Hotel tycoon calls for Thailand to ease restrictions on alcohol

[Molly Malone]

5 hours ago, cnx101 said:

Price of one night quarantine is 6000 baht up, saw the price list, just another scam.

Which Palace cost 6,000 baht for one night = Buckingham Palace London? 

These Gov MORONS need to nix that BS and the dopey booze ban! Wake up you bullyboys!

[Sir Dude]

To be honest, I don't think you are even safe here if you are a resident with the papers etc. I highly doubt that that is an obstacle to anything if they deem it so to rescind it. Assumption is the mother of all <deleted> ups.

[StevieAus]

6 hours ago, poskat said:

FTFY

 

Hotel tycoon, who stands to lose a lot of money under the current protocol, calls for Thailand to ease restrictions on alcohol

So what did you expect him to say extend the bans for a longer time?

Most people have a business to make money that’s the situation with any business owner I know.

[koele2]

This reads to me like that hotelier is saying foreigners are more responsible drinkers than regular Thai people, who can’t control themselves.  This won’t be received too well.

[thailand49]

Tycoon?  He is a dirty farang if it came from a Thai maybe just maybe they might consider it????? they will just smile, nod then in one ear out the other.

[placeholder]

8 hours ago, internationalism said:

there is no prohibition, like during the 1st wave, in some places just for over 2 months.

Anybody can buy everything and in any quantity anytime.

They can drink in their rooms or even in common places inside hotel.

Restaurants do tolerate punters bringing their own booze, no corkage. 

For hotels and restaurants it's only side income to their main activity. They do survive.

Pubs and bars rely solely on drinks, they are in a much more dire situation 

It's only side income for restaurants? Really?

[Chelseafan]

7 hours ago, JCCR6 said:

Fair point, but he also was in favor of the coup and these goons running the country in the first place. 

 

In his position, he HAD to favor the coup...

[trainman34014]

Voices of sensibility are rarely listened to in Thailand; especially Farang voices !

[ibtg68]

Heinecke has a valid point and although he might directly represent hotels in Bangkok, he also points to other hotels that are part of SHA+ and restaurants which should be allowed to sell alcohol. It makes sense. Unfortunately I don’t think the Thai government is going to pay much attention to him. 
 

I’ve had friends and family back in the US ask me about whether or not they should book flights to Thailand. When I explain the obstacles they have to deal with and the current state of prohibition, they would rather go somewhere else. I can’t say that I blame them. 

[ukrules]

5 hours ago, Flink said:

how about here!?!? No mandates or passports

Oh don't worry - they're absolutely coming

[ukrules]

2 hours ago, WEBBYB808 said:

Did you see his photo.  He's not Thai

Sure he is

[Kongshoej]

9 hours ago, edwinchester said:

Gonna have to get rid of the test on arrival and first night quarantine before meaningful numbers even begin to arrive.

1 night quarantine could be up to 3 days. Some hospitals says they cannot guarantee results before 72 hours. 

[SunsetT]

10 hours ago, webfact said:

However, a distinction should be made in the conditions and environments in which alcohol is present.

What a concise, articulate and well written letter, but sorry mate Thailand doesn't do distinctions, and they will never get past words like 'however'. Mind you the grovelling might work.

[Dogmatix]

It's not as if Heinecke has a vested interest in this.

[pedro01]

8 hours ago, poskat said:

FTFY

 

Hotel tycoon, who stands to lose a lot of money under the current protocol, calls for Thailand to ease restrictions on alcohol

In hotels...

[Dogmatix]

Closing pubs and bars and not serving alcohol for such a long time must be having an effect on Thailand's birth rate.  Without a few drinks inside them Thai women must be thinking twice about jumping into bed with some guy without a condom, including their husbands.  Thailand's demographics are bad enough with an aging population as it is. 

[CartagenaWarlock]

11 hours ago, ukrules said:

He's right, no alcohol = nobody's coming.

How can a person find his future bride or orgy partners without alcohol? Tourists don't come to Thailand. They come to Thailand in search of their future brides or orgy partners. 

[The Hammer2021]

Are there any senior members of TAT or tourist related ministries Muslims or Fundamentalist Buddhist? The current ban is not covid related. It's religious or political or both.

[The Hammer2021]

20 minutes ago, CartagenaWarlock said:

How can a person find his future bride or orgy partners without alcohol? Tourists don't come to Thailand. They come to Thailand in search of their future brides or orgy partners. 

Silly comment bearing no resemblance to reality.

[pepi2005]

I have a proposal for the TAT:

instead of just reinventing Thai tourism to attract only the richest people on the planet, why not reinvent it again and focus on the tourism segment of RICHEST PEOPLE who are also ANTI-ALCOHOLICS?

 

I think they would not only pay top $$$ for the abandoned beaches, but on top of that even more  $$$ to not be confronted with the devil's drug alcohol! Genius, isn't it?

 

If you need me for more ideas on how to make even more money with tourism, I could tell you my secret on how to increase revenue from richest people who are also anti-alcoholics by offering an upgrade option for richest people who are also anti-alcoholics and don't enjoy sekkks. My DM's are open. ????????

[The Hammer2021]

2 hours ago, ibtg68 said:

Heinecke has a valid point and although he might directly represent hotels in Bangkok, he also points to other hotels that are part of SHA+ and restaurants which should be allowed to sell alcohol. It makes sense. Unfortunately I don’t think the Thai government is going to pay much attention to him. 
 

I’ve had friends and family back in the US ask me about whether or not they should book flights to Thailand. When I explain the obstacles they have to deal with and the current state of prohibition, they would rather go somewhere else. I can’t say that I blame them. 

I warn people not to come. With alcohol currently as illegal as narcotics but sometimes available there is a big chance of getting busted and ****** by the brown shirts.

[LEXUS 400]

And Thai People sit in the beach side and drink Beer , Lao Kao and Wisky , and on the other side of the beachroad the restaurants can not serve customers a beer ????.

[Pdavies99]

6 hours ago, RafPinto said:

That would make a nice song.

Someone gifted here to compose?

Just stating the obvious!

 

[Virt]

It's not like me and my better half are drowning ourselves in booze every day when in Thailand, but we want the option to find a waterhole when it rains,

where we can get 1 or 10 changs while it's clearing up, and maybe have a game of killer or dart.

 

And eating dinner without drinking a beer or a glass of wine is blasphemy ????

 

Sunsets are also best served at the beach with a few girly umbrella drinks.

 

So if they want our money, they better reintroduce alcohol.

Plus getting rid of all their other restrictions....

[timendres]

5 hours ago, Liverpool Lou said:

He said those words?   No, you didn't read that...unless you can "dig it up" as you're the one making the claim.  I think you'll have to dig it up out of thin air.    I'm happy to apologise if I'm wrong.

He did not explicitly state that he was "in favor" of the coup. He was sounding more like a promoter regarding it after the fact:

 

Quote

Recent developments are an important step towards establishing a strong and stable political structure which will underpin Thailand’s success.

His OP ED is easily found with a Google search, but links to it are not allowed on this forum. His OP ED was actually not focused the coup itself. In fact, it was a complaint about the western press making Thailand look unsafe, and affecting tourism, which of course hits his bottom line. In other words, it was a sad plea to "stop the pain". But it sure does come across, in many ways as an outright endorsement of the coup:

 

Quote

I believe that the current environment provides a platform for an effective "reboot" of Thai democracy that will meet the needs and aspirations of the Thai people.

Oh how wrong he was...

[IamNoone88]

It would not be prudent to require every arrival to in every city to have a negative PCR or ATK test. They just did away with that thank goodness.

 

If you do that, might as well test for STD and HIV on every arrival into every city. 

 

Thats the problem, there is just no common sense making demands  - more of a PR stunt than substance.

[kiwikeith]

17 hours ago, JonnyF said:

That sounds like a sensible approach to get things moving. It's time to acknowledge that not everyone who enjoys a beer or a glass of wine with their meal ends up acting like a beligerent, arrogant fool spraying saliva over anyone within 5 metres. 

 

Far too sensible an approach for the clowns in charge no doubt. 

So if you want to pay $12 per can in a hotel bar or 1000BHT for a glass of wine it's fine.

But I like the sitting on a beach with a nice cold one in a paper cup better, a good one is poor vodka over a sliced up watermelon , freeze it then put it in a chilly bin and off to the beech.

[edwinchester]

13 hours ago, pattayamick said:

Free antigen test on arrival. 30 minutes waiting for the result and off you go

Yes....one has to wonder why this is acceptable for unvaccinated locals to travel around Thailand but fully vaccinated and PCR tested tourists still need another PCR test and a night, possibly 2 in quarantine on arrival.

[mtls2005]

Without "entertainment" and free-flowing alcohol, the 1% of GDP (est.) down to "nightlife" is lost. As is another ~10% because these folks won't be coming for "the temples".

 

 

[Sydebolle]

It's about power and nothing else. Most hotels, majority of restaurants and foreign-operated entities have to abide by the law otherwise the BIB are around the corner.

Pattaya notes 20,000 Baht without receipt which could be talked down to 5,000 Baht per customer and the operator at the end - also without receipt. 

Thailand is a failed state following the "Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely" - and the people stand around, disliking it but do not dare to complain. 

Mom and Pop shops as well as most upcountry eateries though could not care less and have been serving amber liquid and local firewaters except during the total lockdown some 18 months ago. 

Laws are here to be bent and disregarded - statement of a Thai acquaintance!