Watch what reviews you post about Thailand...

[tridacna]

https://nypost.com/2020/09/27/tourist-faces-prison-time-for-tripadvisor-review-of-thailand-hotel/

 

[Barnaby'sDad]

I would like to have been a fly on the wall when he attempted to explain his first amendment rights to Thai authorities.

 

[chillyinCanada]

I would like to have been a fly on the wall when he attempted to explain his first amendment rights to Thai authorities.

I chuckled a bit when reading what an ass he may have been the first night.

That kind of behaviour doesn't go over well with Thais. Perhaps that's why they weren't that smiley with him.

 

[Barnaby'sDad]

I chuckled a bit when reading what an ass he may have been the first night.

That kind of behaviour doesn't go over well with Thais. Perhaps that's why they weren't that smiley with him.

Yup. No one appreciates being spoken down to by an entitled little turd. I’m sure someone saw his post and was like “this stupid bastard is still in country. I got this.”

Play stupid games, get stupid prizes. Hopefully he does some time. If nothing else...that’s ~two years that he’ll be unable to contribute to the gene pool.

 

[tridacna]

Two years in prison and (>$6k in fines) seems to be a bit harsh to me. No matter how bad a douchebag he was. Even IF he misbehaved. If a hotel charged you $20 to uncork your wine, would you be OK with that?

 

[Barnaby'sDad]

Two years in prison and (>$6k in fines) seems to be a bit harsh to me. No matter how bad a douchebag he was. Even IF he misbehaved. If a hotel charged you $20 to uncork your wine, would you be OK with that?

Would I be happy with it? Nope. That being said, I’ve heard of uncork fees being charged domestically and abroad. I can’t say that it ($5+) popping up on a bill would shock me. As for the fee being $20...well...i’m guessing that the assumption is that if you’re traveling and ordering wine and the moment...you have money to burn.

If you choose to weaponize reviews (post overly harsh reviews just because you’re pissed off at a business) on a travel website while you’re staying in a foreign country...that’s on you. Again...play stupid games, get stupid prizes.

If you choose to travel in a foreign country, you should be aware of and abide by their laws and customs.

Edit: On the $6,000 fine...how much income do you suppose businesses lose out on because people post false and/or needlessly harsh reviews online (ex. Rival local businesses, staff member didn’t kiss butt sufficiently, etc.)...dragging down their average rating?

For a business with not a whole lot of reviews...how many one star reviews does it take before people see their average rating and say “ugh, they must be sketchy?”

The first amendment (in the U.S.) is great, but if the founding fathers could have foreseen the amount of douchebaggery that would take place under the justification of “it’s my right,” something tells me they would have included some caveats.

Some countries have chosen to take a different approach. Not saying that I agree with all cases, but that in some...I get it.

 

[Jcp2]

Two years in prison and (>$6k in fines) seems to be a bit harsh to me. No matter how bad a douchebag he was. Even IF he misbehaved. If a hotel charged you $20 to uncork your wine, would you be OK with that?

Midnight Express, Thai version.

 

[Ministryofgiraffes]

I wish people would stop reading ‘up to’ ( relating to fines/Max sentence) and then reporting/debating as though it’s 100% guaranteed that the individual will receive ‘that’ maximum punishment and how outrageous that is compared to the charge..

 

[tridacna]

I wish people would stop reading ‘up to’ ( relating to fines/Max sentence) and then reporting/debating as though it’s 100% guaranteed that the individual will receive ‘that’ maximum punishment and how outrageous that is compared to the charge..

True in the US and Canada mostly, in Thailand and other countries not so much.


Everyone is justifying the potential sentence. Has anyone actually read his review? I have not. I made up the $20 corkage fee.

 

[Barnaby'sDad]

True in the US and Canada mostly, in Thailand and other countries not so much.


Everyone is justifying the potential sentence.
Has anyone actually read his review? I have not. I made up the $20 corkage fee.

The actual reviews appear to have been taken down.

The Sea View Resort said legal action was only taken because Barnes had penned multiple reviews on different sites over the past few weeks.

At least one was posted in June on Tripadvisor accusing the hotel of “modern day slavery” – which the site removed after a week for violating its guidelines.

From the sound of it (the language above is contained in multiple news outlets) they only went after him because he didn’t seem content to just post a single negative review and leave it at that. The implication being that he chose to post a new review for every single interaction he had with the staff.

Regarding the cork fee...one news outlet implies that the fee was charged to booze he brought to the hotel, rather than booze purchased at the hotel/restaurant.

Either there’s something lost in translation or...maybe...he thought he was being cute by bringing his own bottle of booze to the restaurant and drink it there?

It sounds like he felt slighted and was determined to not let it go.