[ad_1]
123RF
American Wesley Barnes was charged with causing “damage to the hotel’s reputation” (file photo).
TripAdvisor issued a warning for travelers after a customer was arrested for posting scathing reviews about his stay at a Thai hotel.
The travel review platform added a special notice to its listing for the Sea View Resort & Spa in Koh Chang, Thailand, a hotel booked earlier this year by American citizen Wesley Barnes, who had been working in the area at that time. moment.
He was arrested in September by immigration police and briefly forced to return to the island after giving the resort a single star out of five along with a negative review online.
“Unfriendly staff, no one is smiling,” Barnes wrote in a July review.
READ MORE:
* American man in Thailand avoids threat of legal action over poor hotel review
* Tourist faces jail for writing a bad review of the Thai resort
* No children allowed: 20 ‘adults only’ vacations
“They act like they don’t want anyone there. The restaurant manger was the worst. He is from the Czech Republic. He’s extremely rude and rude. “
In a second review published in June, which has since been removed by TripAdvisor for violating its guidelines, Barnes accused the hotel of relying on “modern slavery” to function, according to AFP.
“We think it is very unfair that you have chosen to try to portray our wonderful community and our friendly staff very negatively, so we would like to shed some light on what got you so far,” Tom Storup, Division of Rooms manager wrote in a response also posted on TripAdvisor.
He said that Barnes and his group had brought their own liquor to the resort’s restaurant, which is against the rules, and then “used abusive language” while refusing to pay the $ 16 corkage fee.
The resort previously said it chose to sue Barnes because it left “multiple and defamatory reviews on TripAdvisor and Google.” He was arrested in the case and spent two nights in jail as he struggled to post bail.
If convicted, he would have faced up to two years behind bars.
Earlier this month, the complex said it would drop its charges against Barnes if it issued a public apology, to which it agreed.
Upon their safe return to the United States, TripAdviser added a notice to their site, warning future visitors about posting negative reviews about the resort.
“This hotel or individuals associated with this hotel brought criminal charges against a TripAdvisor user in connection with the traveler who wrote and posted reviews online. As a result, the reviewer spent time in jail, ”the website said.
“The hotel may have been exercising its legal rights under local law, however, it is our role to inform you so that you can take this into account when researching your travel plans.”
TripAdvisor said it is the first warning of its kind on the site.
In a statement, the review platform said it believed in “the right of every traveler to write about their first-hand travel experiences, good or bad.”
“TripAdvisor strongly opposes any action where a company, such as the Sea View Hotel & Spa on Koh Chang, uses local law to send someone to jail for expressing their opinion,” he added.
The hotel told the New York Times He was “deeply disappointed” and stated that “the warning message from TripAdvisor is extremely misleading and lacks complete information.”
– New York Daily News
