews after he refused to grant free stays

A Dublin hotel has hit out after being flooded with one star reviews and abusive comments by YouTube 'vloggers' after refusing to give a 'social media influencer' a free stay.

After an online row, the exasperated owner Paul Stenson said all bloggers are now banned from the venue.

The White Moose Cafe posted an anonymised email from a 22-year-old who has over 80,000 subscribers on her YouTube channel. In it, she asked for a free stay for her and her boyfriend in exchange for posts about the hotel on her social media channels.

Refusing the offer, Mr Stenson wrote on Facebook: "Dear Social Influencer (I know your name but apparently it’s not important to use names),

“Thank you for your email looking for free accommodation in return for exposure. It takes a lot of balls to send an email like that, if not much self-respect and dignity.

“If I let you stay here in return for a feature in a video, who is going to pay the staff who look after you? Who is going to pay the housekeepers who clean your room?

“The waiters who serve you breakfast? The receptionist who checks you in? Who is going to pay for the light and heat you use during your stay?

He asked: “Maybe I should tell my staff they will be featured in your video in lieu of receiving payment for work carried out while you’re in residence?”

He then said the answer was "no".

Outraged, Elle Darby, who has 87,000 YouTube subscribers and 76,000 Instagram followers, identified herself and posted a tearful video, telling her followers about the hotel's treatment of her, calling the owner "malicious".

Her furious followers, and fellow bloggers, started sending abuse to the hotel's Facebook page and leaving it negative reviews online. 

One blogger wrote: "The blogging community is a force to be reckoned with, if you pick on one of us you pick on all of us."

Another advised her followers to never stay in that hotel, calling the owner a "troll".

Another woman posted a public one star review, and said: "Applauding [sic] what you have put the young girl through. Never will I stay at your to [sic] for anyone hotel."

Some of the abuse was sent to his personal Facebook page. One woman wrote: "Your [sic] disgusting. You should be ashamed. You'll be lucky to get anybody staying in your hotels after this stupid pathetic publicity stunt. Stupid idiotic c---."

Mr Stenson seemed unfazed by the negative reviews, writing: "I’d just like to say a huge thanks to all the bloggers for their hard work over the past two days.

"The publicity you’ve given us is absolutely priceless. But don’t worry bloggers, your work won’t going unnoticed. It will be featured in my book ‘How To Get Worldwide Publicity Without Spending A Cent’.

"I’m even thinking of dedicating a full chapter to you guys, including screenshots of some of your most entertaining public tweets, Facebook posts and negative reviews. It will be some chapter!

Why can YouTubers get away with posting controversial content?

"Keep the hateful comments and reviews coming and, you never know, it could be you who is featured in the book.

"Thank you bloggers, I really appreciate this.

"PS. You're still barred."

In a statement posted on Snapchat, he told his followers the controversy "puts into question the authenticity of influencer marketing," because "She would have spoken nicely about the hotel only because she was getting it for free."