Pattaya high season hotel bookings well down on 2017 - but there could be a reason say THA

[balo]

8 hours ago, simoh1490 said:

National Parks for two, Royal Palace for three, and so on.

Uninteresting for most people. 

[simoh1490]

1 hour ago, balo said:

Uninteresting for most people. 

The majority of national parks we've been to have been simply outstanding, The royal palace gets a bit old after showing it to overseas visitors half a dozen times!

[JimmyJ]

7 hours ago, madmen said:

8 hours ago, bodymassagemyfriend said:

They absolutely dont in the low end. You can get even 10% discount if you pay cash like guest houses.

You must be kidding. Not a single guest house in the country will except credit cards , beads or shells. It's always always cash

 

I was sure an "inn" I stay at in Thailand is cash only, as the OTA's will let me book there but state that one pays cash upon arrival.

 

I finally asked though and found out they would do a cc for 3% fee. (A hotel in Vietnam same thing).

(I get more than that back from the cc so I used it).

[Easy Come Easy Go]

4 hours ago, Kim J said:

May I be so bold as to refer you back to post No 325 in this thread. Reminding us all that this thread is about Pattaya hotel bookings?

Have you stopped gorging on Swiss cheese yet, Kim? 

[adammike]

7 hours ago, Kim J said:

Maybe so. But deal with the establishment direct and most will prefer cash.

Whenever I book a guesthouse with Agoda or booking.com it's always pay at guesthouse cash only.

[madmen]

There are several hundred guest houses that can be booked using Agoda or similar, all of which accept credit cards!

That's just to hold the booking. You pay cash when you get there.!

[simoh1490]

1 hour ago, madmen said:

11 hours ago, simoh1490 said:

There are several hundred guest houses that can be booked using Agoda or similar, all of which accept credit cards!

That's just to hold the booking. You pay cash when you get there.!

Nonesence, there's plenty of ways to pay by credit card at either  guest houses directly or via booking sites beforehand, plenty.

[madmen]

Nonesence, there's plenty of ways to pay by credit card at either  guest houses directly or via booking sites beforehand, plenty.

Nope. 2 star hotels taking American express and visa.. To funny

[dallen52]

On 11/29/2018 at 2:12 PM, SheungWan said:

You have a hard life.

Done my 50 years if tax paying. 

Now I'm doing Thai paying. lol

Edited December 2, 2018 by dallen52

[dallen52]

19 hours ago, johng said:

21 hours ago, ebean001 said:

Show your driver's license. then you get thai rates for entry.

Doesn't work everywhere ,Floating market Pattaya for one.

Used to be free entry a few years ago. 

Went upmarket and $$$ 

Aquarium has Thai prices and several levels of farang price. 

Depends on the document you show.

Same some of the parks.

Thai free, farang (Up to you).

[ivor bigun]

Used to be free entry a few years ago. 
Went upmarket and $$$ 
Aquarium has Thai prices and several levels of farang price. 
Depends on the document you show.
Same some of the parks.
Thai free, farang (Up to you).

Used to get into floating market free but a few months ago went with our familly who were here and i had to pay,but afterwards went to the office,they took my pic and gave me a free vip pass,so now i get in free again ,cant wait unti next year when they come again :D

Sent from my SM-A720F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[jacko45k]

 

Show your driver's license. then you get thai rates for entry.

Not always but worth a try.

I got knocked back very recently, but it was a newly opened and as of yet incomplete theme park and introductory prices were in play, double for foreigners with no exceptions. 

[thaibeachlovers]

On ‎11‎/‎29‎/‎2018 at 12:45 PM, SheungWan said:

So then, from bad beach to no beach.

555555555555

I never stayed in Pattaya for the beach. My username refers to the beaches of Koh Phangan, Railay, Koh Lanta etc.

The only reason I didn't stay on one for my last year in paradise was that I would have been too sad as I have all the best memories of my times on them, and knowing it was for the last time would have made me too melancholy to enjoy them.

I had never lived in Chiang Mai before, so there was not that problem to endure.

[thaibeachlovers]

On ‎11‎/‎29‎/‎2018 at 12:56 PM, simoh1490 said:

There are a couple of beaches next to reservoirs in Chiang Mai which have most of the attributes of a beach apart from salt water. A better option for us however is somewhere like Mountain Float which is a series of buildings on rafts that float out in the middle of the expansive Mae Ngud reservoir, a great place to go and eat and relax for the day when the weather is hot.

 

I don't remember the name, but there was a small reservoir north of C M where my wife and I used to go to eat in small huts on the water's edge, or picnic on the grass by the lake. Nice and relaxing only minutes away from the city madness.

[thaibeachlovers]

On ‎11‎/‎29‎/‎2018 at 1:48 PM, Jingjock said:

This was forcasted 3 years ago on the internet, no one believed it would happen, now this number 1 family city is empty, the bar owners etc. etc are really worried, I can see a lot of them crashing if it stays this way much longer.

As one that has observed Pattaya for decades, there have always been too many bars since the turn of the century, but it's got worse in the past few years with the downturn in monger numbers. Anyone that bought a bar in the past 10 years must have either been blind, or over optimistic. Only a few have the magic formula to attract more than a few customers, and most were always doomed.

BTW, it's only been since Pattaya was touted as a "family destination" that it's all gone wrong. When it was "fun city" for mongers all was well and most bar owners did OK, as long as they were not idiots ( and there were more than a few of them ).

[jacko45k]

23 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

As one that has observed Pattaya for decades, there have always been too many bars since the turn of the century, but it's got worse in the past few years with the downturn in monger numbers. Anyone that bought a bar in the past 10 years must have either been blind, or over optimistic. Only a few have the magic formula to attract more than a few customers, and most were always doomed.

BTW, it's only been since Pattaya was touted as a "family destination" that it's all gone wrong. When it was "fun city" for mongers all was well and most bar owners did OK, as long as they were not idiots ( and there were more than a few of them ).

You are correct. The demise of Pattaya can all be laid at the hands of those attempting to label it a family destination. 

[jacko45k]

23 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

As one that has observed Pattaya for decades, there have always been too many bars since the turn of the century, but it's got worse in the past few years with the downturn in monger numbers. Anyone that bought a bar in the past 10 years must have either been blind, or over optimistic. Only a few have the magic formula to attract more than a few customers, and most were always doomed.

BTW, it's only been since Pattaya was touted as a "family destination" that it's all gone wrong. When it was "fun city" for mongers all was well and most bar owners did OK, as long as they were not idiots ( and there were more than a few of them ).

Double post.

Edited December 6, 2018 by jacko45k

[morrobay]

18 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

You are correct. The demise of Pattaya can all be laid at the hands of those attempting to label it a family destination. 

How is this related to the net effect of hotel occupancy. Of course I agree with the above from my viewpoint.  There are not enough family /regular tourists increases to compensate for decrease in sex tourists? There seems to be more reasons for the decrease in Europeans and hotel occupancy than just the bar scene. 

[jacko45k]

14 minutes ago, morrobay said:

How is this related to the net effect of hotel occupancy. Of course I agree with the above from my viewpoint.  There are not enough family /regular tourists increases to compensate for decrease in sex tourists? There seems to be more reasons for the decrease in Europeans and hotel occupancy than just the bar scene. 

Of course there is, my comment was more tongue in cheek. 

Pattaya has a deteriorating infrastructure and beaches and water conditions, along with tourists being deterred by an expensive currency and increasing prices. Building a shiny Mall does little to alleviate traffic or to tidy up the rather tatty streets laden with trash. 

There are some efforts being made to find alternative tourists, who are less discerning, but in reality those deter further the original European tourists.

[BestB]

15 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

Of course there is, my comment was more tongue in cheek. 

Pattaya has a deteriorating infrastructure and beaches and water conditions, along with tourists being deterred by an expensive currency and increasing prices. Building a shiny Mall does little to alleviate traffic or to tidy up the rather tatty streets laden with trash. 

There are some efforts being made to find alternative tourists, who are less discerning, but in reality those deter further the original European tourists.

If only they invested as much time, money and energy to

bring back westerns instead of pounding on Chinese and Indian doors. Strangely enough they were not all that worried about loosing the Russians 

[morrobay]

 

This sort of infrastructure in front of the Dusit Thani does not help bookings/return guests. When a guest wakes up and walks down to the beach imagining what they were shown in travel office and sees this.  That used to be a nice environment at that point.

Edited December 6, 2018 by morrobay

[Ctkong]

On 11/29/2018 at 3:11 PM, BritManToo said:

They're probably right about Pattaya.

Most Asians have access to cheap (slim and attractive) hookers in their own countries.

Ah.. that is where you are off the mark.. Asian men are so used to have a nightcap that they can’t sleep alone if didn’t bring their own partners.. moreover, they love varieties. ????

[Ctkong]

On 11/30/2018 at 12:10 AM, spidermike007 said:

An immigration officer asking a few questions is fairly routine. Being taken aside, and brought into an office to be grilled by two officers for 30 minutes is not routine. It is bizarre. I would have lost it and laid into those goons very hard. He was scared. Thailand is missing the mark and failing the test. 

Maybe the pattern of your friend’s traveling ( with some extensions) raised some eyebrows? I understand IOs are trained in these things so I believe your friend being pulled aside for questioning is not random sampling. There is more than meets the eye. 

[Ctkong]

On 11/29/2018 at 11:02 PM, marcusarelus said:

You only take the total to the bank.  4 Chinese stay in a room and you get paid for the room.  Who cares how much per person.  How many Brits come to Thailand is irrelevant.  How much they spend is.  Thailand wants less people with more money but that has never happened and I doubt it ever will.  You think your survey is accurate and I think Neilson is but one way or the other it's around 8 billion and it is from China.

I want to put the record straight. Firstly I am chinese. Secondly I spend average 200,000 tbaht each time I am in Thailand which is every month. I stayed 2 weeks a month here interspersed with Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Shanghai. My missus love thailand so much that she got a 20 year thai elite visa. So for me, thailand’s plan for less people but more money is valid. I also put in about 20 million baht in real estate here. Money I can afford to lose. 

So, yes. I would say not all Chinese are small spenders. We just spend our money more shrewdly. No bs bar fining and putting up to the girls moods. We just go to soapies instead. High end at that. 

[marcusarelus]

4 minutes ago, Ctkong said:

I want to put the record straight. Firstly I am chinese. Secondly I spend average 200,000 tbaht each time I am in Thailand which is every month. I stayed 2 weeks a month here interspersed with Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Shanghai. My missus love thailand so much that she got a 20 year thai elite visa. So for me, thailand’s plan for less people but more money is valid. I also put in about 20 million baht in real estate here. Money I can afford to lose. 

So, yes. I would say not all Chinese are small spenders. We just spend our money more shrewdly. No bs bar fining and putting up to the girls moods. We just go to soapies instead. High end at that. 

Since it is illegal to take that kind of money out of China how do you invest 20 million?  See I don't believe anything you have posted. ????

[Ctkong]

On 11/29/2018 at 9:06 PM, BestB said:

I guess scanners in China show little different figures, more like 1/3 of what your scanners show????????

 

Recently released data from the China Tourism Academy and Ctrip puts the average spending per Chinese international trip at $886

https://jingtravel.com/thailand-expects-10-million-chinese-tourists-also-plans-attract-high-end-visitors/

Be aware that Chinese travelers do not declare the correct amount to the authorities their spendings. Only those captured by the scanners.. chinese do not like to stand out as a spender due to scrutiny by the tax authorities. Those who appeared in Chinese dailies in China with their outrages spendings has the hidden power behind them so do not fear repercussions later on.

[marcusarelus]

11 minutes ago, Ctkong said:

Be aware that Chinese travelers do not declare the correct amount to the authorities their spendings. Only those captured by the scanners.. chinese do not like to stand out as a spender due to scrutiny by the tax authorities. Those who appeared in Chinese dailies in China with their outrages spendings has the hidden power behind them so do not fear repercussions later on.

Perhaps you are Malaysian and actually expect us to think you can carry 20 million out of China in your pockets.  Now tell the truth.  You are not a Chinese National and have no idea how Chinese nationals get money out of China. 

Edited December 6, 2018 by marcusarelus

[Ctkong]

On 11/29/2018 at 7:41 PM, Spidey said:

Unfortunately you have to drill down a bit to pick the truth out of this document.

 

Average spend per tourist per destination is very revealing. US top with $4462 per head. Thailand bottom of the list at $2026 per head.

 

Thailand attracts the bottom of the barrel Chinese tourists as it's considered a cheap destination but not with the attractions wealthy Chinese crave. They are selfie crazy. Why take a selfie with yet another temple (which they have in their own country) when they can have a selfie with the Golden Gate Bridge, Statue of Liberty, Tower Bridge, Nelsons Column, Eiffel Tower, Leaning Tower of Piza or any number of landmarks that are new and unlike anything in China and world famous? 

 

We don't get the big spending Chinese visitors here and never will.

My take is there is not much in thailand that a big spending Chinese visitor can spend on. Basically only hotels expenditure. Not much in restaurants and nightlife. Bangkok karaoke is not sophisticated unlike shanghai where a night for 4 people can cost about us$1000-1500 for a modest establishment. I lived in Bangkok on and off for more than 25 years so had a number of loaded Chinese visitors ( Koreans and Japanese too) from time to time. 

[Ctkong]

15 minutes ago, marcusarelus said:

Perhaps you are Malaysian and actually expect us to think you can carry 20 million out of China in your pockets.  Now tell the truth.  You are not a Chinese National and have no idea how Chinese nationals get money out of China. 

Ha ha . I have business in China past 20 years. Money in and out every month.  Nobody bring serious money out on their body . I understand they use contra system. You pay my friend in china and I pay whoever you wanted in Thailand. Tour companies also notorious in money laundering. 

[Ctkong]

35 minutes ago, marcusarelus said:

Since it is illegal to take that kind of money out of China how do you invest 20 million?  See I don't believe anything you have posted. ????

Sorry. I am not mainland Chinese but Malaysian Chinese. I am in tune with those mainland Chinese though. 

You can take that kind of money out of china if you want to invest in overseas. Why not? I have many Chinese friends buying real estate in Canada, America, Australia, NZ and Thailand too. 

So long as you get the approval of the State admins of foreign exchange showing where your money come from. 

Edited December 6, 2018 by Ctkong