Netizens Respond to 'Star Rating War'... Hotel Later Opens Bathrooms
On the 7th, a hotel near the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, received a barrage of low ratings after posting a policy of 'No restroom use for outsiders' during a rally calling for the impeachment of President Yoon Suk-yeol. It was later reported that the hotel opened its restrooms.
On the 7th, a photo of a notice from a hotel located right in front of the National Assembly was posted on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) with the caption, "Respecting the choice of ○○○ Hotel, I will never use it from now on."
The hotel put up a sign at the entrance stating, "No entry except for hotel guests. No restroom use for outsiders." A video shared by a netizen showed that at one point, an employee of Hotel A turned away rally participants trying to enter the hotel building, controlling the situation on site.
Previously, the hotel's restrooms were recommended on social media as a 'restroom to use during rallies.' Netizens initially mentioned the hotel restrooms, saying, "Since it is a building over 15 floors, restrooms must be mandatorily open, and as a hotel, the lobby is open all night. Everyone used that restroom," or "This is important information during rallies. The hotel building restrooms have warm water, so they are excellent."
However, on the day of the rally, when a notice prohibiting restroom use was posted in front of the hotel, controversy arose among netizens. Especially on KakaoMap, where reviews can be left without a visit, over 300 reviews related to this hotel were posted on that day alone. Until the day before, only about 100 reviews had been posted over six years.
They left reviews with one-star ratings such as "Who would use a traitor hotel," "Petty hotel," "Abusing restroom access," "What a shabby act for a 4-star hotel. Even a local inn would have more guts than you," and "Do you think protesters won't be customers?" One netizen even stated that they reported the hotel to the National Petition Board, saying, "According to the Building Act, buildings over five floors with a certain area must open at least one restroom."
Some netizens understood the hotel's position. They countered with five-star ratings, saying, "The hotel is private property and has no obligation to open restrooms," "Why should they give it to protesters for free?" and "If rights continue, favors are taken for granted."
Meanwhile, it was reported that the hotel eventually opened the restrooms. Following this, netizens who left the low ratings deleted their reviews or revised them to say, "Since they opened it, I forgive them. Don't do it again."
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