Frenchman arrested for running unlicensed hotel on Koh Samui

[NightSky]

7 hours ago, hotchilli said:

 

Just a suggestion... nothing personal.. read the post again!

I did re-read thanks, and....

 

[Traubert]

9 hours ago, parallaxtech said:

I live on Chaweng Mountain and many of the villas/houses are rented daily/weekly/monthly on Airbnb.  The few of us who live here all year have to put up with loud parties until 6:00 am, idiots parking in our driveway, and motorcycles roaring up and down the mountain at all hours.  Are the police just being paid off or is there anything I can do?

Was it you who grassed him?

 

Just asking like.... ????

[PoorSucker]

3 hours ago, Traubert said:

Was it you who grassed him?

 

Just asking like.... ????

Guess you don't know where Ban Bang Por is located.... 

A clue, it's not in Chaweng. 

[tigerfeet]

15 hours ago, parallaxtech said:

I live on Chaweng Mountain and many of the villas/houses are rented daily/weekly/monthly on Airbnb.  The few of us who live here all year have to put up with loud parties until 6:00 am, idiots parking in our driveway, and motorcycles roaring up and down the mountain at all hours.  Are the police just being paid off or is there anything I can do?

get 4 doberman let them run free or self made pot holes to slow them down or buy a big set of speakers and play thai songs very loud keep them up all day loads you can do 

 

[Tropicalevo]

13 hours ago, Pravda said:

First it was unlimited  border runs. The it came crackdown on tourists visas. Then retirees (who were ironically cheering against those filthy backpackers) were targeted with new seasoning rules. Soon health insurance. Now it's TM30.

 

Next: Arrogant Farangs who still think they own a house in Thailand.

 

Yes, this next crackdown is coming like it or not. 

I am not sure what you are alluding to. Are you complaining that Thailand is now enforcing the laws, some of which have been in place for quite a long time???

[BestB]

8 minutes ago, Tropicalevo said:

I am not sure what you are alluding to. Are you complaining that Thailand is now enforcing the laws, some of which have been in place for quite a long time???

I think what he is saying is either they do nothing or go over the top with doing something and then back to doing nothing.

 

no consistency  or fairness at all. 

 

In case of OP, in most countries you would get fined not arrested

[monkeycu]

It amazes me how quick the police got the arrest warrant for a victimless crime

Someone is robbed, raped or murdered and it takes forever to think about it

[epicstuff]

lots of hate comments . But All these regulation the goverment is enforcing, takes away oppertunities  for  young   entrepreneurs to enter the hotel and tourism industry and  offering  unrivalled accomodation to guest who make   that make the extra effort to look elsewhere  for their bookings.  

 

If I started on a budget and I can offer a better deal  by letting and subletting  and renting through air BNB why not?. this is all about Hotel greed and goverment  Tax....  there are a lot of people caught in tough place,  condo and villa owners trying to subsidize their life style here, with ever changing goverment rules

 

. 

[Sealbash]

First it was unlimited  border runs. The it came crackdown on tourists visas. Then retirees (who were ironically cheering against those filthy backpackers) were targeted with new seasoning rules. Soon health insurance. Now it's TM30.
 
Next: Arrogant Farangs who still think they own a house in Thailand.
 
Yes, this next crackdown is coming like it or not. 

Very rude of Thailand to expect us to follow the law


Sent from my iPhone using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[ParadiseLost]

4 hours ago, epicstuff said:

lots of hate comments . But All these regulation the goverment is enforcing, takes away oppertunities  for  young   entrepreneurs to enter the hotel and tourism industry and  offering  unrivalled accomodation to guest who make   that make the extra effort to look elsewhere  for their bookings.  

 

If I started on a budget and I can offer a better deal  by letting and subletting  and renting through air BNB why not?. this is all about Hotel greed and goverment  Tax....  there are a lot of people caught in tough place,  condo and villa owners trying to subsidize their life style here, with ever changing goverment rules

Geez - the definition of 'entitlement'.

 

Thailand does not owe you anything. You are free to invest in a company, with a legitimate Thai partner - why is that not good enough?

 

Subsidizing your 'life-style'... F. F. S.

[ChipButty]

Seems a bit over the top 22 rooms spent all that money and doing it illegal Im sure he cannot be that stupid I guess we will never know had he already handed over the brown envelops ??

[sanemax]

On 5/28/2019 at 11:47 AM, webfact said:

Supalerk said police summoned the businessman to face charges of illegally running a hotel, but he refused to turn up at the police station. Police later learned that he planned to fly from the island to Suvarnabhumi Airport on Tuesday and intended to leave the country, so they obtained and executed an arrest warrant from the Samui Court.

 

Wonder how they found that out ?

[zyphodb]

5 hours ago, epicstuff said:

lots of hate comments . But All these regulation the goverment is enforcing, takes away oppertunities  for  young   entrepreneurs to enter the hotel and tourism industry and  offering  unrivalled accomodation to guest who make   that make the extra effort to look elsewhere  for their bookings.  

 

If I started on a budget and I can offer a better deal  by letting and subletting  and renting through air BNB why not?. this is all about Hotel greed and goverment  Tax....  there are a lot of people caught in tough place,  condo and villa owners trying to subsidize their life style here, with ever changing goverment rules

 

. 

But youre missing the point, it's doing exactly what they want it to do. Only Thais with the right connections are allowed to make money from the hotel & tourist industry, anyone else are unwanted competition, and they don't want that.....

[BestB]

5 hours ago, Sealbash said:

Very rude of Thailand to expect us to follow the law


Sent from my iPhone using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

Laws keep changing , hard to keep up which one to follow

[skills32]

The big problem for Thailand is that illegal hotels don't collect or pay vat.

 

[BestB]

2 hours ago, skills32 said:

The big problem for Thailand is that illegal hotels don't collect or pay vat.

 

The problem is you do not know what you talking about .

 

the only reason tern illegal being used is because hotels do not have hotel license but room for rent license.

 

hotel license allows daily rental, room for rent allows minimum 30 days.

 

hotel license are not being issued after building has been built.

 

zero to do with taxes or anything else 

[PoorSucker]

12 hours ago, epicstuff said:

lots of hate comments . But All these regulation the goverment is enforcing, takes away oppertunities  for  young   entrepreneurs to enter the hotel and tourism industry and  offering  unrivalled accomodation to guest who make   that make the extra effort to look elsewhere  for their bookings.  

 

If I started on a budget and I can offer a better deal  by letting and subletting  and renting through air BNB why not?. this is all about Hotel greed and goverment  Tax....  there are a lot of people caught in tough place,  condo and villa owners trying to subsidize their life style here, with ever changing goverment rules

 

. 

Yes, all thoose stupid regulations like fire escapes on every floor. 

[GeorgeCross]

just interested but was this guy renting the whole villas (villa rental) or individual rooms in them (hotel style)?

 

interested because i was talking to a friend in hua hin the other night who rents his villa out and he was adamant hotel act does not cover whole house/villa rentals if less than 5 rooms and 20 guests. heard the same from a few people last few weeks. renting individual rooms obviously does apply

 

 

[Tropicalevo]

19 hours ago, GeorgeCross said:

just interested but was this guy renting the whole villas (villa rental) or individual rooms in them (hotel style)?

 

interested because i was talking to a friend in hua hin the other night who rents his villa out and he was adamant hotel act does not cover whole house/villa rentals if less than 5 rooms and 20 guests. heard the same from a few people last few weeks. renting individual rooms obviously does apply

 

 

Your friend would need a villa licence as well as a pool licence if his villa has a swimming pool.

[BestB]

22 hours ago, GeorgeCross said:

just interested but was this guy renting the whole villas (villa rental) or individual rooms in them (hotel style)?

 

interested because i was talking to a friend in hua hin the other night who rents his villa out and he was adamant hotel act does not cover whole house/villa rentals if less than 5 rooms and 20 guests. heard the same from a few people last few weeks. renting individual rooms obviously does apply

 

 

Daily rentals are prohibited without a hotel license no matter of hotel , condo or villa.

 

previously the 5 rooms , 20 guest was allowed but with the latest amendment to the law no longer is.

 

many still like to claim it is though, so tell your friend if he believes it’s legal, why authorities raid and arrest condo owners for daily rentals ????

[BestB]

On 5/30/2019 at 12:30 AM, PoorSucker said:

Yes, all thoose stupid regulations like fire escapes on every floor. 

But it is silly because fire escape is not required for 30 day rentals.

 

does that mean people who stay monthly can burn ?

 

 

[ThomasThBKK]

2 hours ago, BestB said:

Daily rentals are prohibited without a hotel license no matter of hotel , condo or villa.

 

previously the 5 rooms , 20 guest was allowed but with the latest amendment to the law no longer is.

 

many still like to claim it is though, so tell your friend if he believes it’s legal, why authorities raid and arrest condo owners for daily rentals ????

 

There's nothing published after the 2016 Hotel Amendment act: https://www.duensingkippen.com/thailandpropertylawblog/?p=243

No entry in the Royal Gazette about hotels after that.

The amendment doesn't apply to mentioned housings (4/20). 

 

 

if your source is myillegalhot....... they are wrong.

[GeorgeCross]

27 minutes ago, ThomasThBKK said:

 

There's nothing published after the 2016 Hotel Amendment act: https://www.duensingkippen.com/thailandpropertylawblog/?p=243

No entry in the Royal Gazette about hotels after that.

The amendment doesn't apply to mentioned housings (4/20). 

 

 

if your source is myillegalhot....... they are wrong.

 

so i read all the linked articles and my buddy was in fact right then?

 

Quote

The Hotel Act restricts rentals of less than 30 days without a license. But there is an exception to this for properties with four bedrooms or less and where the income earned from doing so is not the operator’s primary source of income

 

lucky i took the time and not give it the big one down our local tonight!

 

seems a mess if its a company owned property (foreigner nominee) but all legit if in  a thais name and they are working.

 

thanks for the links!

 

 

[GeorgeCross]

if they ever clamp down on this things are going to get messy..

 

Quote

Thus, if any company—whether Thai or off-shore—owns a house or condo in Thailand and someone, including the director, stays there even for one day, that company will be liable to pay HLT tax.

 

and

 

Quote

They may then charge you an amount equivalent to 12.5% of total amount of money that they think you did, or could have, earned by renting it during the entire preceding year. Thus again, if your property is subject to assessable rental income for even one day, then the HLT tax is payable in an amount of 12.5% of the total rental value for the entire year.

 

ouch!

 

src: https://www.duensingkippen.com/thailandpropertylawblog/?p=222

[GeorgeCross]

3 hours ago, BestB said:

Daily rentals are prohibited without a hotel license no matter of hotel , condo or villa.

 

previously the 5 rooms , 20 guest was allowed but with the latest amendment to the law no longer is.

 

many still like to claim it is though, so tell your friend if he believes it’s legal, why authorities raid and arrest condo owners for daily rentals ????

 

i think 4/20 rule applies to whole building not just the residence so unless the condo is very very small (!) they'd be breaking the law?

 

 

[BestB]

1 hour ago, ThomasThBKK said:

 

There's nothing published after the 2016 Hotel Amendment act: https://www.duensingkippen.com/thailandpropertylawblog/?p=243

No entry in the Royal Gazette about hotels after that.

The amendment doesn't apply to mentioned housings (4/20). 

 

 

if your source is myillegalhot....... they are wrong.

So tell me again then how and why condo owners are arrested and made to pay huge fines for doing daily rentals. 

[BestB]

44 minutes ago, GeorgeCross said:

 

so i read all the linked articles and my buddy was in fact right then?

 

 

lucky i took the time and not give it the big one down our local tonight!

 

seems a mess if its a company owned property (foreigner nominee) but all legit if in  a thais name and they are working.

 

thanks for the links!

 

 

Yes reading transnational of the act would appear to allow it, in actual fact it does not and this is why air bnb is also illegal.

 

if you search for past articles on air bnb and court ruling , I am sure it will point out which section of the law or act they apply.

 

i can only speak from personal experience and what I was told by the courts and that is no daily rentals without hotel license .

[ThomasThBKK]

2 hours ago, GeorgeCross said:

if they ever clamp down on this things are going to get messy..

 

 

and

 

 

ouch!

 

src: https://www.duensingkippen.com/thailandpropertylawblog/?p=222

 

Yes, thats why you own the house directly via superficies in own name. 

Building permit, house == in your name. Never ever put it into the companies balance sheet.

 

Basic company structuring.

 

1 hour ago, BestB said:

So tell me again then how and why condo owners are arrested and made to pay huge fines for doing daily rentals. 

 

Because this doesn't apply to condominiums? Did you ever see a condominium with 4 rooms? No. 

Legally the whole Condos in a Condonimium building are one and the same "house".

 

This is just for residential houses/shacks/lowrise buildings privately owned, not in joined ownership structures! In the last ammendment from 2016 they actually eased the rules, not made it harder.

[ThomasThBKK]

2 hours ago, BestB said:

Yes reading transnational of the act would appear to allow it, in actual fact it does not and this is why air bnb is also illegal.

 

if you search for past articles on air bnb and court ruling , I am sure it will point out which section of the law or act they apply.

 

i can only speak from personal experience and what I was told by the courts and that is no daily rentals without hotel license .

 

Ok i just did that, here: https://bk.asia-city.com/city-living/news/heres-what-airbnb-ban-really-means-bangkok

 

Quote

Another Airbnb host, who owns a three-bedroom house in Thonglor and rents it out for B4,600/night, said they didn’t need to worry because they rented a house, not a condo. “I’m renting out an entire home, not a single room,” she said. “I’m the owner of the property and I’m not doing anything to cause trouble to society or anyone around me. But if there’s an actual law enforced, then I’m happy to abide by the law.”

---

“The Airbnb business model is not illegal. It’s the people who use it—renting out their places short-term—that’s making it illegal."

---

Chris supports this argument, pointing to a clause in the Hotel Act that exempts small residential properties. “Any residential premises that are open for rent with no more than four rooms and with a total service capacity of 20 guests is exempt from the Hotel Act,” he says.

The ground, however, is more murky for those renting in condos. To obtain a hotel license, they must prove they employ a qualified hotel manager, that they comply with the Building Control Act, have a Building Permit and Use Certificate which states that the existing building can be used as a hotel. “The Hotel Act is very unsupportive to hotel businesses and Airbnb’s business model,” says Chris.

 

 

The article says the same, the whole case was about a Condo building btw. 

 

But i agree, u are likely to run into problems anyway as the police loves to see you as a walking ATM no matter how compliant you are ????

[BestB]

2 minutes ago, ThomasThBKK said:

 

Yes, thats why you own the house directly via superficies in own name. 

Building permit, house == in your name. Never ever put it into the companies balance sheet.

 

Basic company structuring.

 

 

Because this doesn't apply to condominiums? Did you ever see a condominium with 4 rooms? No. 

Legally the whole Condos in a Condonimium building are one and the same "house".

 

This is just for residential houses/shacks/lowrise buildings privately owned, not in joined ownership structures! In the last ammendment from 2016 they actually eased the rules, not made it harder.

Villa’s are being raided as well. Few cases in Pattaya also made news. 

 

Last year during raids , there were 2 posters who tried to get legal under the 5/20 and were denied 

 

But what anyone does is their choice , only sharing what I know and have been through and unlike most if not all posting , no one has been through courts and jail for the very same matter , only referring to links .

 

i have been through all, including being locked up , so I would trust a judge and his discretion over posters with links