Tripadvisor Struck Back at Thailand Hotel That Had Reviewer Jailed
Photo Credit: Sea View Resort & Spa in Koh Chang, Thailand got into a dispute with a guest who wrote a disparaging review on Tripadvisor. The resort is shown on January 6, 2019. Creative Commons/Flickr / Thai Travel Tips
Skift Take
A Thailand hotel filed criminal charges, now dropped, against a review writer. But it's now the hotel itself that will get penalized because its placement on Tripadvisor's pages will get demoted for 90 days.
Tripadvisor paid the legal fees of an American who was jailed in Thailand for a couple of days pending making bail for writing a derogatory review of a resort in Koh Chang, and posted a warning about the property above its site listing.
"This hotel or individuals associated with this hotel filed criminal charges against a Tripadvisor user in relation to the traveler writing and posting online reviews," the message from Tripadvisor says. "The reviewer spent time in jail as a result. Tripadvisor serves its users best when travelers are free to share their opinions and experiences on our platform — both positive and negative. The hotel may have been exercising its legal rights under local law, however, it is our role to inform you so you may take this into consideration when researching your travel plans."
The issue grew out of a dispute over the user reviews of Wesley Barnes, an American expat who had worked as a teacher in Thailand, and the Sea View Resort & Spa Koh
