Difference between homestay and hotel in Thailand ?

[tebee]

My wife is looking at buying a homestay property - her money not mine! It never opened because the previous died just before it was completed and is being offered at a good price.

 

Now while I know what a homestay is, I've have no idea what sort of legal basis they operate on here and the differences between one and a hotel or indeed a hostel. Are they lightly to be affected by the clampdown on illegal hotels for instance?

 

Anyone with any insights here ?  

[lopburi3]

If daily/weekly it would clearly be illegal without a hotel licence - but maybe not enforced unless someone makes an issue - monthly might be OK if foreigners reported as required to immigration.  You might want to read this (although written about condos believe it is same principle for homestay rooms):  

http://www.khaosodenglish.com/featured/2018/06/24/thai-law-case-closed-on-airbnb-heres-why-it-wont-matter/

 

Quote

The prescribed punishment under the Hotels Act for operating a hotel business without a license is one year jail term and a fine not exceeding ฿20,000 (USD$645) on top of a daily fine not to exceed ฿10,000 per day as long as the violation continues.

 

[tebee]

On 1/29/2019 at 5:56 AM, lopburi3 said:

If daily/weekly it would clearly be illegal without a hotel licence - but maybe not enforced unless someone makes an issue - monthly might be OK if foreigners reported as required to immigration.  You might want to read this (although written about condos believe it is same principle for homestay rooms):  

http://www.khaosodenglish.com/featured/2018/06/24/thai-law-case-closed-on-airbnb-heres-why-it-wont-matter/

 

 

But a homestay is specifically not a hotel, more like a French chambre d'hote or an English B&B. I believe it runs under different legislation, I'm just trying to find out what !

[NCC1701A]

i believe it has to do with the number of rooms. not sure what the threshold is, six maybe? sorry for a poor answer. i remember this on another topic where someone wanted to do the same thing in a house.

12 minutes ago, tebee said:

I believe it runs under different legislation

 

[FritsSikkink]

24 minutes ago, tebee said:

But a homestay is specifically not a hotel, more like a French chambre d'hote or an English B&B. I believe it runs under different legislation, I'm just trying to find out what !

Have a look here:

 

https://www.interactivethailand.com/corporate/business-licenses/hotel-license/

 

Different options explained.

[tebee]

9 minutes ago, NCC1701A said:

i believe it has to do with the number of rooms. not sure what the threshold is, six maybe? sorry for a poor answer. i remember this on another topic where someone wanted to do the same thing in a house.

 

Ah I wonder where that was - searching for homestay on here only brings up one result other than this topic 

[tebee]

2 minutes ago, FritsSikkink said:

Have a look here:

 

https://www.interactivethailand.com/corporate/business-licenses/hotel-license/

 

Different options explained.

That's even more confusing  - the second paragraph contradicts the first !

 

You are required to obtain the hotel license as soon as you have at least one room rented out on a daily basis, whatever name is used (hostel, guest room, apartment or others).

Note: Residential buildings do not need to apply for a hotel license if there are only four rooms and less than 20 customers. The officer has to be informed thereof, and will go to check the place to classify it.

[madmen]

What's a home stay property? Home stay is the same as air bnb in other words it's a home for people to stay.

 

However what ever the building is excluding domestic condos if it's rented nightly then you need a hotel licence. If you don't register it as a hotel then that's OK as long as you you rent it out a minimum of 30 days at a time

 

 

[NCC1701A]

11 minutes ago, tebee said:

Note: Residential buildings do not need to apply for a hotel license if there are only four rooms and less than 20 customers. The officer has to be informed thereof, and will go to check the place to classify it.

this is what i read on the other topic.

[tebee]

16 minutes ago, madmen said:

What's a home stay property? Home stay is the same as air bnb in other words it's a home for people to stay.

 

However what ever the building is excluding domestic condos if it's rented nightly then you need a hotel licence. If you don't register it as a hotel then that's OK as long as you you rent it out a minimum of 30 days at a time

 

 

It a scheme promoted by the ministry of tourism and sports 

 

During your travel, choosing  homestay gives you the best opportunity to learn about local culture and the villagers’ life by getting an insight into their way of life, exchanging knowledge, as well as sharing their accommodation and food as if were part of the  family. In addition to the richness of local traditions, travelers are introduced to tourist sites and activities. By this way, travelers can meet many local people and can experience the simple and natural lifestyle of the countryside, an experience they never had the chance to have before. 

 

http://www.homestaythai.net

[madmen]

It a scheme promoted by the ministry of tourism and sports 
 
During your travel, choosing  homestay gives you the best opportunity to learn about local culture and the villagers’ life by getting an insight into their way of life, exchanging knowledge, as well as sharing their accommodation and food as if were part of the  family. In addition to the richness of local traditions, travelers are introduced to tourist sites and activities. By this way, travelers can meet many local people and can experience the simple and natural lifestyle of the countryside, an experience they never had the chance to have before. 
 
http://www.homestaythai.net

But can home stay be rented nightly? I don't think that would work without a special licence eg a hotel registration

Also what's the difference between home stay and air bnb?

[tebee]

1 hour ago, madmen said:

But can home stay be rented nightly? I don't think that would work without a special licence eg a hotel registration

Also what's the difference between home stay and air bnb?

Most seem to accept 1 night bookings https://www.homestay.com/thailand/phra-nakhon-si-ayutthaya/69640-homestay-in-ayutthaya-phra-nakhon-si-ayutthaya

 

Good question....

[impulse]

On 1/30/2019 at 11:21 AM, tebee said:

Ah I wonder where that was - searching for homestay on here only brings up one result other than this topic 

 

Try doing a Google search using your terminology.   That often returns more TVF results than a TVF search.

 

Edited January 31, 2019 by impulse

[tebee]

3 hours ago, impulse said:

 

Try doing a Google search using your terminology.   That often returns more TVF results than a TVF search.

 

I tried that too and it didn't bring up anything useful, However Googling "Thailand Hotel License" brought up these two - 

 

The definition of “Hotel” under the Hotel Act is stipulated as lodging premises, established for commercial purposes to provide temporary accommodation to a traveler or any person for a consideration (see Hotel Act Section 4). Certain exemptions exist as follows:

any residential premises open to the public for rental with no more than 4 rooms on all floors in total, whether in a single building or in several buildings, and with a total service capacity of not more than 20 guests, operating as a small business which provides an additional source of income for the owners. The owners of such premises are also required to report to the Hotel Registrar;

 

and 

 

Is the business exempted under the 4-20 privilege? An application is only needed if (i) the business qualifies as a hotel and (ii) such hotel is not license-free.

 

Under the Ministerial Regulation 2008, a hotel license is not required if the business 

has not more than four rooms on all floors in all buildings, 
has a total service capacity of no more than twenty guests,
qualifies as a small business which provides an additional source of income for the owner, and
reports its daily rental business to the government (hotel registrar).

If the business is in-line with these requirements, it is unclear whether it does not qualify as a hotel (“no hotel”) or whether it is a license-free hotel business (“type-zero hotel”). The latest court decisions seem to favor the latter interpretation.

[adjustedpete]

On 1/31/2019 at 12:26 AM, tebee said:

That's even more confusing  - the second paragraph contradicts the first !

 

You are required to obtain the hotel license as soon as you have at least one room rented out on a daily basis, whatever name is used (hostel, guest room, apartment or others).

Note: Residential buildings do not need to apply for a hotel license if there are only four rooms and less than 20 customers. The officer has to be informed thereof, and will go to check the place to classify it.

Absolutely correct, my friend has a homestay with 5 rooms, he had to close 1 room because of the rule that if you have 5 or more rooms you will be classed as a hotel therefore taxed at a much higher rate.

[tebee]

And then I find this....

 

In August 2016 an amendment was made to the Hotel Act for reclassification of buildings used for daily rentals.

 

This was effectively a blanket ban on any accommodation rented on a daily basis including Hotels obviously.

But, the reclassification also applies to all other buildings both residential and commercial.

 

....

The Hotel Act amendment also affects guesthouses, homestays, villa rentals, house rentals and even rooms above bars and restaurants.

In 2016 it was reported that over 500,000 rooms were being rented illegally under the existing law.

 

There was at that time an exemption for properties renting less than 5 rooms or less than 20 guests.

The amendment of 2016 removed this exemption and now virtually every building in Thailand must comply with the law which the government plans to have full compliance by 2021.

[blackcab]

Moved to the Real Estate forum, as this is developing into more of a discussion about property law.

[cmsally]

When they had the big hotel furore in Chiang Mai last year, it was clearly explained that any properties with less than 5 rooms and /or less than 20 occupants (in case of dormitories), could apply for a homestay license. These licenses are issued by the Amphur office. If you contact your local amphur office they should have more info.

I have never seen a small hotel less than 5 rooms have any problem in Chiang Mai if they have this license.

[tebee]

OK this could explain why this place appears so cheap, newbuild, 90% complete. 12 letting rooms, Bangkok outskirts for 3.9 Million. 

 

We were told the owner died before completion, but maybe they stopped w2ork when they changed and started enforcing the hotel act.

 

It certainly appears it  can't be a homestay with 12 rooms.

[bojo]

It may well not be legal to operate a homestay type business, but it could well be adapted (as not yet finished) for some other use perhaps. Could still be value there.....

[ThomasThBKK]

But why not get a hotel license? It's doable. Just make sure the building complies with hotel standards... Fire exits etc and let a lawyer look over it aka due diligence of the land and buikding permit.

It's not that hard to get a building permit, most are just doing it illegal because well... Thailand.



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[tebee]

1 hour ago, ThomasThBKK said:

But why not get a hotel license? It's doable. Just make sure the building complies with hotel standards... Fire exits etc and let a lawyer look over it aka due diligence of the land and buikding permit.

It's not that hard to get a building permit, most are just doing it illegal because well... Thailand.

 

Yes, but it was almost certainly built without complying to those standards - I suspect if it did it wouldn't be anything like as cheap. It also takes about 6 months of paperwork to get the licence. Homestay is a simple registration and one tenth of the fees - a whole 1000 baht for the licence ! 

 

Added to which I'm not sure if I want to end up running a 12 bedroom hotel, my wife already works 3 jobs and I can see much of the effort for this falling back to me. My UK ex used to run her parents 20 bed hotel after they got too old and I ended up having to help her there too. Though I suppose at least in Thai staff are relatively cheap.

 

A Homestay with a few people at a time for a little extra money seems a much more attractive proposition.