Thomas Kohnstamm: Lonely Planet Writer, and a Liar
Lots of folks are buzzing this weekend and today about Thomas Kohnstamm (TK) and the move he pulled on Lonely Planet (LP). He seems proud of the fact that he deceived people. I feel for the folks at Lonely Planet. There products in general are awesome, and jack arses like this guy are gonna cause havoc once in a while.
Here’s a recap of what folks are saying around the web on this:
1st BBC article (where I found out about it)
Another BBC Article 5 minute audio on this one with folks from LP commenting on it
Gadling
My Blog entry on it
I’m sure TK is happy about all the free PR he is getting. If you are a blogger, don’t link to him or his book is what I say. If you do link rel=”nofollow” the link.
• Go to Homepage
• Next Article: Wend Magazine Now Available Online
Related Articles
Get Dumped and Go Around the World
Lonely Planet Author Sandra Bao confirmed for BootsnAll Party
Comments
What is BootBlog?
BootBlog is the company blog of the BootsnAll Travel Network, a company that has been connecting travellers since 1998. Our goal is to inspire, educate and cultivate an organic community of independent travellers. But what does that mean? Well, we love to travel and we love to connect other travellers who have the desire to get out and see this great world of ours. BootBlog will showcase what is going on around the office, around the company and within our community of travellers.Top Categories
Featured Post
One of the things that tends to happen when I talk to people about my job at BootsnAll is the, "Oh, you're so lucky!" moment. I do consider myself extremely fortunate to be able to write about travel every day - to do something I love so much that work doesn't feel …
[Read more] Member Spotlight
Those of you who read the BootBlog may remember my recent musings on how online friends become real-life friends. What some of you who read that article may not know is that I heard from several BootsnAll members after it was published who said, "Yeah, that's interesting and all, but we've been doing that for years now." And it's … [Read more]
Events
Awhile back I posted here about getting into the Boston Globe Travel Show for free. Turns out that was for the trade conference during the day on Friday Feb 19th, not the travel show for regular consumers like you and me that runs from the evening of Friday, February 19 to …
[Read more] 
BnA on Twitter
What are you doin'?
Mentions of BootsnAll in the Twittersphere
Any comments from / by the BBC are tainted as the BBC has a financial interest in Lonely Planet.
The LP guide books are not, to quote you, “There (sic) products in general are awesome”. The data is frequently inaccurate / wrong and it appears that the frequent updates are simply designed to generate cash flow rather than disseminate accurate information.
I live in S.E. Asia, and have done so continuously for over 16 years, and have seen the LP writers doing their work, seeking out benefits in return for a mention in a guide.
Once I happened upon one of these characters propping up a bar and collecting anecdotes, in return for a beer, from backpackers nearing the completion of their journeys. I asked him why would he not go out and check things for himself and he replied he couldn’t afford to on the budget allowed him to operate with.
No, Thomas Kohnstamm is not a liar, there is more than a grain of truth in what he says.
LP has stated a rail line operated in southwestern China for years after it was swept into a river by a landslide. They also boosted a hotel for long after it had been burnt to the ground.
These are serious errors resulting from information from earlier simply being regurgitated.