asiacafe

Just about every market I know of in the world has special pricing for locals at various establishments such as hotels, restaurants, museums, etc. There are often ways for locals to participate in discounts and/or special offers that "foreigners" or out-of-state persons cannot access or are unaware of how to qualify. In Hawaii it's call kamaaina rates where locals (and sometimes those that know locals) get special 'local' rates at hotels and other places. In New York, locals "pay what they wish" (including $0) to enter various museums (including the MET) whereas non-New Yorkers must pay the list rates. In Thailand they had Staycation rates during Covid which worked well for the hotels, filled some rooms and kept staff trained while earning some income for the hotels. Of course Thailand hotels might see the need to offer discounted rates to get locals to fill up the extra rooms that tourists aren't taking...rooms that locals probably don't really need as they live nearby or have friends to stay with or are saving up to spend on foreign vacations where they will be paying higher rates at those hotels than the locals are.