travel

American sued in Thailand over negative Tripadvisor review

32 Comments
By Jack TAYLOR

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32 Comments
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the owner just proved the reviewer's point. who would want to stay at a hotel that has you thrown in jail for criticizing their bad service.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

@Desert Tortoise

"The whole of the economy seemed devoted to catering to the raunchiest European tastes."

The impression you gave yourself leaves you grossly misinformed. Automobiles and automotive parts account for 11% of GDP, making it the economy's biggest industry. That's followed by financial services (9%), electric appliances and parts, (8%), tourism (6%), and then come cement,  manufacturing of computers and parts, furniture, plastics, textiles, garments, etc.

We now live in a world where people think it's OK to be thrown in jail for writing a bad review

Believe it or not, slander and liable laws exist in all developed countries, as well, where you can be prosecuted for willfully damaging a person's or organization's reputation.

Plenty o' ignorance in this thread.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Don't let this article dissuade you from going to Thailand. It's an amazing country to visit. Word of Mouth is extremely important when it comes to marketing there. So negative comments can be very destructive to a small or medium sized business.

Been there once by ship. We could smell it before we could see land. It wasn't much better once ashore. The whole of the economy seemed devoted to catering to the raunchiest European tastes. Not a place I will ever visit again.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

When in Rome do as the Romans do, when in Thailand show respect for their laws, even if you think they're unfair.

-3 ( +1 / -4 )

What does race have to do with the legal system? This is something that would have affected anyone in Thailand regardless of the race of the person. They just clearly said that a journalist was jailed for defamation for posting a tweet about the working conditions of a thai company.

I will make sure when I visit Thailand and if the service was terrible at any resort I would stay at, I'll make sure I write all of my reviews once I get back home safely from that country.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

I see that in this particular case, the guy who wrote the negative review works in Thailand. I guess the motto of the story is, if you have the urge to write a bad review, do it after you’re out of the country.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

By now, there's many stories of travellers with huge following leaving unfair reviews in spite or negotiation.

If you are being rewarded for your actions then there needs to be some standard and fairness to it.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

What is a review for ???.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

The review was fair. That’s how the staff appear to the reviewer. That said not every culture welcomes people with perfunctory smiles.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

There is such a thing as people trying to negotiate lower prices by threatening to write a bad review. The best revenge for the institution being reviewed is to have such a good reputation that no one pays attention to the occasional bad review.

On the other hand, am glad that I now know not to leave any bad reviews about Thailand until I am out of the country.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Thousand visitors write negative comments about Thailand and see what Thai Gov can really do about it. Who will stay quiet this time? Thousands or Thailand?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

It seems like the guy brought wine or some other booze to the restaurant and refused to pay a corkage fee. Then as revenge, he slandered the resort, which could cause plenty of financial damage to the resort, given the COVID downturn and the power of Tripadvisor. For that, he deserves some punishment.

We now live in a world where people think it's OK to be thrown in jail for writing a bad review about a hotel. 1984, here we come.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

It seems like the guy brought wine or some other booze to the restaurant and refused to pay a corkage fee. Then as revenge, he slandered the resort, which could cause plenty of financial damage to the resort, given the COVID downturn and the power of Tripadvisor. For that, he deserves some punishment.

-3 ( +1 / -4 )

My Grandfather use to work there for USAID. His job was to root out corruption. He found it impossible.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Always be careful about how you criticize your host country. It is their county and not yours's that you criticize. You are living in another world and need to understand where you are living. Wake up.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

Thailand is not racist, it is corrupt, and Thailand’s elite (big business) use influence to punish anyone who may criticize them.

A bad revue on Trip Advisor is not going to have much influence on my opinion when I am booking a hotel, but a country which jails people for writing a bad revue will fully discourage me from visiting.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

And if I recall correctly, the same is actually true in Japan.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

if you write something negative and you live there, make sure you have proof and are not just writing on emotion.

That’s not how defamation works in Thailand. It can be true and you can still be sued for defamation in Thailand.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

So if you write something negative and you live there, make sure you have proof and are not just writing on emotion.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Thailand is beautiful but you’re not protected by the rule of law there as a foreigner. Or even as a Thai a lot of the time. But particularly as a foreigner.

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

@TrevorPeace

Guess I won't be going to Thailand anytime soon.

Don't let this article dissuade you from going to Thailand. It's an amazing country to visit. Word of Mouth is extremely important when it comes to marketing there. So negative comments can be very destructive to a small or medium sized business.

-1 ( +3 / -4 )

I should codify that previous comment. I'm a travel writer. And former police system volunteer. Don't want to be thrown in a Thailand can for criticism of a resort that obviously has government connections.

EECH!

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

Guess I won't be going to Thailand anytime soon.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

I hate to think what would have happened if he mentioned the king too.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

well folks, when you talk and what you write about something ,We have to be careful.

Especially about thailand.

Interesting. I wrote the same thing in a recent topic about royals and the usual crowd on here automatically downvoted without responding at all. Anyways this has less to do with Thailand's defamation laws and more to do with online defamation as a general concept. People have been sued in other countries for leaving harsh reviews of businesses. Just last year a Michigan air conditioning company sued a woman for $25,000 because of a bad online review she posted.

How racist the Thai system is.

'Racist?' How so? This American's beef appeared to be with the Czech manager of the dining room area. And how convenient so many around the world are automatically jumping to conclusions. Do people not care about hearing both sides of the story before casting judgement first? The hotel's version, which I find believable and corroborated by the friend of the American, is that this guy felt rules did not apply to him and brought his own alcohol on the premises. He refused to pay the corkage fee and only after some argument did they shake hands over it. And then this guy goes around making false slanderous accusations, on multiple website reviews, about the hotel in that they engage in modern slavery and to avoid the hotel like coronavirus. The hotel tried to reach out to this guy but he ignored them. A business has every right to fight false reviews meant to hurt a business' professional reputation.

Do not rely on the mainstream media's one sided version of events, do more research and go to websites like Bangkok Post which provide a far more balanced take on this.

And downvoting is not a proper response.

7 ( +9 / -2 )

@bo

How racist the Thai system is.

What does race have to do with the legal system? This is something that would have affected anyone in Thailand regardless of the race of the person. They just clearly said that a journalist was jailed for defamation for posting a tweet about the working conditions of a thai company.

11 ( +11 / -0 )

Thailand is on my travel blacklist for human rights violations...

-2 ( +3 / -5 )

2 years for a bag review?!

The justice is pretty messed up there.

6 ( +8 / -2 )

How racist the Thai system is.

-9 ( +3 / -12 )

I’ve always found Thailand to be the land of smiles.....or rather they land of fake smiles.

8 ( +13 / -5 )

well folks, when you talk and what you write about something ,We have to be careful.

Especially about thailand.

5 ( +5 / -0 )

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