Busted: People running a hotel at Bangkok condominium arrested/charged in police/immigration raid

 

Image: Thai Tourist Police Bureau page on Facebook

 

The Thai Tourist Police Bureau page on Facebook reported that a 40 strong contingent of their men, immigration, protection agency officials and interpreters descended on a luxury Bangkok condominium on Thursday. 

 

The C Ekkamai had been reported to the authorities after complaints that people were renting rooms on a daily basis, not reporting the whereabouts of foreigners and effectively running a hotel in a condominium. 

 

The TPB reported that one person was arrested for running a hotel without a licence. (Neither their name nor nationality was mentioned).

 

The owners of five rooms were charged with not reporting foreigners staying in their property. 

 

Five people were charged with illegally offering their rooms for daily rental. 

 

One person - who seemed to be a foreigner - was charged with not staying at an address they had previously reported.

 

Thaivisa notes that the issue of people offering daily rental through sites such as AirBnB and Booking.com has blown up recently. 

 

Residents at condominiums are furious that facilities they paid for are being used for outsiders such as tourists to enjoy. They claim their safety is also at risk.

 

Only monthly and longer rentals are legal which led to Thursday's raid.

 

It was earlier reported that the C Ekkamai had its own check in desk and maid service and people there were flagrantly flouting the law - something the juristic person claimed they were powerless to stop. 

 

The TPB site added that they were looking for the web host who advertised the condos online. 

 

Source: Thai Tourist Police Bureau

 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2019-05-25

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Excellent news!

7 minutes ago, rooster59 said:

One person - who seemed to be a foreigner - was charged with not staying at an address they had previously reported.

Seemed to be a foreigner? So he could actually be Thai?

 

BTW what is  luxury condominium, isn't that what all claim now days?

Great Work! now go get the other 50,000 renting rooms illegally across thailand

Yes great news for me with no air bnb or competition in my area,I can charge more for my rentals now.

Close to the Embassy>>>

Good, these lets are a damn nuisance to legitimate residents, hurts the Hotel business and is illegal.

2 hours ago, RotBenz8888 said:

Seemed to be a foreigner? So he could actually be Thai?

 

BTW what is  luxury condominium, isn't that what all claim now days?

not sure about the luxury part but will definitely be a better place to live with these bloodsuckers clamped..

https://www.google.com/maps/place/คอนโด+C+Ekkamai+(ซี+เอกมัย)/@13.7399635,100.5875473,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m7!3m6!1s0x30e29e4ee69a3bb7:0xf851ed765204afc5!8m2!3d13.7399635!4d100.589736!9m1!1b1

 

 

The ratings are hilarious, luxury they say ... -.-

I suppose they can try and get the toothpaste back in the tube, but I reckon it will be one bust so they can say they've addressed it and then they'll get back to stuff that matters.

Obviously the work of a jealous snitch as they are all around.

They nicked a foreigner for not staying where he was registered.... seriously?

He rents a room for a night or two and gets busted for it.... is there a Tourist Industry for Dummies book available that  the Thai authorities might be able to borrow?

Edited May 25, 20197 yr by lemonjelly

Super happy something is finally being done. Hope they continue and raid more condos, mine included. 

13 minutes ago, asiaexpat said:

Super happy something is finally being done. Hope they continue and raid more condos, mine included. 

Party houses are just as bad. In Hua Hin it's terrible.

You can always tell on the adverts, there are a million cheap inflatables in the pool!

Doesn't affect me but I can imagine if you spend 10+ million on a house/condo you would be pissed off with the noise and security issues. 

Also hogging all the facilities 

 

We live not far from there and there are many other (not so luxury) condos around here that rent out to Chinese for a day or two.

It is so easy to see because every morning you can see huge groups of them leaving, pushing their suitcases along.

Yes this area (Thong Lor/Ekamai) is very popular with these tourists.

28 minutes ago, Sticky Wicket said:

Party houses are just as bad. In Hua Hin it's terrible.

You can always tell on the adverts, there are a million cheap inflatables in the pool!

Doesn't affect me but I can imagine if you spend 10+ million on a house/condo you would be pissed off with the noise and security issues. 

Also hogging all the facilities 

 

So where can large families stay for a weekend or weeks holiday.....hotels, thats it?....Thailand has a large domestic and international tourist industry, 

13 hours ago, rooster59 said:

13 hours ago, rooster59 said:

one person was arrested for running a hotel without a licence

The Thai Tourist Police Bureau page on Facebook reported that a 40 strong contingent of their men, immigration,

Wow - a 40 "strong" contingent of Tourist police to arrest one person, that one must have been difficult to subdue.   Good job!  If they can do this daily, may solve the problem in a year or so.

The thourism authorety of Thailand is just afraid of AirBnB. That's all about it. 

9 hours ago, observer90210 said:

Obviously the work of a jealous snitch as they are all around.

I agree.

So, 40 law enforcement officials and translators were pulled away from their somtum and donuts for this? 

14 hours ago, RotBenz8888 said:

Seemed to be a foreigner? So he could actually be Thai?

 

BTW what is  luxury condominium, isn't that what all claim now days?

A luxury condo in Thailand, is <33m2, with a miniature bathroom....an expensive crap hole!

Edited May 26, 20197 yr by ChrisY1

Chinese.

12 hours ago, Orton Rd said:

Good, these lets are a damn nuisance to legitimate residents, hurts the Hotel business and is illegal.

Nuisance? The annual income of a handful of airbnbs supports a higher property valuation.

Hurts the hotel business? The source of the crackdown then.

Is illegal? The law is made in the interests of the people, not a small section of super rich, often foreign, hotel owners.

Tourism accounts for 12% of GNP. Higher accomodation costs will have what effects on the economy?

Airbnb are run by little people who have made good by working hard and saving. 

The benefits of tourism should go to the people not a handful of monied gentry.

46 minutes ago, baansgr said:

So where can large families stay for a weekend or weeks holiday.....hotels, thats it?....Thailand has a large domestic and international tourist industry, 

Yes, tough sh1t.

If they can't afford it stay at home, or buy a tent/caravan!

Plenty of very cheap accommodation in Thailand

You obviously have never had to suffer 30/40 thais in the house next door, up all night with the lights & music on full blare.

It's not like you can call the police for assistance either

14 hours ago, rooster59 said:

The Thai Tourist Police Bureau page on Facebook reported that a 40 strong contingent of their men, immigration, protection agency officials and interpreters descended on a luxury Bangkok condominium on Thursday. 

Seems like 34 troopers too many.   They should have done five at the same time instead with smaller contingents instead of just one.

Hopefully these people will choose to go to court and bring the matter to a head. The rules are ambiguous as it can be construed that they rely on one act overriding another Act. There is no getting around not reporting the whereabouts of foreigners  so fines are applicable in that respect. 

I was a bit surprised to see that the tourist police were involved in this deal, I guess I misunderstood their roll?

Blows my mind how much money (800/400K, etc) and effort people are willing to do to stay in Thailand.  Like a fugitive sentenced to Hell fighting to stay in Thailand (heaven), I too was one of those dumb idiots convinced of the same until time showed me the reality was NOT the Elysium I bought into. 

Edited May 26, 20197 yr by mike787

 

One person - who seemed to be a foreigner

 

40 police and interpreters couldn't work out the above persons country of origin. Why bother raiding then?

I am always amused when I see Chinese pushing their suitcase in malls, restaurants etc. Like taking their dog for a walk.

 

Saw some Chinese with their dogs here on the beach in California. No dogs allowed on the beach. They just don't care about the laws and etiquette of where they are. And, of course, they were shouting to each other. About 4 feet away from each other. Do they all have hearing problems? : )

One day I was jogging and i had to pass between 2 Chinese. My hearing was permanently damaged. : )