TripAdvisor slaps warning on Thailand's 'Sea View Resort & Spa' review page

[Thomas Hannah]

3 minutes ago, PattayaMale said:

Unfortunately, Thailand has many laws that might have been well intended but have been used to stiffel people from telling their truthful opinion. I would never stay at a hotel that would use police or a law in the way this hotel did. Seizure of a foreign Passport is just blackmail.

Yes they do.But in this case.He would have been sued for everything he has .if he did not remove when asked his false review.in the western world.its called making false statements.and had been given the chance to rectify his crime.and yes ,it is a crime.Not just in thailand.

[Jeffr2]

26 minutes ago, herwin1234 said:

i have followed the tread of the original post, with more details in it. what i remember it was not ONE bad negative review but a whole longrunning smear campaign by the unsatisfied hotel guest. 

Sorry cant find the original tread of that post.

draconian? i dont think so. there is a HUGE differnce between any objective factual and even emotional negative review, and a review that is clearly made of lies and misinformation to clearly falsely accuse or embarres a business, or, any private person. basically, it was not somebody expressing his negative experience but plain and simple cyberbullying. 

I do seem to remember reading something about that.  But normally, the subsequent posts can removed.  I've had a few of mine removed!  LOL

 

But going to jail for this?  Sorry, but BS!!  Another black eye for Thailand.

[alyx]

1 minute ago, Thomas Hannah said:

This is wrong.Trip advisor should warn about the laws in thailand.I read about this when it happened .And the man was totally in the wrong.He was a ars hle.n First.who takes there own booze and drinks it by the pool and lounge.in your room is excepted.He said a lot of things that were not true.He was asked to remove his false review.I have stayed and also other friends at this resort, not used trip advisor but word of mouth.Wrong to single this hotel out.Shame on you trip advisor.I hope the hotel sues you.The Hotel could have put him in a lot of trouble.they chose to let him apologise in there thai way.Never heard of one bad thing apart from being expensive,But KOH CHANG is expensive.Its my favorite place in all of thailand.

As I have mentioned earlier, your appreciation of the customer's guilt is merely based on what you have read. No trial, therefore no judgment. The motive of the dispute is not the point. The action of the hotel is: they chose to waive their right to answer on the concerned site or got too lazy to do so at some level. They have chosen to go for the full monty, hence the consequences. It is not because you have spent a wonderful time at any place that it is the same for every guest. Yes, it is right to single out this hotel because, no other hotel has.have been confronted to the same kind of issues, it is this hotel and this hotel only which decided to have a customer jailed for his comments, whether they were true or not. 

Not pointing at this hotel would have the whole profession look bad. 

Sincerely hotels' management will think twice before walking down the same path

[CorpusChristie]

4 minutes ago, Jeffr2 said:

I do seem to remember reading something about that.  But normally, the subsequent posts can removed.  I've had a few of mine removed!  LOL

 

But going to jail for this?  Sorry, but BS!!  Another black eye for Thailand.

 

   He didnt get sent to jail, he was just held in detention whilst the police investigated 

[PattayaMale]

4 hours ago, ChipButty said:

Maybe the other bad reviewers had already left Thailand

Maybe there would have been more bad reviews. Many people who travel through Thailand know how dangerous it is to post honest reviews that are negative. The hotel should have just ignored his reviews. There was no damage done to the hotel if they had many positive reviews. The hotel management went too far. They actually hurt the reputation of the poster. This law is a double sided blade. It can cut both ways.

[alyx]

5 minutes ago, Thomas Hannah said:

Yes they do.But in this case.He would have been sued for everything he has .if he did not remove when asked his false review.in the western world.its called making false statements.and had been given the chance to rectify his crime.and yes ,it is a crime.Not just in thailand.

Sorry again but nobody knows who is at fault. As for "in the western world" most of the posters here are from there and I guess they have heard about the laws. Kindly note that the case made it to international newspapers...and it seems that the general feeling was an outrage...

[jdlancaster]

2 hours ago, CorpusChristie said:

 

....................and how many people have been jailed for writing negative reviews ?

You're supporting and justifying the use of a law that is used to oppress people and hide abuses. 

Many people have been put in jail by this law for speaking the truth.

If I had a video and a thousand witnesses, I could still be put in jail for defamation. The truth is irrelevant for this law.

There have been many famous cases of these laws being used to silence, intimidate, and jail those reporting on serious rights abuses. A journalist recently just got sentenced to 2 years jail for reporting on abuses in the poultry Industry...

A society with a few bad apples leaving bad unsubstantiated reviews (with some taken down) is a small price to pay to ensure freedom of expression and a free press.

 

[alyx]

28 minutes ago, CorpusChristie said:

 

   He didnt get sent to jail, he was just held in detention whilst the police investigated 

555 subtle difference. Kindly define the concept of a cell. 

[Burma Bill]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

TripAdvisor slaps warning on

Well done - may have this desired effect:-

[CorpusChristie]

2 minutes ago, jdlancaster said:

You're supporting and justifying the use of a law that is used to oppress people and hide abuses. 

Many people have been put in jail by this law for speaking the truth.

If I had a video and a thousand witnesses, I could still be put in jail for defamation. The truth is irrelevant for this law.

There have been many famous cases of these laws being used to silence, intimidate, and jail those reporting on serious rights abuses. A journalist recently just got sentenced to 2 years jail for reporting on abuses in the poultry Industry...

A society with a few bad apples leaving bad unsubstantiated reviews (with some taken down) is a small price to pay to ensure freedom of expression and a free press.

 

 

   My point was that although defamation laws could be used to prosecute negative reviews on line , has it ever happened before ?

  Has anyone ever been prosecuted for leaving a negative review ?

[alyx]

Just now, CorpusChristie said:

 

   My point was that although defamation laws could be used to prosecute negative reviews on line , has it ever happened before ?

  Has anyone ever been prosecuted for leaving a negative review ?

It does not seem so: therefore it is imperative that the hotel be singled out 

[hellohello123]

4 hours ago, seajae said:

"This notice should warn about possible actions if false and unsubstantiated reviews are posted". The trouble is that they will use the law against someone even when the they are telling the truth as can be seen in Thailand regularly, you cannot simply tell the truth about a business/person in Thailand without facing legal action. This is a hard one as the reviewer did add BS to his review but the hotel went overboard by having him jailed when they could have settled it without all the drama, TA has done the right thing letting people know the hotel will use the law if they dont like a review, maybe they should have added that the reviewer did exagerate some of his review but they should still let people know the hotel will and can do the same thing again if they dont like the review. I have left negative reviews on thai hotels(it was the truth) etc in TA in the past with no come back so far but warnings should be made on all the reviewing sites when a thai business does have people jailed etc for giving negative reviews

I would laugh my head off if any future customers of the hotel who were unhappy decided to wait until the day they left thailand to write scathing reviews

[CorpusChristie]

3 minutes ago, alyx said:

555 subtile difference. Kindly define the concept of a cell. 

 

   Huge difference between a Court sentencing someone to jail time and a person just waiting to be interviewed at a police station .

  One gets sentenced to go to a jail and the other is just waiting at a police station for the investigation to conclude 

[CorpusChristie]

I am going to go to that same hotel , buy a bottle of gin from 7/11 , take it into the hotel restaurant and leave the bottle on the table and look at the waiter and manager and then slowly unscrew the gin bottle lid .

[tukadadoll]

6 hours ago, camble said:

The resort has raised it’s rates to make up for the lost revenue.

overpriced dump

[Chongalulu]

5 hours ago, FritsSikkink said:

Dumb comments as usual without knowing what happened. The reviewer acted like an idiot in the hotel, started a massive slander campaign (not 1 bad review which wasn't even the truth). Had a criminal record by threatening staff with a gun in the USA who had problems with his attitude.  

Fret not,you are still holding a substantial lead in 'top dumb comment' rankings

[mark131v]

5 hours ago, FritsSikkink said:

Not for a negative review, for a full on slander campaign.

 

Nope, for 4 reviews on 2 platforms over the period of a few weeks, get a grip...

[Megasin1]

Karma can be such a wonderful thing ????

[alyx]

3 minutes ago, CorpusChristie said:

 

   Huge difference between a Court sentencing someone to jail time and a person just waiting to be interviewed at a police station .

  One gets sentenced to go to a jail and the other is just waiting at a police station for the investigation to conclude 

I think that you are contradicting yourself as you said he was in detention. If so, if you have been to any police station around here...they remain in a cell. So it is, by all accounts, a traumatic experience.

[mark131v]

5 hours ago, Techno Viking said:

 

It should be a generic warning placed on all thailand places that advertise on their website... rather than singling out the seaview resort.

 

Nope, no other Thai hotels have had their guests jailed, old saying: you make your bed, you lie in it

 

Seaview Hotel are getting exactly what they deserve for being petty, vindictive small minded dimwits

[CorpusChristie]

3 minutes ago, alyx said:

I think that you are contradicting yourself as you said he was in detention. If so, if you have been to any police station around here...they remain in a cell. So it is, by all accounts, a traumatic experience.

 

   What I meant was that a Court of law didnt give him a jail sentance , he didnt get sent to jail for writing anything online

[mark131v]

5 hours ago, ChipButty said:

TA did remove the review when this story first came out I was following it, and I did look on TA site and also did look through a lot of their other reviews but that one had gone when I looked

 

Quite right! I followed the whole sorry affair and it was actually Seaview who released that review as part of their damage limitation exercise when they realised they had opened a can of worms. Kudos to TA they have practiced what they preach...

[alyx]

12 minutes ago, CorpusChristie said:

I am going to go to that same hotel , buy a bottle of gin from 7/11 , take it into the hotel restaurant and leave the bottle on the table and look at the waiter and manager and then slowly unscrew the gin bottle lid .

555 they certainly will and will not charge you. They might even do it for you with the greatest attention ???? 

[from the home of CC]

5 hours ago, CorpusChristie said:

The guy didnt write a honest review though , he wrote numerous false allegations because he got charged corkage on alcohol be bought into the hotel from outside .

   The American guy waged a campaign against the hotel because he got upset about not being allowed to bring in beer from 7/11 .

   Unfair on the hotel for Trip advisor to issue a warning , when the American guy wrote false reviews 

doesn't matter to them for they're not interested in the truth. They want to come across as  social media heroes which I imagine will lead to more money in their pocket. I use to look at some of their reviews posted years ago and just shake my head at the ignorance. Many tourists leave their brains at home and wouldn't know a good hotel or restaurant  if it bit them on their ass, especially if they're like this boozehound...

[Jeffr2]

27 minutes ago, CorpusChristie said:

 

   He didnt get sent to jail, he was just held in detention whilst the police investigated 

In most Thai police stations, they are the same cell.

[hotchilli]

6 hours ago, camble said:

The resort has raised it’s rates to make up for the lost revenue.

So no Thais will be booking either then... double whammy !

[Airalee]

First off, what the hotel did went far above and beyond what was necessary.  I think it could have been handled quite easily between them and TripAdvisor.  However, there is quite a difference between leaving a negative review...or what could be used as constructive criticism by whatever establishment is being reviewed and what this guy wrote when he was insinuating “slave labor”, which for Thailand is a touchy subject.

 

Still...the hotel went too far in my opinion.

[Jeffr2]

Just now, from the home of CC said:

doesn't matter to them for they're not interested in the truth. They want to come across as  social media heroes which I imagine will lead to more money in their pocket. I use to look at some of their reviews posted years ago and just shake my head at the ignorance. Many tourists leave their brains at home and wouldn't know a good hotel or restaurant  if it bit them on their ass, especially if they're like this boozehound...

TripAdvisor has always had problems with reviews. I use them with a large grain of salt. Many are dubious

[mark131v]

5 hours ago, ChipButty said:

And made repeated post

 

Nope he made 4 reviews online that may or may not have been accurate, he made them over a period of weeks on TA and google platforms. 1 of the 4 was not published until the Seaview released it in their damage limitation statement...

[alyx]

4 minutes ago, Airalee said:

First off, what the hotel did went far above and beyond what was necessary.  I think it could have been handled quite easily between them and TripAdvisor.  However, there is quite a difference between leaving a negative review...or what could be used as constructive criticism by whatever establishment is being reviewed and what this guy wrote when he was insinuating “slave labor”, which for Thailand is a touchy subject.

 

Still...the hotel went too far in my opinion.

Insinuation and actual wording are quite different. I have not read the posts and tbh I am not interested. I am just looking at the effect of a thoughtless reaction of a management. Furthermore, as much as I'd like the negative comments to be constructive, most of them posts are not as the posters use that mean of communication to vent their frustration.