Thailand reopening: Deceitful hotels tricking tourists are "letting the country down and damaging its image"

[aussiexpat]

4 minutes ago, VBF said:

I had an almost identical encounter on Phuket 30 years ago! Only difference was it was a fruit seller....10 Baht to a Thai customer; 40 Baht to the Farang......10 Baht when it was discovered that said Farang knew JUST enough Thai to question it. ????

That was my point, Thai get it cheaper at 10 baht because the seller knows there's no point haggling..."tourists" are then fair game at 20, 30, 40 depending at how long they've spent in Thailand, especially if they make the effort to speak some thai

[zzaa09]

On 11/24/2021 at 1:15 AM, Daithi85 said:

Amazing how a small few seem to have  all the bad luck and have all these terrible things happen to them ,while the rest of us live here happily with absaloutly no problems at all, ahhh well I really hope you recover from the terrible experiences you have had .

It does seem to fall on these few, who usually bring on problems/issues for themselves by way of the predisposed and overwhelming negativity that comes naturally. 

[Bruno123]

On 11/25/2021 at 6:27 PM, Nino3 said:

I typically don't take time to publish my opinions on such matters but I woke up this morning in an off mood. One must be bat .... crazy to have not seen this coming, any of this, even the positive PCR test after landing. Stop complaining and realize that you will do nothing to make change and in this case as many, the government doesn't give a .... either.

 

Many have identified a 3000B hotel room as being expensive. This is utter nonsense. If one travels internationally and has a difficult time digesting the thought and expenditure of 3000B nightly is best to not travel. 

 

In this case, I find the resolution or the path to minimize this happening to one is to book at an internationally trusted hotel chain such as Westin, Hilton, Sheraton etc;. Agoda, Expedia, Hotels.com, blah, blah, blah. Agoda told me this, Agoda advertised this, but Expedia said this, give me a break. Learn to book directly with airlines and hotels directly. You may just find that you have a much more enjoyable and less stressful travels.

 

 

I honestly have no idea why you took the time to publish that 'opinion'. 

From reading it, I don't think that you are in a position to teach anyone about stress-free travelling. Cool down ????

[Nino3]

40 minutes ago, Bruno123 said:

I honestly have no idea why you took the time to publish that 'opinion'. 

From reading it, I don't think that you are in a position to teach anyone about stress-free travelling. Cool down ????

Point is, book directly with a reputable international hotel chain. Chances of getting caught up in "Deceitful hotels tricking tourist" will be very unlikely.

 

I am unclear on what I wrote that has you believing I'm in no position to teach anyone about stress free travel. Let's try this, my assistant books the airlines, hotels, transport to and from airport. Assistant handles any changes, rescheduling and rebooking of airlines, hotels, etc. Assistant ensures all itinerary's are available to me across platforms and apps. I am unable to remember the last time that any of my travel was stressful. Likely before I was provided an assistant that handles all of it.

Edited November 27, 2021 by Nino3
Spelling Error

[wensiensheng]

On 11/26/2021 at 2:45 PM, jacko45k said:

Perhaps why I did not quote you?

Possibly, although you were replying to my post, so whether you choose to quote me or not is immaterial.

[jacko45k]

1 hour ago, wensiensheng said:

Possibly, although you were replying to my post, so whether you choose to quote me or not is immaterial.

You did not create the original post, and I quoted someone else, so what makes you think I was talking to you? 

[drgoon]

On 11/23/2021 at 3:38 PM, clivebaxter said:

Plus from Jan 500 baht arrival charge to go with the 800 baht total departure charge in your air ticket, why do tourists bother?

1300 baht...   chicken feed. Stop whining

[HAPPYNUFF]

I  find that I have very little conversation  with Thais, especially  if Im quoted some outlandish price for something. . I just walk away.  Why bother even haggling with a thief?      If my wife   wants  to buy something, I   get her to  ask the price, she may haggle if she wants, but if I consider the price is ridiculous, I just collect her and walk away.   I dont mind paying for quality or good workmanship, both of which are rather scarce in this country.   I fear these people will never change,  corruption is just inbred in them, together with their ridiculous sense of superiority  in such a little poor  country.

[clivebaxter]

11 hours ago, drgoon said:

1300 baht...   chicken feed. Stop whining

Some people just love to be taken for a ride don't they, the projected, but laughable, visitor number for next year is 12 million,  12 million x 1300 baht would feed a lot of chickens!

[tomyami]

work done on farang owned condos are charged at higher rates

It a culture encouraged in their poor education system

[scorecard]

On 11/26/2021 at 5:27 AM, Nino3 said:

I typically don't take time to publish my opinions on such matters but I woke up this morning in an off mood. One must be bat .... crazy to have not seen this coming, any of this, even the positive PCR test after landing. Stop complaining and realize that you will do nothing to make change and in this case as many, the government doesn't give a .... either.

 

Many have identified a 3000B hotel room as being expensive. This is utter nonsense. If one travels internationally and has a difficult time digesting the thought and expenditure of 3000B nightly is best to not travel. 

 

In this case, I find the resolution or the path to minimize this happening to one is to book at an internationally trusted hotel chain such as Westin, Hilton, Sheraton etc;. Agoda, Expedia, Hotels.com, blah, blah, blah. Agoda told me this, Agoda advertised this, but Expedia said this, give me a break. Learn to book directly with airlines and hotels directly. You may just find that you have a much more enjoyable and less stressful travels.

 

 

So comfortable clean 600, 800, 100 etc., Baht rooms are not allowed now?

 

 

[Nino3]

At present, when the following 14 days is dependent on hotel staff and partner hospital staff then the answer for me is no I will not be staying at any lower budget hotel but rather an international chain. Not saying that lower budget hotels would deceive but I feel most comfortable with a large corporation and corporate processes and procedures.

[pixelaoffy]

On 11/25/2021 at 8:25 AM, spidermike007 said:

In Mexico, if you have lived there for ten years, you are not only entitled to permanent residency, you are treated like an honorary Mexican. In Thailand, we will always be outsiders. I have asked my wife to please stop using that ugly f word to refer to us. How about foreigner? Or our nationality? 

 

What on earth are the Thais so pathologically afraid of, anyway? 

They believe they are the best.  But having nothing to be 'best ' about 

[spidermike007]

8 hours ago, pixelaoffy said:

They believe they are the best.  But having nothing to be 'best ' about 

The very high cost of 90 years of nationalistic ranting and foolishness. 

[Mitkof Island]

Some of the Covid Thai insurance companies that have webpages on Facebook I am starting to having second thoughts if they are seriously legit.

[Mitkof Island]

And what about the Thai insurance companies? I see a few on Facebook web pages that look dodgy as hell. Anyone here had any issues lately with them with Covid insurance?

[Nino3]

On 12/16/2021 at 7:25 PM, scorecard said:

So comfortable clean 600, 800, 100 etc., Baht rooms are not allowed now?

 

 

At present, when the following 14 days is dependent on hotel staff and partner hospital staff then the answer for me is no I will not be staying at any lower budget hotel but rather an international chain. Not saying that lower budget hotels would deceive but I feel most comfortable with a large corporation and corporate processes and procedures.

[scorecard]

Just now, Nino3 said:

At present, when the following 14 days is dependent on hotel staff and partner hospital staff then the answer for me is no I will not be staying at any lower budget hotel but rather an international chain. Not saying that lower budget hotels would deceive but I feel most comfortable with a large corporation and corporate processes and procedures.

Sorry but I don't buy any of that.

 

5 / 6 star hotels regularly don't deliver what they promise on their websites etc. For many years I stayed in many 5 / 6 star hotels all over Asia, Australia and the US. Often they didn't deliver. Often got the nebulous response 'never mind, I'm sure it will be OK tomorrow / next time'.

 

Just one example, arrived at a 6 star hotel in Hong Kong late afternoon and was told 'sorry sir but we haven't had time to get fresh flowers in your room, can you wait, maybe 1 hour. I had to get to an urgent meeting. I refused and demanded a 4 star room with a discount or I walk out and cancel the corporate contract. The lobby staff called the duty manager who said 'I don't understand what's wrong, our flowers are always so beautiful'. I got the 4 star room and several letters of apology under the door from snr., staff.

 

After this incident and continued regular complaints from my snr., staff I told my admin., manager to stop booking 5 / 6 star hotels for myself and other company staff and to search out 2 very highly reviewed 4 star hotels in each of the major cities across Asia and with at least 25% cut in room rates. Best decision ever we found that service in good 4 star hotels is excellent and with no bullshxx and we saved big accommodation costs

 

And I know from a friend who is a snr exec., of one of the biggest hotel management entities in the world they regularly have problems with staff and guest theft, whole property / whole floors not secure from entry from outside, lobby staff making duplicate keycards for sale and more. 

[Nino3]

21 minutes ago, scorecard said:

Sorry but I don't buy any of that.

 

5 / 6 star hotels regularly don't deliver what they promise on their websites etc. For many years I stayed in many 5 / 6 star hotels all over Asia, Australia and the US. Often they didn't deliver. Often got the nebulous response 'never mind, I'm sure it will be OK tomorrow / next time'.

 

Just one example, arrived at a 6 star hotel in Hong Kong late afternoon and was told 'sorry sir but we haven't had time to get fresh flowers in your room, can you wait, maybe 1 hour. I had to get to an urgent meeting. I refused and demanded a 4 star room with a discount or I walk out and cancel the corporate contract. The lobby staff called the duty manager who said 'I don't understand what's wrong, our flowers are always so beautiful'. I got the 4 star room and several letters of apology under the door from snr., staff.

 

After this incident and continued regular complaints from my snr., staff I told my admin., manager to stop booking 5 / 6 star hotels for myself and other company staff and to search out 2 very highly reviewed 4 star hotels in each of the major cities across Asia and with at least 25% cut in room rates. Best decision ever we found that service in good 4 star hotels is excellent and with no bullshxx and we saved big accommodation costs

 

And I know from a friend who is a snr exec., of one of the biggest hotel management entities in the world they regularly have problems with staff and guest theft, whole property / whole floors not secure from entry from outside, lobby staff making duplicate keycards for sale and more. 

Thank you the reply and the information. However, as stated, I feel most comfortable at a large corporate owned and managed hotel. I have also been fortunate enough to stay at some of the best hotels on offer from around the world.

 

To date, I have been fortunate in that I have experienced no theft or any true issues with service. Missing fresh flowers from the room for me does not qualify as a true issue that requires attention by senior management. As you stated, this is an issue for you and that is fine.

 

I would in theory agree that a well reviewed 4 star is possibly the best value when considering service, amenities and cost. Example, I have logged weeks/months of stays at the St. Regis Bangkok, Shangri La Bangkok, Peninsula Bangkok. I now stay exclusively at the 4 star Westin Bangkok which by all means is owned and managed by a large corporation.

 

In addition, you see that my initial reply was to the idea of staying at a 600 - 1000 baht per night hotel. Have you logged many stays at a 600 baht per night hotel?

[EricTh]

Just get rid of the ridiculous 1 day quarantine and Covid test then this problem will be solved.

[scorecard]

Just now, Nino3 said:

Thank you the reply and the information. However, as stated, I feel most comfortable at a large corporate owned and managed hotel. I have also been fortunate enough to stay at some of the best hotels on offer from around the world.

 

To date, I have been fortunate in that I have experienced no theft or any true issues with service. Missing fresh flowers from the room for me does not qualify as a true issue that requires attention by senior management. As you stated, this is an issue for you and that is fine.

 

I would in theory agree that a well reviewed 4 star is possibly the best value when considering service, amenities and cost. Example, I have logged weeks/months of stays at the St. Regis Bangkok, Shangri La Bangkok, Peninsula Bangkok. I now stay exclusively at the 4 star Westin Bangkok which by all means is owned and managed by a large corporation.

 

In addition, you see that my initial reply was to the idea of staying at a 600 - 1000 baht per night hotel. Have you logged many stays at a 600 baht per night hotel?

QUOTE: '...

To date, I have been fortunate in that I have experienced no theft or any true issues with service. Missing fresh flowers from the room for me does not qualify as a true issue that requires attention by senior management. As you stated, this is an issue for you and that is fine."

 

Actually that's NOT what I said. I was annoyed at being asked to wait an hour so that the hotel could get the flowers and get them in the room. The issue is that it was delaying me from arriving at a company office for an important discussion and the situation was keeping 10 seniors away from their normal duties for an extra hour.

 

I always made it a rule that snr and all staff arrive before the meeting start time and I don't appreciate being the person who arrives late.  

 

I'm now retired but when I was regional director of a multi national every minute on my schedule was booked in advance for meeting / discussions / discussions in taxis etc.  

 

Waiting around 1 hr for new flowers to be put in place is not productive at all for me and not OK.

 

What also annoyed me was that the duty manager and GM came and tried to play the game that it's all normal and don't worry, in fact less that respectful to a snr person from a company which had a large regional corporate a/c with the hotel chain.  My request that they put the flowers in the room the next day was met with shock and horror and refusal to listen to what I was asking for.

 

Actually I have stayed in many 600 - 1,000Baht hotels in many countries across all of Asia Pacific, and for 99% of these stays the service, comfort, food, service etc., have been quite satisfactory.

 

Further, on several occasions I've had to be present all day for many days/several weeks/months to advise/ensure large expensive client projects run smoothly, are fully productive and give the client the value they are paying for.

 

On a number of occasions I've stayed at a 4 star for the first few nights but soon after arrival i've requested the local admin. snr. person to find a small safe hotel very close to the project, ultimately on many occasions a 3 star hotel. 

Edited December 18, 2021 by scorecard

[Mitkof Island]

8 hours ago, scorecard said:

Sorry but I don't buy any of that.

 

5 / 6 star hotels regularly don't deliver what they promise on their websites etc. For many years I stayed in many 5 / 6 star hotels all over Asia, Australia and the US. Often they didn't deliver. Often got the nebulous response 'never mind, I'm sure it will be OK tomorrow / next time'.

 

Just one example, arrived at a 6 star hotel in Hong Kong late afternoon and was told 'sorry sir but we haven't had time to get fresh flowers in your room, can you wait, maybe 1 hour. I had to get to an urgent meeting. I refused and demanded a 4 star room with a discount or I walk out and cancel the corporate contract. The lobby staff called the duty manager who said 'I don't understand what's wrong, our flowers are always so beautiful'. I got the 4 star room and several letters of apology under the door from snr., staff.

 

After this incident and continued regular complaints from my snr., staff I told my admin., manager to stop booking 5 / 6 star hotels for myself and other company staff and to search out 2 very highly reviewed 4 star hotels in each of the major cities across Asia and with at least 25% cut in room rates. Best decision ever we found that service in good 4 star hotels is excellent and with no bullshxx and we saved big accommodation costs

 

And I know from a friend who is a snr exec., of one of the biggest hotel management entities in the world they regularly have problems with staff and guest theft, whole property / whole floors not secure from entry from outside, lobby staff making duplicate keycards for sale and more. 

The quality of a room has nothing to do with the price. The nicest hotel room (suite) I ever stayed in was under $7 a night.

[Mitkof Island]

5 hours ago, scorecard said:

QUOTE: '...

To date, I have been fortunate in that I have experienced no theft or any true issues with service. Missing fresh flowers from the room for me does not qualify as a true issue that requires attention by senior management. As you stated, this is an issue for you and that is fine."

 

Actually that's NOT what I said. I was annoyed at being asked to wait an hour so that the hotel could get the flowers and get them in the room. The issue is that it was delaying me from arriving at a company office for an important discussion and the situation was keeping 10 seniors away from their normal duties for an extra hour.

 

I always made it a rule that snr and all staff arrive before the meeting start time and I don't appreciate being the person who arrives late.  

 

I'm now retired but when I was regional director of a multi national every minute on my schedule was booked in advance for meeting / discussions / discussions in taxis etc.  

 

Waiting around 1 hr for new flowers to be put in place is not productive at all for me and not OK.

 

What also annoyed me was that the duty manager and GM came and tried to play the game that it's all normal and don't worry, in fact less that respectful to a snr person from a company which had a large regional corporate a/c with the hotel chain.  My request that they put the flowers in the room the next day was met with shock and horror and refusal to listen to what I was asking for.

 

Actually I have stayed in many 600 - 1,000Baht hotels in many countries across all of Asia Pacific, and for 99% of these stays the service, comfort, food, service etc., have been quite satisfactory.

 

Further, on several occasions I've had to be present all day for many days/several weeks/months to advise/ensure large expensive client projects run smoothly, are fully productive and give the client the value they are paying for.

 

On a number of occasions I've stayed at a 4 star for the first few nights but soon after arrival i've requested the local admin. snr. person to find a small safe hotel very close to the project, ultimately on many occasions a 3 star hotel. 

The quarantine rooms have been nothing more than a scam. The price or quality of the room has nothing to do with stopping the spread of Covid. Any wood shack with a padlock would work.

[Neeranam]

On 11/23/2021 at 8:32 AM, RandolphGB said:

 

I went to Koh Larn a few weeks ago. The blue pickup truck wanted 600 baht to take two people to the next beach. 

Motorcycle taxi was asking the same amount. 
 

They have learned nothing from the pandemic. And those who were ripping people off before, will do the same again.  

It's a free market, you could always walk or get a bike.

Do you really expect those in the tourist industry to starve just for you?

[DonniePeverley]

Taxi's have started their 'no meter' scam again. 

 

Bless their cottons. 

[scorecard]

Just now, DonniePeverley said:

Taxi's have started their 'no meter' scam again. 

 

Bless their cottons. 

And again no doubt that minister etc., will speak and ask them to be good boys and not cheat people and they won't listen they will keep scamming people until there is strict/serious/clever monitoring and severe punishment. 

 

Best answer is to make other arrangements/visit other locations with different attractions etc. 

[jacko45k]

9 hours ago, Neeranam said:

It's a free market, you could always walk or get a bike.

Do you really expect those in the tourist industry to starve just for you?

Doesn't look like a free market when they all charge the same price and customers have no choice.... more like  mafia. I also wonder if they break the terms of their licences by creating their own pricing structure..... 

Starve no, but sprinkle truffle on their lobster......nay!

[scorecard]

6 hours ago, Mitkof Island said:

The quarantine rooms have been nothing more than a scam. The price or quality of the room has nothing to do with stopping the spread of Covid. Any wood shack with a padlock would work.

When I checked out of my hotel another farang was walking through the front door of the hotel with several bags. We talked and I asked him was he waiting for transport to continue his journey.

 

His response: No, I have to wait until very late today for the swab test report. I went earlier to an ATM machine and I'm just returning from shopping at 7/11 and the local market.

 

So much for the isolation until negative report received.