A luxury beach resort in the southern Philippines has won plaudits on the internet for telling “self-proclaimed” social media influencers to stop asking for freebies and get a job.

“We are receiving many messages regarding collaborations with influencers, Instagram influencers. We kindly would like to announce that White Banana is not interested to “collaborate” with self-proclaimed “influencers”,” said the White Banana Beach Club Siargao, in a Facebook post that has since gone viral.

“And we would like to suggest to try another way to eat, drink, or sleep for free. Or try to actually work,” it added.

The post has chalked up 9,600 likes since Tuesday, with many comments applauding the club’s stance and pointing out that the resort, which sits on white sands in Surigao del Norte, the southern Philippines, appeared to be adept at raising its own profile.

“Whoever is curating your social media accounts, is actually doing an amazing job. Kudos to you for standing up to that "self proclaimed influencer" who wanted to rip you off,” said one comment by Rhya Regondola.

However, some defended the professional influencers as dedicated individuals who “work their asses off to give their followers the best content.”