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

[Blumpie]

Well I never saw this coming.  

It seems 3rd world thinking from a 2nd world country is going to catch this business.  

I think nobody is going to stay there now.  Ever.  

[Mayhem11]

The test of whether something is defamatory and valid defences to defamation varies from country to country. In Australia the defence is truth and public interest. I doubt if anyone really knows whether the gent on Koh Chang was lying or not. If he was truth saying, it is in the public interest to know of this interesting case from Koh Chang. 
 

I do know from personal experience that Thai hotels misrepresent their amenities.  But what recourse is there if you have been flimflammed?
 

I applaud Trip Advisor for its stance on the matter. It is a pity that Booking.com does not have the same courage.

 

 

[Chopinbkk]

Yes, Trip Adviser should give a general warning about Thailand, not only a single hotel.
A lawless / corrupt place under military rule, where the rule of law is wishful thinking.
Sure, this has only touched a few unlucky foreigners (well, we might look at the 'Hiltons' in this country - lol). However, a factual warning to all future tourists may not  be a bad idea ... 

[P100]

Tripadvisor likes when their users are free and not in jail under drakonian military laws in Thailand.

 

I love this site.

Thank you for speaking on behalf of your user who has been silenced.

[CorpusChristie]

Just now, P100 said:

Tripadvisor likes when their users are free and not in jail under drakonian military laws in Thailand.

 

 

 

   He wasnt kept in jail under "Drakonian military laws" though .

He was held at a police station because he couldnt pay the bail money 

[ChipButty]

It was a knocking bet what the american was going to do once he got out of the country, I also bet the hotel are now wishing they had never accepted his apologies 

Media would be all over this like a rash

[Wavel]

Iv'e lived in Thailand for over twenty years & stayed in dozens of hotels & resorts, two star to five star. Never once have i been charged corkage. The owner of this place is a foreigner, who unfortunately for him tried to bring draconian rules acceptable in his own country, to Thailand. Poor man very ill advised. Som Nam Na  my friend. Only two choices left. 1. pack up & go from where once you came. 2. Give the poor Yank (who spent time in jail) ฿1,000,000 to repost that it was all a big miss understanding. This gadgie has some serious lessons in life to learn.

[Blumpie]

4 minutes ago, ChipButty said:

It was a knocking bet what the american was going to do once he got out of the country, I also bet the hotel are now wishing they had never accepted his apologies 

Media would be all over this like a rash

Yep.

And to think there was no forethought about the consequences of having him charged.

Let's be honest, the guy seemed like a bit of a doofus but to have him thrown in prison had to have consequences all around.  

I've read those ranting lunatics on tripadvisor and I just laugh them off - you can see them all the time.  They make their stay sound like they were torturing dogs all night outside their door.  

[CH1961]

This kind of tourists should stay away from LOS. 

 

https://www.kansascity.com/news/local/crime/article179883836.html

[The Now Factor]

This is another example of draconian measures happening the past few months across many countries.

A reasonable response would've been for the proprietor to post a rebuttal on TA  without resorting to getting the police involved. 

Edited November 12, 2020 by The Now Factor

[newnative]

    The customer is always right.  You don't throw a customer in jail and expect no consequences.  There were other ways the hotel could have handled the situation.  Hopefully this will be a lesson to other Thai businesses.  Wonder if Mazda Thailand learned its lesson.  

[vinny41]

15 minutes ago, Wavel said:

Iv'e lived in Thailand for over twenty years & stayed in dozens of hotels & resorts, two star to five star. Never once have i been charged corkage. The owner of this place is a foreigner, who unfortunately for him tried to bring draconian rules acceptable in his own country, to Thailand. Poor man very ill advised. Som Nam Na  my friend. Only two choices left. 1. pack up & go from where once you came. 2. Give the poor Yank (who spent time in jail) ฿1,000,000 to repost that it was all a big miss understanding. This gadgie has some serious lessons in life to learn.

If the Hotel offered Barnes money then Trip advisor would take Barnes to Court for writing fake reviews as they did here in Italy

A landmark legal ruling in Italy has seen a fraudulent online reviewer sentenced to jail, in one of the first cases of its kind.

TripAdvisor supported the prosecution as a civil claimant, providing evidence from its in-house fraud investigations team.

“We see this as a landmark ruling for the Internet,” said Brad Young, VP, associate general counsel at TripAdvisor. “Writing fake reviews has always been fraud, but this is the first time we’ve seen someone sent to jail as a result.

https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/tripadvisor-fake-reviews-paid-fraud-jail-legal-case-italy-promosalento-a8534006.html

[Virt]

If it's the only available hotel on koh Chang when the borders open I might consider it. 

 

I just drink my vodka in my room instead ????

 

The whole case blew out of proportion and shows what happen when people go ballistic, instead of sitting down and settle things like normal people do.

[baansgr]

9 hours ago, CorpusChristie said:

 

   Many Countries have slander laws .

The American guy didnt get charged for writing a negative review, he got charged with lying about the hotel and writing false reviews 

Being arrested at his workplace, incarcerated and threatened with a gaol term then deportation...I think he would agree to anything the police and hotel said...

[Nanaplaza666]

9 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 

You are spot on , people should ban TripAdvisor instead of this resort . These days 100 people can write a good review of your hotel or restaurant but if 1 person goes on a rampage and even when proven wrong it seems like everybody only reads this persons review . This guy was a ???? and he was going on a rampage because didn't want to pay corkage fee , but every normal person knows this is kind of normal so he should just have paid and there would not be any problems . 

[Chopinbkk]

54 minutes ago, SomchaiCNX said:

The resort should sue trip adviser ???? Tripadviser should not be allowed in Thailand it is BS review site. They should give a general warning for Thailand but not single out this resort.They  are there for their own interests only, nothing to do with real and honest reviews. They US guy was way out of line and it serves him well.

 

Thailand, the Land of Fragile Egos .....   5555

[Nanaplaza666]

9 hours ago, ChipButty said:

Bottle of Vodka

CORKAGE FEE 

[darrendsd]

I see this story has brought out the usual comments from the brain dead idiots that know nothing about the full story

 

A quote from the American who stayed there

 

after the American apologised for "repeatedly false and untrue statements... made to maliciously defame Sea View. These reviews were written out of anger and malice".

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Nanaplaza666]

9 hours ago, DirtyHarry55 said:

Great News Trip Advisor!
They have a duty to warn the public and Tourists they risk going to Jail for writing a negative reviews not just for this Hotel but in Thailand.
Other travel Forums need to follow suit.
Thailand can keep it's draconian laws but have to accept the consequences too.
 

This wasn't just a negative review , if it was just a negative review nobody would have mind . This guy went on a rampage but didn't have any right to do so he was in the wrong . Just should have paid the corkage fee .

[NCC1701A]

Thai Friendly put something like this on my profile.  

[JeffinChonburi]

Ya know, some guys go too far. The ones: "I'll have your job" or speaking to mgmt: "I want to know what your gonna do about it?" So, those customers are not even really customers, but considered consumers in service industry that detract from the whole (Customer service experience). As for corking fees, it is what it is. We have had both in Thailand. Parties at the pool where we had to pay to bring our own booze cause there was a bar at the pool, and other hotels that said nothing at all. In the end, I think they are both right and both wrong. The dude is obviously a real A__ hole to deal with. However, the hotel should know there are gonna be A___ holes. They both paid dearly. Hope they both learned big lessons from this. I Love Thailand. The particularity of Thai employees can be annoying at times, but in the end, I know it all for the best and part of why I like Thailand. 

[Nanaplaza666]

9 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.  

Wow Frits i am not always agreeing with you but this is a spot on comment . Deze man was gewoon een debiel en kan zo je hele business verknallen met z'n debiele commentaar en dat is precies wat er nu gebeurd met dit resort , dus heeft hij toch zijn zin . Ze hadden hem lekker hier in de gevangenis moeten laten rotten , stuk vullis . 

[newatthis]

4 minutes ago, darrendsd said:

I see this story has brought out the usual comments from the brain dead idiots that know nothing about the full story

 

A quote from the American who stayed there

 

after the American apologised for "repeatedly false and untrue statements... made to maliciously defame Sea View. These reviews were written out of anger and malice".

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Maybe the hotel in conjunction with lawyers etc wrote out this apology for the American to make in their acceptable way.

[mark131v]

1 hour ago, CorpusChristie said:

 

   Yes, I think that warning was also a warning to other businesses in Thailand *If you prosecute any reviewers , we will place this on your TA page* , which will discourage any more prosecutions  

 

Good!!!

[faxx]

Good to see TA posting this note.

 

Hope it will help other hotels to handle negative reviews in a better way.

 

As an occasional writer of hotel reviews I suggest other reviewers let some time lapse before they post their opinions online. It keeps your posts most zivilized and free of negative consequences.

 

[Flying Saucage]

8 minutes ago, darrendsd said:

comments from the brain dead idiots that know nothing about the full story

 

So, how are you, and how about you, Sherlock?

[Traubert]

Tripadvisor is just the same as Wikipedia. A home for the under-employed. I pay no mind to it.

 

 

[Helmet Grunter]

The bottom line is, the guy was a fud and he got "what for" and <deleted> himself, fud. He won't be trying to impress his buddies with that kinda <deleted> again, fud. 

 

[tifino]

3 minutes ago, newatthis said:

Maybe the hotel in conjunction with lawyers etc wrote out this apology for the American to make in their acceptable way.

a sort of Francis Gary Powers moment...     verbatim apologies for your freedom  

[darrendsd]

5 minutes ago, Flying Saucage said:

 

So, how are you, and how about you, Sherlock?

 

Eh?