‘Too expensive’ Khao Yai resort yet to sue woman who left ‘6/10’ review 

A “6/10. Too expensive” review on Agoda website, at left, and Attorney Sittra Biabungkerd, at right, represents a Thai woman only identified as Khing. Original photo: Sittra Biabungkerd / Facebook
A “6/10. Too expensive” review on Agoda website, at left, and Attorney Sittra Biabungkerd, at right, represents a Thai woman only identified as Khing. Original photo: Sittra Biabungkerd / Facebook

A Khao Yai resort that threatened to sue a woman for rating it “6/10” in a review has not withdrawn the threat, her lawyer said this morning. 

Days after the Ozone Hotel Khao Yai threatened a customer to pay over THB3 million if she did not delete her negative Agoda review, attorney Sittra Biabungkerd today said that the resort has gone quiet – but has not filed the lawsuit, to his knowledge.

“In my opinion, the owners wanted to wait until things cool down,” Sittra said this morning.

Last week, Sittra said that his client, a woman identified only as Khing, became the latest reviewer in Thailand to face legal threats over a critical review. In its letter, the resort demanded she delete her Agoda review immediately or pay THB50,000 for each day it was available as well as THB3 million (US$90,000) in damages.

Khao Yai resort demands woman delete ‘6/10’ review or pay 3M baht | Coconuts

While the resort might be laying low due to the negative attention it received in response to its threat, it could also be that its goal of removing the review had been achieved.

Only a cached version of Khing’s review remains. Sittra insisted that she did not delete the original.

Many people responded to the lawyer’s initial announcement by directing some of the blame at the online booking platform. People wrote that Agoda must have deleted the review and disclosed the user’s identifying information to the resort, which it used go after her.  

Someone answering the phone at Ozone Hotel Khao Yai said the owners were unavailable to discuss the matter. An email went unanswered as well. Agoda had yet to respond to questions about the review and its related policies as of publication time.

The feedback in question, left in late December, wasn’t even particularly harsh. It couched mild complaints in a relatively balanced if critical review deeming the venue “too expensive.”

Sittra said he has been unable to reach any representatives of the online travel agency. “Only a bot responded to ask for Khing’s booking details,” he said.

Defamation is a criminal rather than civil affair under the law, and its weaponization has spread from politics to the commercial realm, where companies have used it to threaten or punish consumers.

In November 2020, TripAdvisor attached a warning to the page for Koh Chang’s Sea View Resort after it went after American expat teacher Wesley Barnes over a negative review. Barnes spent several days in jail and was forced to publicly apologize for his harsh words.

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Khao Yai resort demands woman delete ‘6/10’ review or pay 3M baht | Coconuts



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