An Australian hotel operator plans to file criminal defamation charges against a guest who he claims posted false and malicious reviews on the internet.
Alexander Katz, an executive with Eastern Star Co., which operates the Pattaya Holiday Lodge on South Road, and hotel manager Supaporn Sae-ung showed the media negative reviews on travel websites Agoda and Trip Advisor he said were posted by a guest in order to ruin his business.
The Trip Advisor review complained of an hour wait to check in, broken room safe and a foul odor in the room, high deposit charges and uncomfortable beds.
The hotel general manager responded online by calling the guest’s review fake and summing up his comments by writing that “400 baht rooms always attract certain type of clientele.”
Supaporn first told the media Oct. 27 that their online critic was a male customer in his 30s who booked via Agoda and checked in as a Lebanese national. Following the negative review, Katz said he found out the man was actually Brazilian and was spreading “lies” on various sites about his hotel.
Katz said he has contacted police about the defamatory comments and is trying to track down the disgruntled guest as he has proof the Brazilian was lying.
