Luxury Thai Hotels Opening in Pandemic Bet on 5-Star Quarantine

Natnicha Chuwiruch, Bloomberg News

 

The Mezzaluna Restaurant at Lebua in Bangkok on Oct. 1. Photographer: Andre Malerba/Bloomberg , Bloomberg

 

(Bloomberg) -- A slew of luxury hotels opening in Thailand amid the Covid-19 pandemic are pinning their hopes on a government plan to lure high-spending tourists, betting those seeking five-star quarantine will help cushion the devastation wrought on the travel industry.

 

About half-a-dozen luxury hotels that opened in Bangkok during the pandemic, or will open soon, from Four Seasons, Kempinski and Capella are likely to benefit from a new visa aimed at attracting long-stay visitors, high-spenders and medical travelers to put the economy back on a growth track.

 

While Thailand has weathered the virus outbreak better than most other Southeast Asia nations, it is faced with one of its worst recessions on record because of the loss of tourists, who in 2019 pumped $62 billion into the economy.

 

Targeting luxury travelers who stay longer and spend more could staunch some of those losses, said Deepak Ohri, chief executive officer of Lebua Hotels & Resorts. “The pandemic has given Thailand the opportunity to hit reset on how the tourism industry will look after Covid-19,” he said in an interview.

 

Full story: https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/luxury-thai-hotels-opening-in-pandemic-bet-on-5-star-quarantine-1.1506323

 

-- © Copyright Bloomberg 2020-10-10

 

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4 minutes ago, rooster59 said:

how the tourism industry will look after Covid-19,”

and it won't look pretty....

How alluring is a 5 star prison sentence to those that can afford it, what other options do they have for 2 weeks of their life they'll never get back?

 

We all liked Thailand while it was easy to come and go, I guess time will tell how popular this new version of bureaucratic torture and restriction will be.

“It’s a good starting initiative to focus on quality instead of quantity, but it won’t be enough to make up for the lost revenue,” said Somprawin Manprasert, chief economist at Bank of Ayudhya Pcl
 

Sadly that’s how they view things. Foreigners who have invested in property and raised families are deemed low quality in the eyes of the greedy Thai hierarchy. Their focus is on the wealthy Chinese staying for a few weeks to buy all the empty properties and businesses. 

Oh dear.....not, IMHO, a good move.

Why always the focus on the rich? Of the record 39 million visitors in 2019, i'd guess the wealthy would be a small percentage, the majority being 'normal' people.

 

There are however enough rich prats already in the country to try and justify these 5 star places, but not enough to be frofitable i'd suggest.

 

Read a guys post in a FB group about a meal in Michelin star restaurant in Bangkok where his bill was 38000 Baht - coffee was 2880 Baht and a glass of mediocre wine 1500 and he was banging on about how it was great value.

 

Maybe targetting people with more money than sense could pay off!

 

 

 

 

“It’s a good starting initiative to focus on quality instead of quantity"

 

With this "quality instead of quantity", they do not only mean the tourists, they also mean the luxury hotels owned by the top establishment, where their real focus is on. As one example, Google the ownership of Kempinski, if you don't know it yet.

 

Again this shows that the elite doesn't care about those lower in the hierarchy, who own the 3-star and budget hotels.

 

“ 'The pandemic has given Thailand the opportunity to hit reset on how the tourism industry will look after Covid-19', he said in an interview."

 

And this shows that it is the aim of the elitist 1%, which already owns most of the country, to continue this selfish way even after the pandemic eventually will have gone. 

 

Thai feudalism at it's best.

 

Edited October 10, 20205 yr by Flying Saucage

Why would the rich give up 2 weeks to quarantine. This is such utter nonsense.  This clearly shows in thailand the rich will get richer and they are using starvation to wipe out the poor, rather than covid.

2 hours ago, Saltire said:

Why always the focus on the rich? Of the record 39 million visitors in 2019, i'd guess the wealthy would be a small percentage, the majority being 'normal' people.

 

There are however enough rich prats already in the country to try and justify these 5 star places, but not enough to be frofitable i'd suggest.

 

Read a guys post in a FB group about a meal in Michelin star restaurant in Bangkok where his bill was 38000 Baht - coffee was 2880 Baht and a glass of mediocre wine 1500 and he was banging on about how it was great value.

 

Maybe targetting people with more money than sense could pay off!

 

 

 

 

The guy sounds like a wannabe, met many in sales buying bottles of champagne one month and the next not a pot to pppppp in. Most of the wealthy people I have met are careful and expect what they pay for to be well worth the price and want a bargain or free. 

pinning their hopes on a government plan to lure high-spending tourists,

 

And I thought it's a story about females seeking a farang! 

All hotels, whether big or small provide a room with bathroom, A/C and TV, which is what most people require.  In better times it is just used as a base for sleeping etc. and guests could eat out and explore if they so wished.  I have rarely spent more than 600-700 baht per night for a hotel room, with breakfast.  Now, if some of these smaller hotels were used for "Approved" Quarantine for 14 days, it might not be OTT luxury, but would be affordable for more people eligible to return here.  Elite Hotels are all very well but it is the small hoteliers who are suffering most. Give them a chance to make ends meet!

And there you have it, the real reason for no home quarantine.

As long as the wealthy get wealthier, the rest of humanity can eat rice stubble. 

How about supporting modestly capitalized hotels and charge a price for services that normal people can afford?

"The wealthy will save Thailand!"
I doubt that seriously.

...and if these "wealthy" people demand to leave quarantine to go eat or drink...are they really going to stop them?

1 minute ago, DLock said:

...and if these "wealthy" people demand to leave quarantine to go eat or drink...are they really going to stop them?

Hardly.

 

What about the 7 wealthy Chinese investors tourists in their private jet, announced a few days ago to arrive to Suvarnabhumi? Back home already in China, or still under quarantine in Bangkok?  

 

Quote

Why don’t they just admit they only want wealthy Chinese.

wealthy westerners aren’t going to jump through all the hoop to come to a third world country 

3 hours ago, DLock said:

...and if these "wealthy" people demand to leave quarantine to go eat or drink...are they really going to stop them?

for this, you have Grab food or Panda.

Yeah the fairy tale of the rich tourists.

Thailand need many many millions of us unwashed, dirty "cheap charly farangs".

Nothing else. Just brains just in the government.

 

Straws  ....  desperation. What were the numbers on those special STVs? Those coveted Elite visas? I can't remember exactly. Possibly because of how unimpressive they were.

13 hours ago, Saltire said:

Why always the focus on the rich? Of the record 39 million visitors in 2019, i'd guess the wealthy would be a small percentage, the majority being 'normal' people.

 

There are however enough rich prats already in the country to try and justify these 5 star places, but not enough to be frofitable i'd suggest.

 

Read a guys post in a FB group about a meal in Michelin star restaurant in Bangkok where his bill was 38000 Baht - coffee was 2880 Baht and a glass of mediocre wine 1500 and he was banging on about how it was great value.

 

Maybe targetting people with more money than sense could pay off!

 

 

 

 

Cheap compared to an 85.000CHF bottle of wine in a Zurich restaurant. No, it wasn't on my table. Ordered by a wealthy Russian at the next table.

10 hours ago, graemeaylward said:

All hotels, whether big or small provide a room with bathroom, A/C and TV, which is what most people require.  In better times it is just used as a base for sleeping etc. and guests could eat out and explore if they so wished.  I have rarely spent more than 600-700 baht per night for a hotel room, with breakfast.  Now, if some of these smaller hotels were used for "Approved" Quarantine for 14 days, it might not be OTT luxury, but would be affordable for more people eligible to return here.  Elite Hotels are all very well but it is the small hoteliers who are suffering most. Give them a chance to make ends meet!

I agree with you; but the smaller hotel owners I doubt have the political clout to get on the list and besides that doesn’t match the apparent vision of Thailand being the playground for the rich elite of the world.

On a serious note this was an objective b4 covid a couple of bar girls told me in the last few years and i am no CC "some day only the rich should come here everybody love thailand"

dont they all think the same its ingrained

Breaking news!!

 

Since prisons are reported to be overcrowded,

Thailand will allow rich high spending long sentenced local criminals an Alternative State Prison or ASP, and boost the local economy by converting selected 4 and 5* hotels with cooperation of selected police departments and the promotion by the Justice Department.

Big Thai companies also sponsoring this move, including Red Bull, Ital-Thai, etc.

 

The government reported to be very excited about this new proposal and fully behind the idea.

 

If only, right? ????

It won't work, we all know it won't work. New plan each week for the next few months. Amazing Thailand.

I think they will get a long nose, these elite hotels, the wealthy western people have higher demands to lifequality, than sit 2 weeks in a prisonlike hotel in Thailand.

 

Funny that Thailand now should be a place for very wealthy people, it has not being the last years or maybe never, what has changed ?

 

Thailands main tourism up to the covid was discount tourism from China, sextourism from the hole world and low-middleclass chartertourists and backpackers, that is what I have seen i Thailand, maybe I am wrong.

Edited October 11, 20205 yr by finnsk