A friend of mine who used to run a guest house told me that the government is now requiring guest houses with less than 40 rooms to get a hotel license.  A hotel license in Thailand is a major expense for a small business, especially for the older guest houses which don't have the detailed documentation required.   As a consequence, numerous guest houses are closing, just before the beginning of the summer backpacking season.

 

Has anyone else heard of this?  Does anyone have additional information?

Seems like its more than a guesthouse with 40 rooms.

The rule was 11 or 12 rooms = guesthouse. Above that threshold = hotel.

22 minutes ago, IsaanFam said:

The rule was 11 or 12 rooms = guesthouse. Above that threshold = hotel.

Perhaps, but the rule has not been enforced until the last month or two.  I think the majority of guesthouses in Chiang Mai are between 12 and 40 rooms. 

 

When my friend inquired into getting a hotel license over a year ago she was told there was no such license for a business such as her guesthouse.  It has 18 rooms.

The law. The envelopes. The Thailand.

 

Basically I think the law always said that this would require a hotel license. Just like you must pay 10,000 THB fine if you drive at nights with a red plate (so I was told multiple times),

 

I guess the situation with your friend is just a single incident and he/she knows what to increase to make problems go away.

No hotel license if 4 rooms or less, 20 people or less. Don't know where the above info came from.

The authorities are starting the long overdue crackdown on illegal homestay. This may be a consequence of that crackdown?

6 hours ago, IsaanFam said:

The law. The envelopes. The Thailand.

 

Basically I think the law always said that this would require a hotel license. Just like you must pay 10,000 THB fine if you drive at nights with a red plate (so I was told multiple times),

 

I guess the situation with your friend is just a single incident and he/she knows what to increase to make problems go away.

My friend is no longer in the guesthouse business.  However according to her several guesthouses in the old city have been forced to close.  This may be a case of envelopes no longer working, much like with the late night bars that are no more (I know, lock-ins are available.  I like a bar that is openly open, with lights, music, pretties...).

The law has always been that  more than 4 rooms is a hotel . There has never been anything such as a guesthouse license . The local government has started a crackdown in the past week and apparently many places ordered closed and yesterday a few taken to court and fined. I don't see anything on the local news but was told there is a LINE group with all the details.

It seems to be the Tesabahn enforcing the rules checking for hotel license and also building license (which allows a place to be a hotel).

 

The big guys going after the little guys yet again,  it is a trend.

19 minutes ago, daoyai said:

The big guys going after the little guys yet again,  it is a trend.

I don't know of specific info. but it is possible the THA put on the pressure. It would be the smaller expensive boutique places that would be the target if so, cheap guest houses would be collateral damage.

8 hours ago, daoyai said:

The big guys going after the little guys yet again,  it is a trend.

What is wrong with enforcing the law? If Thais don't like it, they can change the law.

3 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

What is wrong with enforcing the law? If Thais don't like it, they can change the law.

The Thai's can change the law?  Including the small business people?  Are you aware of what kind of government Thailand has now?

 

As noted above, until recently owners of small guest houses were turned away when they asked about hotel licenses.  Now they are being put out of business for not having them.  Most people would agree that this is wrong.

I haven't heard of guest houses being turned away when applying. Its a case of having to front up the costs the same as a big hotel. Hardly fair when potential earnings are considered. In addition to the hotel license anyone wanting to start the process will now need a "building permit" from the Tesabahn before they can start the process of Hotel License. I heard of one area where the closure has been strictly enforced and all told they could not reopen until they got the right paperwork!

In the present crackdown I have heard places 4 rooms or less are exempt because of the rule as above( - hotels being more than 4 rooms).

14 hours ago, heybruce said:

The Thai's can change the law?  Including the small business people?  Are you aware of what kind of government Thailand has now?

 

As noted above, until recently owners of small guest houses were turned away when they asked about hotel licenses.  Now they are being put out of business for not having them.  Most people would agree that this is wrong.

Yes, I am well aware of everything you reference. You have to read between the lines.

I tend to work on the principle that "life is <deleted> and then you die". That way I'm pleasantly surprised when something nice does happen.

It`s all on the crackdown with illegal renting and don`t pay the tax

Rent out a room for less than 30 days and having more than 5 rooms you need to have a hotel licence 

To get that licence you need a Building permit based on a Hotel( Fire escape and a lot more) 

Your Guesthouse(Hotel) need to be a proper Thai company with a tax nr. ,Social security you need to pay for your staff and the proper licence for selling Food, Alcohol, music, TV etc.

       

4 rooms or less, good luck with making any money

Mixed feelings here - so many whinge on about the lack of enforced health and safety rules in the Kingdom - then when perhaps the government tries to crack down on maybe unlicensed hostels / guesthouses which could be total death traps if there was a fire- more whinging .

You cant have your cake and eat it .   

If a guesthouse is 5 rooms or more it has always (by law) classed as a hotel (same laws)

Only way to avoid is if guests stay 30 days or more

33 minutes ago, peterb17 said:

Mixed feelings here - so many whinge on about the lack of enforced health and safety rules in the Kingdom - then when perhaps the government tries to crack down on maybe unlicensed hostels / guesthouses which could be total death traps if there was a fire- more whinging .

You cant have your cake and eat it .   

TV posters moan about everything . 

On 5/24/2018 at 4:26 PM, thaibeachlovers said:

What is wrong with enforcing the law? If Thais don't like it, they can change the law.

If you don't agree with the law, then remember you have a middle finger.

2 hours ago, chickenrunCM said:

4 rooms or less, good luck with making any money

A 4 room GH coupled with an accessory business say on the first floor can make a modest profit. Good news, you'll like make more than your staff pp. Bad news, you will make 1/2 what staff makes per hour. 

On 5/24/2018 at 7:11 AM, cmsally said:

It seems to be the Tesabahn enforcing the rules checking for hotel license and also building license (which allows a place to be a hotel).

 

The building permit is quite an issue for most people. This is because current construction requirements for hotels are quite stringent, and the chances are that older buildings do not comply in fundamental aspects of their construction. There are very few existing large format buildings that could easily comply with the regulations.

 

One aspect, for example, is the quantity of available car parking spaces (on road parking does not count). Many businesses in a central location cannot comply with this aspect of the regulation. This is why many new buildings have the first few floors dedicated only to car parking.

 

In the past it has simply been a case of people turning a blind eye, but I think the problem is now that the licensed hotels are seeing such a decline in their occupancy that they are fighting back.

On 5/23/2018 at 10:39 PM, heybruce said:

A friend of mine who used to run a guest house told me that the government is now requiring guest houses with less than 40 rooms to get a hotel license.  A hotel license in Thailand is a major expense for a small business, especially for the older guest houses which don't have the detailed documentation required.

Happiness to the (rich, well-to-do, elite, hi-so) people.  Small businesses will be decimated in order to protect the interests of the connected who can petition the government to find ways to limit the competition.  Pesky guest houses infringe on the profits of big hotels.  Brave new (unelected) world. 

Actually the parking space rule seems to have disappeared. But for buildings 3 storeys and over you need fire escape . Also need fire alarm, cctv and a number of other things. A lot of the older places with space should be OK but the present craze for turning shophouses into hostels is going to turn into a train wreck !

There is a large group of guest house owners who apparently are going to petition the government for a change in licensing laws. I don't know how successful they will be. 

I'd heard that a lot of the hoopla about this was because of the AirBNB operators have been cutting in on the hotel business.  It appears that the government has essentially closed down AirBNB in Thailand.  

5 hours ago, peterb17 said:

Mixed feelings here - so many whinge on about the lack of enforced health and safety rules in the Kingdom - then when perhaps the government tries to crack down on maybe unlicensed hostels / guesthouses which could be total death traps if there was a fire- more whinging .

You cant have your cake and eat it .   

I have no problem with enforcing existing laws upon new entrants into the guesthouse business.  However small businesses, often families who rely on the guesthouse for their primary source of income, that have been allowed to operate for decades without the license and were told it was unnecessary when they tried to get one, should be allowed a generous grace period to come into compliance with existing rules or find another business.

1 hour ago, MrBrad said:

I'd heard that a lot of the hoopla about this was because of the AirBNB operators have been cutting in on the hotel business.  It appears that the government has essentially closed down AirBNB in Thailand.  

I received 5 Airbnb reservations this week. Three are staying at my GH presently

13 hours ago, JAZZDOG said:

I received 5 Airbnb reservations this week. Three are staying at my GH presently

No one is complaining about Airbnb reservations at guesthouses. They are complaining about them turning condos into short time rental places, with all the expected problems from that.