Follow up to 20 year who died in swimming pool

[TravelTime]

https://www.jsonline.com/story/news...-prompts-lawsuit-wisconsin-family/2136432002/

The death of Conner, a 20-year-old University of Wisconsin-Whitewater student from Pewaukee, sparked an 18-month investigation by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that has since exposed dozens of tragedies experienced by tourists visiting resorts in Mexico in recent years.

The Journal Sentinel has received more than 200 reports from tourists with troubling or terrifying experiences at luxury resorts.

Mexican authorities have long acknowledged a problem with illicit alcohol but deny a widespread issue with it being tainted. A 2017 report by government officials and industry representatives found as much as 36 percent of the alcohol consumed in the country is illicit, meaning it is produced under unregulated conditions.

 

[TravelTime]

I am wondering why anyone on TUG is so interested in proving that Abby was or was not a victim. She is dead so to me, that makes her a victim.

 

[TravelTime]

I am aware that PR is spin. However, I do not think that a company like Iberostar would bluntly lie in a press release, let alone in one that is related to a court litigation. There are sufficient elements in that press release that suggest to me that there is a very low chance that this happened in reality.

I am sure no one would ever bluntly lie to save themselves. I am so glad I live in a moral country like the USA where no one would ever lie related to anything in court litigation. Totally honest and above board like the USA.

 

[x3 skier]

The Journal Sentinel has received more than 200 reports from tourists with troubling or terrifying experiences at luxury resorts.

Regardless of who did what in this specific instance, I long ago decided that 200 out of 30,000,000 or so US visitors certainly won’t, nor will it, cause me to change any travel plans to Mexico.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/214780/number-of-us-tourists-visting-mexico/

My last Mexico trip was to the resort where whatever happened took place and I and my friend had a very nice time.

Cheers

 

[TravelTime]

What I am confused about is why so many Tuggers get so defensive about anything to do with Mexico. Anything that happens there or comes out in the media is dismissed as fake news. Or irrelevant because it has only affected a small number of people.

On the other hand, I read other threads on TUG and people are outraged about really irrelevant things.

A statistic of one does not matter until it is you or your family.

 

[T-Dot-Traveller]

What I am confused about is why so many Tuggers get so defensive about anything to do with Mexico. Anything that happens there or comes out in the media is dismissed as fake news. Or irrelevant because it has only affected a small number of people.

On the other hand, I read other threads on TUG and people are outraged about really irrelevant things.

Dear TravelTime I agree -

********

BUT -

RE : this thread -

1) It is very unfortunate that she died .
2) her death was likely preventable .
3) her death occurred almost 2 years ago
4) the OP - posted a link to a Wisconsin newspaper story, about a lawsuit in Florida .

However - this forum is about timesharing .

If anyone can confirm that the resort where Abbey Conner died was a timeshare please post .
IMO - it is an All -Inclusive Vacation Resort Hotel Property .

As such, this thread is not related to the forum's purpose and adds no new information that has a timeshare connection .

 

[DannyTS]

What I am confused about is why so many Tuggers get so defensive about anything to do with Mexico.

Because there is a barrage of postings on this matter and there is a sticker as well. Is this a forum about timeshares or not? There is almost every day an article about crimes in the United States. How would Tug look like if we were posting all day long about the latest rape, armed robbery, mass shooting, accidental drowning, drug related death and so on? Neatly posted in the appropriate section: Western, Eastern, Central, Florida, Hawaii etc.

The problem is not the definition of the word "victim". The problem is that, at this point, i have doubts that the story is true. But i am curious how this is going to play out and i hope Iberostar will not settle. By the way, the plaintiff is the estate of the girl not the parents like they wanted to protect themselves in case of a counter suit.

1) there are 5808 reviews on Tripadvisor. Iberostar is a 4.5* resort. How come none of those people mention that they had any problem? I actually visited Paraiso Maya about 4-5 years ago with a group of friends and I had never heard or seen anything suspicious.

2) as i stated before, if you read the actual lawsuit, a lot is based on the reporting of that media outlet that may or not be true. Let me be suspicious about a supposedly investigation where the reporter had 200 testimonies from intoxicated people but tshe waited 18 month to publish it. Why? Were the first 20 statements not alarming enough to her? How about the next 50? is 200 the critical mass for that media outlet?


3) The so called report that raids found tainted alchohol at resorts (including Iberostar) proved to be false
https://www.safeproof.org/tainted-alcohol-mexico/

Why is the the media outlet not reporting that too? When a story is so one sided I smell a motive.

Thank you. I suggest the moderators move the post to the Mexico travel safety sticker or just delete it because it is not related to time sharing.

 

[TravelTime]

Perhaps the moderator should move this thread to the TUG Lounge?

 

[TravelTime]

Because there is a barrage of postings on this matter and there is a sticker as well. Is this a forum about timeshares or not? There is almost every day an article about crimes in the United States. How would Tug look like if we were posting all day long about the latest rape, armed robbery, mass shooting, accidental drowning, drug related death and so on? Neatly posted in the appropriate section: Western, Eastern, Central, Florida, Hawaii etc.

The problem is not the definition of the word "victim". The problem is that, at this point, i have doubts that the story is true. But i am curious how this is going to play out and i hope Iberostar will not settle. By the way, the plaintiff is the estate of the girl not the parents like they wanted to protect themselves in case of a counter suit.

1) there are 5808 reviews on Tripadvisor. Iberostar is a 4.5* resort. How come none of those people mention that they had any problem? I actually visited Paraiso Maya about 4-5 years ago with a group of friends and I had never heard or seen anything suspicious.

2) as i stated before, if you read the actual lawsuit, a lot is based on the reporting of that media outlet that may or not be true. Let me be suspicious about a supposedly investigation where the reporter had 200 testimonies from intoxicated people but tshe waited 18 month to publish it. Why? Were the first 20 statements not alarming enough to her? How about the next 50? is 200 the critical mass for that media outlet?


3) The so called report that raids found tainted alchohol at resorts (including Iberostar) proved to be false
https://www.safeproof.org/tainted-alcohol-mexico/

Why is the the media outlet not reporting that too? When a story is so one sided I smell a motive.

Thank you. I suggest the moderators move the post to the Mexico travel safety sticker or just delete it because it is not related to time sharing.

I see your point but you keep posting PR and questionable sources as “real” news. Your article says:
“As an advocate for the Mexican Tourism industry, The Secretary put on his salesman hat, saying that the raids were misconstrued by the press and wrongly worded.” I do not think your sources are helping to make your point.

TUG does not look good when people have valid concerns and they are dismissed or victims are attacked. TUG does not look good when people use PR to defend their points.

Very little in the TUG Lounge is about timesharing. It is all misc information that people discuss.

Your link makes it sound like the Mexican government is covering this up. It actually has convinced me of the opposite of what you were attempting to do. Your article says: “While Enriaue de la Madrid Cordero, the Secretary of Tourism for Mexico was sent on his publicity tour to assure everyone that alcohol in Mexico is not tainted, counterfeit or fake, it is merely not properly taxed.”

Your article says: “In her report Jessica De Nova interviews business owners around Cancun and unlike the statements by the Secretary of Tourism, they admitted to her that tainted alcohol is for sale throughout the area.” It also says: “In a report filed by Jessica De Nova, a reporter for television station KPNX in Arizona, she tries to illicit a comment at Iberostar Paraiso del Mar and is denied access.“

Conclusion of your article: “It is important that visitors, workers and residents of the tourist areas of Mexico continue to report any suspicious alcohol to keep others safe and alive when visiting Mexico. Just recently SafeProof.Org received another tip from a couple who were guests at a resort in Mexico. The tip described having one margarita and one shot at the pool on November 4, 2017 at the Riu Santa Fe resort in Cano, Mexico, and she blacked out while her companion became violently ill. This doesn’t sound like untaxed alcohol, it sounds more like tainted alcohol. Mexico’s Secretary of Tourism, Enriaue de la Madrid Cordero would have us believe that reports like these are the result of binge drinking not contaminated alcohol. Visitors to Mexico should be on high alert when consuming alcohol.”

I agree, the media should be reporting what is on your link. It sounds like a cover up to me.

 

[DannyTS]

How come this was never reported on tripadvisor? 6000 reviews. People are upset when they find hair in the food but they forget to mention that they passed out from tainted alcohol? Sorry, i am not buying it.

 

[TravelTime]

How come this was never reported on tripadvisor? 6000 reviews. People are upset when they find hair in the food but they forget to mention that they passed out from tainted alcohol? Sorry, i am not buying it.

I am not buying the PR coverup by Iberostar and the Mexican tourist secretary either.

 

[DannyTS]

I am not buying the PR coverup by Iberostar and the Mexican tourist secretary either.

I understood long before you even read the article. Can you explain please why nobody reported this on Tripadvisor?

 

[TravelTime]

I understood long before you ever read the article. Can you explain please why nobody reported this on Tripadvisor?

From your post, you already answered the question. It could be a cover up. Tripadvisor is well known for deleting bad reviews and for resorts bribing people to delete or change reviews. I know this for a fact because it happened to me.

Your post:

3) The so called report that raids found tainted alchohol at resorts (including Iberostar) proved to be false
https://www.safeproof.org/tainted-alcohol-mexico/

Why is the the media outlet not reporting that too? When a story is so one sided I smell a motive.

 

[TravelTime]

https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/aug/17/how-tripadvisor-changed-travel

As the so-called “reputation economy” has grown, so too has a shadow industry of fake reviews, which can be bought, sold and traded online. For TripAdvisor, this trend amounts to an existential threat. Its business depends on having real consumers post real reviews. Without that, says Dina Mayzlin, a professor of marketing at the University of Southern California, “the whole thing falls apart”. And there have been moments, over the past several years, when it looked like things were falling apart. One of the most dangerous things about the rise of fake reviews is that they have also endangered genuine ones – as companies like TripAdvisor raced to eliminate fraudulent posts from their sites, they ended up taking down some truthful ones, too. And given that user reviews can go beyond complaints about bad service and peeling wallpaper, to much more serious claims about fraud, theft and sexual assault, their removal becomes a grave problem.

 

[TravelTime]

One thing that I find humorous is how many Tuggers said they were going to stop eating romaine lettuce recently. Yet Tuggers are fine with the risk of drinking tainted alcohol? Perhaps the romaine lettuce thread should be taken off of TUG too?

 

[DannyTS]

https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/aug/17/how-tripadvisor-changed-travel

As the so-called “reputation economy” has grown, so too has a shadow industry of fake reviews, which can be bought, sold and traded online. For TripAdvisor, this trend amounts to an existential threat. Its business depends on having real consumers post real reviews. Without that, says Dina Mayzlin, a professor of marketing at the University of Southern California, “the whole thing falls apart”. And there have been moments, over the past several years, when it looked like things were falling apart. One of the most dangerous things about the rise of fake reviews is that they have also endangered genuine ones – as companies like TripAdvisor raced to eliminate fraudulent posts from their sites, they ended up taking down some truthful ones, too. And given that user reviews can go beyond complaints about bad service and peeling wallpaper, to much more serious claims about fraud, theft and sexual assault, their removal becomes a grave problem.

So TripAdvisor is part of a crime cover up too in your opinion. Q.E.D.

 

[TravelTime]

So TripAdvisor is part of a crime cover up too in your opinion. Q.E.D.

That is not what I said. Please do not twist my words.

 

[DannyTS]

That is not what I said. Please do not twist my words.

but this is what you implied. How ridiculous to believe that Tripadvisor deleates reviews reporting potentially life threatening situations? Would that not make them liable too?

 

[TravelTime]

but this is what you implied. How ridiculous to believe that Tripadvisor deleates reviews reporting potentially life threatening situations? Would that not make them liable too?

Tripadvisor does delete reviews. Hotels do contact reviewers who post bad reviews and make offers to them to change their reviews. I did not say Tripadvisor is part of the cover up. However, they do change and delete reviews. However this is completely off target.

Your assertion that if no one reported tainted alcohol on Tripadvior, means it must be false, makes no sense at all. I Do not know if no one ever reported it on Tripadvisor either.

This thread has gotten really ridiculous and anyone who reads it can decide what they think.

 

[DannyTS]

Tripadvisor does delete reviews. Hotels do contact reviewers who post bad reviews and make offers to them to change their reviews. I did not say Tripadvisor is part of the cover up. However, they do change and delete reviews.

I edited this, I reviewed my emails with TripAdvisor. You are not allowed to edit a review but you are allowed to delete one.

 

[TravelTime]

This is not true. I tried to edit a Tripadvisor review and i could not, it is against their rules. I was notified that i had to just post another review but the old one would still be there.

I have edited many reviews and deleted reviews on Tripadvisor.

But this is irrelevant. Your argument makes no sense.

 

[DannyTS]

I have edited many reviews and deleted reviews on Tripadvisor.

But this is irrelevant. Your argument makes no sense.

so in your opinion people who were poisoned with tainted alcohol agreed to delete TripAdvisor reviews because the resorts offered them something. Hundreds of guests i guess. This makes a lot of sense lol! So now, according to you, not only a stupid bartender is involved but it goes rather high up in the hotel hierarchy.

I am not sure you realize, Iberostar is a chain with 120 - 4 and 5 star hotels, not a highway motel.

 

[TravelTime]

so in your opinion people who were poisoned with tainted alcohol agreed to delete TripAdvisor reviews because the resorts offered them something. Hundreds of them i guess. This makes a lot of sense lol! So now, according to you, not only a stupid bartender is involved but it goes rather high up in the hotel hierarchy.

I never said that. You are drawing conclusions that sound silly. Anyone who reads this thread can draw their own conclusion about what I said. They do not need you to twist my words into fakes news.

BTW, looks like more bad news in the media: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news...can-resort-served-tainted-alcohol/2138296002/

 

[DannyTS]

I never said that. You are drawing conclusions that sound silly. Anyone who reads this thread can draw their own conclusion about what I said. They do not need you to twist my words into fakes news.

BTW, looks like more bad news in the media: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news...can-resort-served-tainted-alcohol/2138296002/

don't you even realize it is the same article written by the same journalist that was republished by another media outlet? I should have stopped at QED

 

[Karen G]

OK, I think this topic has run it's course. The end.