American expat avoids jail for negative review - reaches settlement with Koh Chang hotel

[aroiaroi]

Some things will have been settled in private.
Obviously some non-disparagement and non-disclosure agreements.
I think there would have been some negotiations about compensation payment made from the hotel to the customer.
However, judging by the tone of the public settlement terms offered by the hotel, I assume they couldn't come to agreement.

 

 

[CALSinCM]

7 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

The regime has once again decided to protect the bigger guy, over the smaller guy. This will not go over well, internationally. Everyone will see right through this badly engineered PR stunt. When faced with jail, and who knows what else, many of us would prefer to "apologize". 

You're absolutely smack on.  This may fly in Thailand, and I imagine that this article when printed in Thai papers will have all the heads in the country bobbing up-and-down. 

But Westerners?  The guy posted a "review" which is a subjective assessment of the facility.  Most Westerners will read this as Mr. Barnes was forced, under duress, to not only disavow his "subjective assessment of the facility" but he is also required to engage in public penance, self-humiliation, and shaming as tell the world "he lied."  

In the West this will good down like a bag of boulders. Lied about what?  His feelings. 

The Seaview Resort Koh Chang, the TAT, and Mr Barnes actually all come up losers.  Economically the Seaview Resort Koh Chang will probably suffer economically, because if other Westerners view this the way I do, the situation is so dank that I'll not only avoid the establishment, but I may as well avoid Koh Chang. 

[jesimps]

7 hours ago, warcy said:

The hotel did the right thing by suing him for defamation. 

 

Immigration should have banned him from entering Thailand for being a mischief. This is to teach similar behaviour in the future.

 

People here always complain about Chinese tourists behaviour but never bad American behaviour like being loud, demanding and deliberating causing mischief.

So writing a bad review online for the benefit of the people using the hotel after you is "causing mischief"? So going by that, it's not worth reading a review in future because any bad reviews will be done by people "causing mischief". I bet after word of this case gets out, the only bad reviews you'll read will be by people who've already left Thailand and have no plans to come back.

[Peterphuket]

8 hours ago, DirtyHarry55 said:

Wow they are really making him grovel Pity but guess he didn't have any choice either apologize or go to Jail probably not worth it.
I think the Hotel doesn't understand English because he didn't say the Hotel had Corona Virus he said avoid it like Corona Virus.
He also compared how the Hotel treat staff to Slave Labor he didn't claim they were slaves but Trip Advisor already removed those comments.
He also claimed the Manager from Czech is Czech is that racist? I don't get it.
Anyway probably did the right thing they would have thrown the book at him oh I don't mean literally lol please don't sue me for claiming they throw books.
Just be careful about leaving any online reviews in Thailand if you live here.
 

We as foreigner, are clearly warned with this.

 

Maybe a new item that you should never talk about on TV

[connda]

I expected The Seaview Resort and Barnes to meet in the middle of the road. 
I did not expect Barnes to have to engage in what is the moral equivalent to Cersi Lanister's Walk of Shame in the Game of Thrones.  This will not be lost on media readers in the West.  This agreement says to all future foreign tourists, "We just dare you to post a bad review in Thailand.  We will get you!" 
The Seaview just shot themselves in the foot imho.  TIT.  But the This is Thailand solution isn't going to be accepted by most who reads CNN, ABC, the Daily Mail, BBC, Insider, The Morning Call, The Sun, CBS, the Independent, NBC, Fox, Reuters, the New York Times, the Guardian as the apology is forced at the end of a jail sentence. 
A mountain was made out of a mole hill.  And Barnes was just beat into the ground with Thai defamation laws.  That's not going to play well in the media in the West.

Edited October 9, 2020 by connda

[mrmrmred]

-> You go to jail unless you say sorry for having individual feelings.

-> Im sorry so much.

 

Threats of jail under duress for having dared to make a comment, so what if it was placed in various places, most folk place pictures and comments on multiple social media platforms.

 

So in effect only good reviews are accepted for anything in Thailand or you go to jail... absolute joke Thailand has become ontop of all there stupidity and lies regarding STV and fake Chinese tourist flight.. A global laughing stock....

 

Come to the ‘Land of Stupidy’ at your own risk, and leave your brain at home to ensure you say and do nothing and become just another obedient Thai drone.

Edited October 9, 2020 by mrmrmred

[mikeymike100]

55 minutes ago, Steve Mepham said:

Firstly a negative review WILL hurt your business, I rely on reviews all the time when booking hotels or restaurants.

 

To give everybody with a perceived beef a free stay would probably put you out of business quicker than bad reviews. 

In this particular case the Hotel lost, big time. The Hotel Manager could have saved the day, he decided to go down another route. Its all over the international news. Who will stay there now?

To your point one negative review WILL NOT hurt your business if there are 10 good reviews. If there a lot of negative reviews maybe your business/Hotel needs to improve. Generally reviews are fair and balanced, but there's always one!

I agree to gives everyone a perceived free stay would probably be not a good idea and your business may suffer, but off course I didn't suggest that. In this particular case though as it had already caught huge international media attention, it would have been a VERY GOOD idea. Just think of the PR it would have generated for a very minimal cost.

As it is this 'judgement' of the guy having to grovel and apologize is once again all over the international news. But that is not what the folks will remember, it will be the threat of going to jail for a bad review of this Hotel.

[Morty T]

Wow, finally clarified. "Admit" guilt and avoid jail time for leaving a bad review in the LOS. This scenario might appease the 3rd world mentality here, but the foreign media is going to have a field day. At least no more bad reviews about the scams Thailand is now famous for.

[metisdead]

Some troll posts have been removed. 

 

Posts using ALL CAPS have been removed, please turn off you Caps Lock when posting. 

[renaissanc]

It sounds like Thailand is turning into China. This is the sort of forced apology common in China when someone says the truth.

[connda]

One more Game of Thrones comparison, I'm surprised that the guy wasn't required to shave his head and become a monk as a condition for not being thrown in a hole and fined for posting negative reviews. 
The Walk of Shame followed by Taking the Orange. 
The Thai-way or the highway.  I'm thinking the affected Thai parties should have consulted an America public relations firm before they moved on this just to get an idea about how well this so-called settlement is going to fly in Barnes' home country.

[Jake72]

I can just imagine the headlines in mainstream media around the world: "American tourist forced to apologize for negative hotel review to avoid jail". 

 

[Magenta408]

Usually, the blame on this sort of thing is 50-50. People have longer memories than they are often given credit for so good managers, which appear to be at a premium these days, tend to work this sort of thing out in the back room over a beer. Likely much ado about very little.

[Chongalulu]

1 hour ago, Steve Mepham said:

The fact that this guy decided to continue to post negative reviews over several days suggests he was being vindictive and spiteful. it would seem this was a big mistake.

 

i take customer service calls and am constantly told at the start of calls that unless the caller gets what they want they will slaughter us on Trust Pilot or other sites. and it is now nearly impossible to remove malicious reviews.

The global publicity this Thai law has received will have done more damage to the hotel and thai tourism than any amount of spiteful reviews. How clever of them...

[Flying Saucage]

Interesting to observe how Thais, when they try to safe face, very often use quite ridiculous measures, like in this case this embarassing charade of forcing a customer to grovel and apoligize, and then by this multiply their loss of face.

 

And then, they even force the customer to report this charade to his embassy and the newspapers! 

 

When the world press reports about this, people around the globe will be laughing about these Thais, but also will feel quite disgusted by them. 

 

Edited October 9, 2020 by Flying Saucage

[pacovl46]

Why?! A month or two in the Bangkok Hilton would’ve taught this male Karen a much better lesson! 

[Oliver Holzerfilled]

7 hours ago, 2 is 1 said:

All the nights what i have stayed in hotel, i have only one time write review and yes was bad! Hotel was Crown Regency Cebu City Philippines. (dont ever go there if you are in Cebu).

This what happen: We (my ex and i ) had first room in 15 floor, then they start paint something in corridor and smell was really bad, i ask chance room. Ok they chance us in 22 floor. In 22 floor going main elevator  was broken. So to get room need take 2 different elevator, first going 16 floor and chance there to get 22 floor! Internet not working in 22 floor, what i was paid (need that time to do job)! Nothing happen when i ask about it! From where we was (floor 22) i need to go front of hotel to smoke. Once i was smoke and same time 2 full bus of chinese coming in hotel, take me over houer back in room whit 2 elevator full of chinese! I had also issue to take taxi, coz chinese! I solve that problem (give head of security 500 peso's) after that he push chinese away when saw me, and ask taxi Sir! That was main sht what i remember lol. After week i chance hotel whitout refund! Had booked for 3 weeks! F them and they sht! 

It appears your Filipina ex taught you English.  Now your posts make sense. 

[Wavel]

Wrong Wrong Wrong. Corkage is wrong, if a guest wants to drink a particular drink that the hotel does not cater for then that's his prerogative. All guests are on a budget of one sort or another. It should be enough that a guest choses one hotel rather than the many others in the area to stay in. Now i'm scared to write what i really think, In case the thought police catch me & put me in jail. This puts a blight on every hotel in the nation now, who on earth would want to stay in a hotel, write a revue about there experience & then be thrown in jail. Never mind about the differences of opinion between hotelier & guest. It's the Thai authorities handling of the situation that leaves me completely bemused. Iv'e lived here for twenty years & always fancied a stay in Koh Chang, Now it's been taken off my bucket list. TIT

Edited October 9, 2020 by Wavel

[NoshowJones]

5 hours ago, rott said:

Do you often take your own drink into the restaurant of a 4 star hotel and expect not to get charged corkage.? 

I'll tell you one thing, I used a hotel in Bangkok one time years ago, and in the mini fridge it would have cost me about three times for my soft drink than what I would pay in the 7-11 next door.

If anyone in that hotel told me I could not bring that soft drink into my room, I would not be happy about it and would find a way to get my own back.

[Stocky]

9 hours ago, Rookiescot said:

No flogging and a day in the stocks at the local market?

No, that's Singapore

[vinny41]

58 minutes ago, connda said:

I expected The Seaview Resort and Barnes to meet in the middle of the road. 
I did not expect Barnes to have to engage in what is the moral equivalent to Cersi Lanister's Walk of Shame in the Game of Thrones.  This will not be lost on media readers in the West.  This agreement says to all future foreign tourists, "We just dare you to post a bad review in Thailand.  We will get you!" 
The Seaview just shot themselves in the foot imho.  TIT.  But the This is Thailand solution isn't going to be accepted by most who reads CNN, ABC, the Daily Mail, BBC, Insider, The Morning Call, The Sun, CBS, the Independent, NBC, Fox, Reuters, the New York Times, the Guardian as the apology is forced at the end of a jail sentence. 
A mountain was made out of a mole hill.  And Barnes was just beat into the ground with Thai defamation laws.  That's not going to play well in the media in the West.

Most of the international press don't care they have larger issues to report on and this guy wasn't a tourist as he had a non-b visa permit

for majority of the international press this was a 1 day story filler story when they had nothing else to write about

[Flying Saucage]

9 hours ago, webfact said:

what Mr Barnes must do for the hotel to drop the case:

 

He promised:

 

1. To issue a heartfelt and full apology to the hotel and staff and issue copies with the reasons for his actions to the following media: CNN, ABC, the Daily Mail, BBC, Insider, The Morning Call, The Sun, CBS, the Independent, NBC, Fox, Reuters, the New York Times, the Guardian, the Bangkok Post and AFP stating:

 

"I, Mr Barnes, am sorry for lying in my review that defamed the hotel".

 

What an embarassing charade this is! Embarrasing for the Thai hotel, the Thai police, the TAT and for the whole country. 

 

The mentioned CNN, ABC, the Daily Mail, BBC, Insider, The Morning Call, The Sun, CBS, the Independent, NBC, Fox, Reuters, the New York Times, the Guardian, the Bangkok Post and AFP, all will be quite happy to report about such a banana-republic-style story, and about these Thais behaving like sulky little children, a story which outside of Thailand is close to unbelievable.

 

Grand Thai theatre!

 

Edited October 9, 2020 by Flying Saucage

[amdy2206]

I would certainly NEVER go to that hotel. Accept criticism and respond, if necessary, but jail for a negative Trip Advisor comment - or a few - ridiculous.

[3NUMBAS]

laughing stock of the world now,backward feudalist system in operation now everyone knows

[vinny41]

Just now, Flying Saucage said:

 

What an embarassing charade this is! Embarrasing for the Thai hotel, the Thai police, the TAT and for the whole country. 

 

The mentioned CNN, ABC, the Daily Mail, BBC, Insider, The Morning Call, The Sun, CBS, the Independent, NBC, Fox, Reuters, the New York Times, the Guardian, the Bangkok Post and AFP all will be quite happy to report about such a banana-republic-style story, which outside of Thailand is close to unbelievable.

 

Grand Thai theatre!

Greatest embarrassment goes to all those TVF members who thought Mr Barnes was holding all the aces's in his hand and would walk away with a massive payment

[ronaldo0]

He will probably leave the country for good now and tell every press reporter he can his story and post the reviews again ! ????

[P100]

I hope the media like CNN and BBC and others, who have to be informed, will add some critical background reporting about how this arrangement happened while he was imprisonned and probably forced. And the ownership of the hotel that seems to belong to some powerful Thai could also be investigated just to make the story round...

 

 

The other thing is, if you go that far you need to plan your exit in advance. Bending over backwards is not a good exit strategy. But I can't judge him while not being in his shoes right now.

Edited October 9, 2020 by P100

[vinny41]

3 minutes ago, amdy2206 said:

I would certainly NEVER go to that hotel. Accept criticism and respond, if necessary, but jail for a negative Trip Advisor comment - or a few - ridiculous.

And it has been posted many times that a number of TVF members will go to this hotel more so if there is no loudmouth americans in the resturant

[Oldie]

Strange thing. At some Koh Chang hotels the reviews are blocked on Google Maps. 

[James7001]

I follow Tripadvisor I also leave the good and bad reviews

this will reflect badly on the hotel and also on Thailand in particular. 
 

it was clearly blackmail and an infringement of free speech. There are always bad reviews more sensible people can read between the lines TripAdvisor should defend peoples freedom unless of course they are fake reviews