Thai hotel seeks deal with guest facing jail over bad reviews

[kingdong]

8 minutes ago, RandomBrother said:

He’s lucky. Posting 1 comment is fine but to keep posting negative comments about the same visit, for a period of time, is just stupid. What did he hope to achieve by doing that? He should pay more attention to his kids in his classroom. 

perhaps he was hoping to reach a wider audience.

[Jeffr2]

"Tripadvisor is opposed to the idea that a traveller can be prosecuted for expressing opinions," it said in an e-mail to Reuters.

 

And yet they allow daily rentals in places where it's illegal.  Thus, placing guests in a position to be prosecuted.

[ramrod711]

 Sea View Koh Chang hotel

Considering the risk of being fined or jailed, I'll just limit my comment to "I'll give it a pass".

[Boon Mee]

10 hours ago, fishtank said:

Why would he want to stay in that dump?

Even if it was free.

Perhaps some TEFLers don't have much choice? 

[newnative]

Likely a torrent of bad publicity has prompted them to reach a deal.  Remind me never to book a stay there.  

[Card]

Hotels often profit from good reviews so they should also accept bad reviews.

 

Live by the word, die by the word.

Edited October 2, 2020 by Card

[hellohello123]

So according to thai mentality,

Does mediation = still losing face?

If they retract the charges, wouldn't that be the ultimate loss of face?

[sjbrownderby]

Hands up anyone who feels like they would want to stay in this hotel now.....................................Yup, just as I thought.

[thailand49]

Seaview?  thanks I don't need all the attention especially if I'm trying to keep a low profile.????

[robblok]

20 hours ago, mark131v said:

You do realise we are talking about 'thai police' not real police, they are without doubt the biggest gang in town and the best money can buy!!

 

Lets get it in context in the Blue corner we have a gobby yank tourist and in the Red corner we have an entitled Hi So hotel owner who is a big man on a small island

 

You wanna bet that the Red corner has all the power and is used to getting whatever he wants with lots of waiing and prostrating, if he want's the Yank nicked at a specific time in order to get maximum revenge he is well able to, again if you believe otherwise I have a bridge for sale... 

 

The hotel had done everything contacting the guest waiting long before contacting the police. The guest was in the wrong, hotel accepted the waive corkage (the should not have because this way loud mouths get better treatment then others). 

 

Then the guest did his first review and then several others with racist remarks about the manager, he was out to damage the hotel. He did not respond to emails and the hotel trying to get in contact. 

 

Then finally having had enough did the hotel act. They could have done so right away because as you said they have the power. 

 

I guess you don't get it this loudmouth wanted to destroy a hotel because he was to cheap to pay corkage fee (quite normal in many places in Thailand). The American should just have left and drank somewhere else.

Edited October 2, 2020 by Rimmer
flame

[robblok]

42 minutes ago, kingdong said:

perhaps he was hoping to reach a wider audience.

Yes to damage the hotel because he was a cheapskate. If you have to pay corkage then either you pay it or you move on. You don't go on a rampage trying to do most damage to a hotel. That is just vindictive and shows evil intent. 

 

No respect for people like that. In the end the hotel did the only thing they could and get him arrested. Not the best way but given that he was still posting bad stuff and not responding to the request to stop there was no other way.

 

Though ignoring might have been better it still sucks when idiots like this want to destroy your business because they dont like the rules.

 

If you can't pay the price of alcoholic drinks then don't bring your own and refuse to pay a fee, or go to a place where they dont mind. 

[bristolgeoff]

Like closing the gate after the sheep have gone.everyone knows the hotel and about that review now.better off leaving it alone and leave the teacher to go about his business

 

 

[Tagged]

12 hours ago, misterjames said:

Seems like the hotel owner is one of those "I know the cops" types that tried to silence the man for leaving a review but now that the news has spread to the world newspapers he realises he could be about to lose face and business I mean who wants to stay somewhere where you can't leave your honest opinion on tripadvisor for fear of going to jail?

You will be surprised how quick people forget! 

[wealthychef]

12 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

"Tripadvisor is opposed to the idea that a traveller can be prosecuted for expressing opinions," it said in an e-mail to Reuters.

Is TripAdvisor unfamiliar with the laws of Thailand?  Perhaps it should not be operating here.  I definitely agree this is a crappy law, but if TA and other companies didn't play along, maybe it would be a bit harder for Thailand to pretend it does not have these laws in place.  

[Tagged]

11 hours ago, fishtank said:

Why would he want to stay in that dump?

Even if it was free.

I have stayed theer, and will again. Quiet nice place in fact. And Im sure they tried to solve this quiet and peacefully while he was there. Obvious he did not respect them or the other guests, and needed his friend to settle the dispute.

 

When I want peace and quiet, I pay for it, and Im sure other tv members also like hotels where you know you get what you pay for. 

[BKKBike09]

12 hours ago, seajae said:

its in aussie papers and the hotel doesnt look good, they really need to save face now, appologies all round is the best bet for them

 

But I bet it's not in the Chinese, Indian, Russian or Arabic papers / media.

 

[hotchilli]

12 hours ago, ThailandRyan said:

If the second version plays out, then it is a win win for the Hotel as people/tourists will see that the hotel put the other foot forward, bent a knee and is trying to keep the customer, while the customer is also meeting them in the middle and apologizing for his boorish behavior.

I hope that's what happens, the guy was stupid for posting on various sites, if he stuck to a mainstream one and kept his comments on point then I don't think it would hold up in court... but then again Thai courts are different to most.

The hotel was stupid by publishing this and turning a mole-hill into a mountain.

They should have asked him or the the web-site to delete the comment if t was out of context.

However if the comment was fair then the guy has a right to post his opinion and not have it censored by the hotel.

[crazykopite]

It’s a little late to be trying to resolve this issue as it is well published in media around the world worse could happen if the author of the complaint ends up in prison that would spread faster than this pandemic we are going through so much so it could put the owner out of business if tourists decide to stay well away from the place . It would be interesting to know if this hotel has had many complaints over the years .

[moe666]

The customer is not always right, a friend ran a guest houe in CM. He had a guest complain on trip advisor that he had no parking, which is stated in the guest house advertisement. The kicker was the fact the complainer didn't have a car but was complaining about no parking. They are every where.

[ChipButty]

10 minutes ago, wealthychef said:

Is TripAdvisor unfamiliar with the laws of Thailand?  Perhaps it should not be operating here.  I definitely agree this is a crappy law, but if TA and other companies didn't play along, maybe it would be a bit harder for Thailand to pretend it does not have these laws in place.  

Im not sure about Tripadvisor knowing the laws but Airbnb and Agoda and Booking.com have offices in Thailand I think they will be well aware of the local laws

[Foghorn]

The guy was in a prison for 2 nights , pay him 2 million and say sorry

[Foghorn]

2 minutes ago, moe666 said:

The customer is not always right, a friend ran a guest houe in CM. He had a guest complain on trip advisor that he had no parking, which is stated in the guest house advertisement. The kicker was the fact the complainer didn't have a car but was complaining about no parking. They are every where.

If it says it has parking it should , if I book a room with tv I expect a tv whether I use it or not

[ChipButty]

5 minutes ago, crazykopite said:

It’s a little late to be trying to resolve this issue as it is well published in media around the world worse could happen if the author of the complaint ends up in prison that would spread faster than this pandemic we are going through so much so it could put the owner out of business if tourists decide to stay well away from the place . It would be interesting to know if this hotel has had many complaints over the years .

You go onto T/A site and read the reviews it has only 30 bad reviews out of around 1800 reviews not to bad

[Foghorn]

2 minutes ago, ChipButty said:

You go onto T/A site and read the reviews it has only 30 bad reviews out of around 1800 reviews not to bad

Because they won’t publish the bad ones ?  We don’t all get treated the same , so a review is your opinion 

[Kevin brummie]

 A bit harsh but that's what' TROLLS DESERVE !     You must understand  that hes an Amercan ! 

[Average man]

Trip advisor should get involved and offer to remove all thai owned/run hotel from their listing if they can not accept criticism.

[Foghorn]

14 minutes ago, hotchilli said:

I hope that's what happens, the guy was stupid for posting on various sites, if he stuck to a mainstream one and kept his comments on point then I don't think it would hold up in court... but then again Thai courts are different to most.

The hotel was stupid by publishing this and turning a mole-hill into a mountain.

They should have asked him or the the web-site to delete the comment if t was out of context.

However if the comment was fair then the guy has a right to post his opinion and not have it censored by the hotel.

It’s his opinion, the hotel should post a warning that bad reviews will be prosecuted by the full force of the law

[ChipButty]

2 minutes ago, Foghorn said:

Because they won’t publish the bad ones ?  We don’t all get treated the same , so a review is your opinion 

There are some bad ones there I went through 16 pages to get to the bad one, it's funny how these sites work the bad reviews end up at the bottom of the pile they dont want them showing up on the first page and it's not easy to get reviews removed believe it or not, 

[micmichd]

12 hours ago, ThailandRyan said:

After the meeting I see two possible outcomes:

 

If it is a Thai style of an apology that is wanted, then he will be giving them a basket of goodies, prostrating himself on the floor in front of the owner, and making a profuse apology for ruining there reputation. 

 

However, in the real world, the hotel should be the one apologizing to him for having him arrested and ensuring he is comped the next time he decides to visit, and he should be apologetic for being such a careless tool and insulting the hotel without ever truly meeting with the upper management to discuss his stay.  

 

If the 1st version I listed plays out then there will be more bad media worldwide, while inside Thailand Face would have been saved. 

 

If the second version plays out, then it is a win win for the Hotel as people/tourists will see that the hotel put the other foot forward, bent a knee and is trying to keep the customer, while the customer is also meeting them in the middle and apologizing for his boorish behavior.  

 

Just my view as a former business owner, not sarcasm.

As a former business owner you wouldn't be too amused if a bum uses your business for drinking a drink that he bought (or scrounged) somewhere else, would you? 

This "customer" should have told the whole story in his review. 

[Average man]

Thai’s are like the Chinese that way . Think they are never wrong , only a thai person can be thai .