Ambassador City Jomtien hotel filed charges against a Thai returnee who posted a negative review of its quarantine facility, with the hotel also deciding to withdraw its state quarantine (SQ) status this month.
Chavanate Thangsumphant, managing director at Ambassador City Jomtien, said the legal action is needed as the hotel has to protect its rights. The hotel is hoping to negotiate with the guest for a mutually beneficial end to this dispute.
She said the police already contacted the guest and encouraged him to delete the post as it offends the hotel. The police recommended seeking compromise between the two parties.
"To prevent the post from spreading like wildfire on social media, a team of lawyers suggested the hotel take legal action to protect its reputation," said Ms Chavanate.
The hotel is consulting lawyers before taking any further action.
The management team interrogated hotel staff about details of what happened to its SQ service.
The hotel then informed the authority it would quit serving as a SQ facility and received approval to revoke the status.
She said the hotel made this decision before this incident, closing since the last group of guests checked out on Feb 12.
Ambassador City Jomtien is temporarily closed until further notice to comply with the Chon Buri governor's order to curb the outbreak.
On Tuesday, the hotel published a letter on its Facebook page saying it already filed charges with the police for defamation of the hotel.
The hotel also urged other people to refrain from spreading the negative review as it damaged the hotel's reputation. If people spread the review, the hotel may have to proceed with legal action, under both civil and criminal law.
The statement was a response to a Facebook post from a user who related poor living conditions and unsanitary hygiene standards during quarantine at the hotel. That post was public and had over 30,000 users share it to their social media platforms.
In October, an American man was forced to publicly apologise for writing a negative review on TripAdvisor of the Sea View Resort on Koh Chang to avoid prosecution and jail time.
"We would like the guest to talk directly with our executives. Everyone here is open to criticism," Ms Chavanate said.
Ambassador City Jomtien is the first hotel in Chon Buri to serve as an SQ facility since April last year, and welcomed 5,000 guests. She said if guests faced any problems during their stay, the hotel offered options such as a new room or even a new quarantine hotel in the area to meet their demand.