Koh Phangan crackdown continues: Ukrainian woman arrested for running illegal hostel

[webfact]

Koh Phangan crackdown continues: Ukrainian woman arrested for running illegal hostel

 

Picture: Thai News Agency

 

A Ukrainian woman has been arrested for illegally running a hostel on Koh Phangan.

 

Police said that Ms Olinna (name transliterated), was operating the Vagabond Hostel from a house.

 

Inside the property police found 150 beds in 12 rooms, along with accounting books which revealed that each of the beds were rented out for 250 baht per day, TNA reported.

 

The 46 year old Ukranian woman was charged with operating a hotel without the valid permits and also for violating the Building Control Act.

 

The arrest of Ms Olinna comes after police and local officials launched a crackdown on foreign owned hostels on Koh Phangan, which are believed to be operating illegally.

 

On Tuesday, police arrested a Lebanese man who was the manager of another Koh Phangan hostel.

Salem Hossam was charged with drug offences and faces deportation. He was the manager of the Wanderlust Hostel, which police said also operates illegally.

The Wanderlust hostel was one of six hostels on the island that police ordered to be closed back in January.

 

Source: Thai News Agency

 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2018-02-15

[HooHaa]

hmm, they be busy

[crazykopite]

Think this is the end of hostels on Koh Phangan problem is all the cheap wooden bungalows you used to see on the beaches have all gone to make way for more expensive accommodation years ago 250 baht would of got you a room on the beach but those days have long gone .

[sammieuk1]

Bad women out good women in.

[AlQaholic]

Yesa! and then stop the stupid drunken abomination they call the "full moon party".

[AJBangkok]

Don’t worry It’s only “foreign owned “ hostels without licenses. The Thai owned hostels without licenses are still around and as of now doing, better than ever.

[manhood]

I want to see the crackdowns on thai owned and illigal operation guest houses and the our boats and all the mafia structures and families running this island!!!!!!!!!!

But yes the easiest way is to point the finder on some foreigners, sure not legal working but the most harmless ones in between the mass of corrupt sharks!

[NextStationBangkok]

So, the Full Moon party is over!

[Get Real]

Good that they clean up the mess. To everybody on this forum that focus on that the crackdowns are only on foreigners running business is as usual a bunch of BS.
This time they might focus on that. Other times they have focused on Koh Samed and Thai owned business and all the Thai mafia that was there.
Look at the hotels and resorts that was Thai owned on the mountain top close to Petchabun, as antoher example.

That the crackdown regards foreigners on Koh Phangan, is quite natural to me out of 2 reasons:

 

• Too many of the hostels and guesthouses on that island in runned, owned or magaged by foreigners
• As a foreigner doing business in Thailand it is, and should be, more important to follow the rules.

Edited February 16, 2018 by Get Real

[peperobi]

My God is mean that during the full moon party time the income was higher the other legal operating property! Send those peoples back where they coming from after freezing their bank accounts!

[cyberfarang]

Somethings don`t make sense. 150 beds in 12 rooms. That means 12 beds in each room. Guests must have been crammed in like sardines. Seems details have been misconstrued in translation. 

 

If she was renting out 150 beds per night, that`s 37500 baht per day, a very lucrative business. My guess is that this woman must have been involved with more than one hostel.

[Hupaponics]

12 minutes ago, cyberfarang said:

Somethings don`t make sense. 150 beds in 12 rooms. That means 12 beds in each room. Guests must have been crammed in like sardines. Seems details have been misconstrued in translation. 

 

If she was renting out 150 beds per night, that`s 37500 baht per day, a very lucrative business. My guess is that this woman must have been involved with more than one hostel.

That's just 6 bunk beds in a dorm room. 

Attractive price for a backpacker, and they don't mind sleeping in dormitories.

 

Very good business though:) 

[shackleton]

All those quality tourists crammed into a room with 11 others 

plus 12 rooms  total

Hygiene maybe not a priority

 

 

[Jonah777]

...ah, but how many of us remember the good old days her in Thailand, when one could get a seaside tiny bungalow for 100 Baht and everything was hassle free and few worries.  We need to be thankful some of us got to enjoy Thailand before the idiots came here to screw things up.  

[ujayujay]

OK thenGood Job by the Authorities.

[The manic]

1 hour ago, Get Real said:

Good that they clean up the mess. To everybody on this forum that focus on that the crackdowns are only on foreigners running business is as usual a bunch of BS.
This time they might focus on that. Other times they have focused on Koh Samed and Thai owned business and all the Thai mafia that was there.
Look at the hotels and resorts that was Thai owned on the mountain top close to Petchabun, as antoher example.

That the crackdown regards foreigners on Koh Phangan, is quite natural to me out of 2 reasons:

 

• Too many of the hostels and guesthouses on that island in runned, owned or magaged by foreigners
• As a foreigner doing business in Thailand it is, and should be, more important to follow the rules.

Soi Cozy Beach next...PLEASE!

[elgenon]

Big chunk of change. I'm in love. Oh, too late.

[evadgib]

2 hours ago, AJBangkok said:

Don’t worry It’s only “foreign owned “ hostels without licenses. The Thai owned hostels without licenses are still around and as of now doing, better than ever.

Which as always is the real reason behind this purge.

[yogavnture]

how can u fit 150 beds in 12 rooms ? who would pay 250 baht for that?

[BigC]

2 hours ago, manhood said:

I want to see the crackdowns on thai owned and illigal operation guest houses and the our boats and all the mafia structures and families running this island!!!!!!!!!!

But yes the easiest way is to point the finder on some foreigners, sure not legal working but the most harmless ones in between the mass of corrupt sharks!

They have closed down thai businesses also plus these people had already been served notices since January and disregarded them so it’s their own fault

[evadgib]

17 minutes ago, yogavnture said:

how can u fit 150 beds in 12 rooms ? who would pay 250 baht for that?

"Moonies"

 

[CH1961]

3 hours ago, manhood said:

I want to see the crackdowns on thai owned and illigal operation guest houses and the our boats and all the mafia structures and families running this island!!!!!!!!!!

But yes the easiest way is to point the finder on some foreigners, sure not legal working but the most harmless ones in between the mass of corrupt sharks!

It is not important what you want and yes, the time for all the foreign outlaws will ending soon :-)

[brianj1964]

3 hours ago, cyberfarang said:

Somethings don`t make sense. 150 beds in 12 rooms. That means 12 beds in each room. Guests must have been crammed in like sardines. Seems details have been misconstrued in translation. 

 

If she was renting out 150 beds per night, that`s 37500 baht per day, a very lucrative business. My guess is that this woman must have been involved with more than one hostel.

if those figures are correct, it was probably a jealous local that informed the BIB, wanting some of that action

[FitnessHealthTravel]

Great! Send them home after a stint in the Bangkok Hilton.

[Zack61]

3 hours ago, Jonah777 said:

...ah, but how many of us remember the good old days her in Thailand, when one could get a seaside tiny bungalow for 100 Baht and everything was hassle free and few worries.  We need to be thankful some of us got to enjoy Thailand before the idiots came here to screw things up.  

I remember paying 20-60 baht for seaside bungalows on Samui and Phangan. Not more than two or three cars on the islands. Unrecognisable today. 

[CanuckThai]

Must have been some seriously nasty business in the mornings (250 people vying for an available loo), after a nights worth of Som Tam, larb moo, beers and whatever other party favours.

[plahgat]

7 hours ago, crazykopite said:

Think this is the end of hostels on Koh Phangan problem is all the cheap wooden bungalows you used to see on the beaches have all gone to make way for more expensive accommodation years ago 250 baht would of got you a room on the beach but those days have long gone .

Yepp, those days are long gone!

I remember back in 1987 I could get a private hut on Koh Samui for 30 baht/night or a nice bungalow in Chiang Mai for 40 baht/night! ; )

 

Plahgat

Edited February 16, 2018 by plahgat

[speckio]

5 hours ago, cyberfarang said:

Somethings don`t make sense. 150 beds in 12 rooms. That means 12 beds in each room. Guests must have been crammed in like sardines. Seems details have been misconstrued in translation. 

 

If she was renting out 150 beds per night, that`s 37500 baht per day, a very lucrative business. My guess is that this woman must have been involved with more than one hostel.

 

it is unlikely that she would have been able to fill every single bed consistently.  I would say she would be lucky if she got a quarter of the beds filled.  I sure as hell wouldn't want to stay at a place like that.. it's probably infested with bed bugs.. I can only imagine what type of person would stay at a place like that...(No money and poor hygiene is probably the normal type of customers she attracts)

 

[plahgat]

Just now, speckio said:

it is unlikely that she would have been able to fill every single bed consistently.  I would say she would be lucky if she got a quarter of the beds filled.  I sure as hell wouldn't want to stay at a place like that.. it's probably infested with bed bugs.. I can only imagine what type of person would stay at a place like that...(No money and poor hygiene is probably the normal type of customers she attracts)

 

They are called "Backpackers"! ; )

Plahgat

[ThaiFelix]

47 minutes ago, speckio said:

it is unlikely that she would have been able to fill every single bed consistently.  I would say she would be lucky if she got a quarter of the beds filled.  I sure as hell wouldn't want to stay at a place like that.. it's probably infested with bed bugs.. I can only imagine what type of person would stay at a place like that...(No money and poor hygiene is probably the normal type of customers she attracts)

 

I have stayed in many dormitory type establishments during my many years of traveling, especially back in the Youth Hostel days...I have slept in some real dives, but you know the two times I did come into contact with bed bugs was in 3 or 4 star hotels.  One in fact was a popular 4 star hotel in Nong Khai that was crawling with them after the lights went out.

 

As far as backpackers having poor habits of hygiene I never found the ratio any different to that of all walks of life I have come across.  Thats just my honest opinion after years of wonderful experience being amongst those people who can truly say they have lived in total freedom while seeing the world and the wonderful things it has to offer.  What experience do you have on which to base your opinion about backpackers, or have you just seen them through the car window and then arrived at major assumptions??