Popular Post rooster59 Posted October 10, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted October 10, 2020 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 - Whatever you're going through, the Samaritans are here for you - Follow Thaivisa on LINE for breaking COVID-19 updates 1 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post RotBenz8888 Posted October 10, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted October 10, 2020 4 minutes ago, rooster59 said: how the tourism industry will look after Covid-19,” and it won't look pretty.... 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Rancid Posted October 10, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted October 10, 2020 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. 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Kadilo Posted October 10, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted October 10, 2020 “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. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Surelynot Posted October 10, 2020 Share Posted October 10, 2020 Oh dear.....not, IMHO, a good move. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Saltire Posted October 10, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted October 10, 2020 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! 3 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Flying Saucage Posted October 10, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted October 10, 2020 (edited) “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, 2020 by Flying Saucage 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pantsonfire Posted October 10, 2020 Share Posted October 10, 2020 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. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Scot123 Posted October 10, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted October 10, 2020 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. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teacherclaire Posted October 10, 2020 Share Posted October 10, 2020 pinning their hopes on a government plan to lure high-spending tourists, And I thought it's a story about females seeking a farang! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post graemeaylward Posted October 10, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted October 10, 2020 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! 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post DrTuner Posted October 10, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted October 10, 2020 And there you have it, the real reason for no home quarantine. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post connda Posted October 10, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted October 10, 2020 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. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DLock Posted October 10, 2020 Share Posted October 10, 2020 ...and if these "wealthy" people demand to leave quarantine to go eat or drink...are they really going to stop them? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flying Saucage Posted October 10, 2020 Share Posted October 10, 2020 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? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cali farong Posted October 10, 2020 Share Posted October 10, 2020 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 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlfHuy Posted October 10, 2020 Share Posted October 10, 2020 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarangJon Posted October 10, 2020 Share Posted October 10, 2020 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timendres Posted October 10, 2020 Share Posted October 10, 2020 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Letseng Posted October 10, 2020 Share Posted October 10, 2020 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DB58 Posted October 10, 2020 Share Posted October 10, 2020 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
agoodpunt Posted October 10, 2020 Share Posted October 10, 2020 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tingtong Posted October 11, 2020 Share Posted October 11, 2020 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? ???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SmartyMarty Posted October 11, 2020 Share Posted October 11, 2020 It won't work, we all know it won't work. New plan each week for the next few months. Amazing Thailand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
finnsk Posted October 11, 2020 Share Posted October 11, 2020 (edited) 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, 2020 by finnsk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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