Thai hoteliers express concerns over government’s proposal of “dual pricing” for foreign tourists

[WebGuy]

As per so far, they are gonna do it arbitrarily and in a good old sophisticated way.

[Nickelbeer]

51 minutes ago, blazes said:

Assuming this racist proposal is not rescinded, those of us expats who have Thai wives or girlfriends can simply ask the missis to make the bookings....

I have had my girlfriend pay for a room up front and was never asked for passport or any information. She did all the paperwork and the person at the desk was unconcerned that I was accompanying her. Previously, I had stayed with her at her room in Bangkok and she flat out refused any contact with Immigration. Told me it was none of anyone’s business who was staying with her. Rather surprised at the contempt Thais often show for Immigration law.

[itsari]

Charging Thai citizens less makes no sense .

Foreign tourists bring in much needed foreign currency .

Thai guests are often not following house rules which  eventuates in higher costs for the hotel .

Foreign guests mostly do follow the house rules .

[Tropicalevo]

57 minutes ago, Loinx22 said:

Soooo, when my wife (Thai) and I stay at a hotel how tf would they charge that?  By whoever's name is on the booking?  Or they have to do the maths?  This is beyond dumb.  Wouldn't think too much into it.

Although............ 

Simple solution.

 

When you arrive at the hotel and they see that you are not Thai, there is a surcharge on your half of the room!????

[DUNROAMIN]

9 hours ago, Iamfalang said:

whatever that travel website it........this will get out.   

 

It's never about the money, it's the pure disrespect.   

 

A bad taste in your mouth.        (insert joke here)

 

 

Go ahead, 'make my day' shoot yourself in the foot.????????

[ChrisY1]

Once the International media and travel people get a grasp of this nonsense, they'll slam Thailand harder than the stupid government could imagine. 

The much vaunted "wealthy tourists" will quickly understand the intended rip off scheme is aimed at them!

Expect a "misunderstanding" media report to be released shortly.

[pomchop]

1 hour ago, sqwakvfr said:

Is Economics taught in Thai Universities?  Never mind because the current President of the US recently told gas station owners to reduce prices.  

you mean these poor little gas station owners?  

Big Oil Profits 2022

 

On Average: On average, these oil and gas companies made $1.2b more in quarter 1 of 2022 than the same period last year. Doubled Their Profits: Nearly two dozen Big Oil corporations more than doubled their profits, raking in $25b more over the same quarter last year.May 10, 2022

 

[jaywalker]

I'm from Florida, where we get millions more foreign tourists than Thailand, plus a few million folks from outside the state.

 

We have what is called a Florida resident discount.

 

It is dual pricing, but it is not called MILK EVERYBODY NOT FROM FLORIDA!!!

 

Take'em to the cleaners boys!!!

[micmichd]

1 hour ago, 1duckyboy said:

So in essence, foreigners would be paying more to subsidize Thai nationals staying in the same hotel. This may not go over well with prospective tourists. 

Why? 

For foreign tourists nothing will change as compared to the pre-pandemic days. Just the natives get a discount. How come that upsets someome? 

[Loinx22]

9 minutes ago, Tropicalevo said:

Simple solution.

 

When you arrive at the hotel and they see that you are not Thai, there is a surcharge on your half of the room!????

Twin beds then?  LOL Finally I get the comforter to myself.

[Gecko123]

Even if this numbskull idea never gets adopted, a lot of damage has already been done as the government has effectively signaled to the general public that charging foreigners more for goods and services is A-okay with them.

 

While it might reasonably be argued that Thais should be able to enjoy national parks and cultural heritage sites at prices which make them more accessible to all Thais, trying to extend this philosophy to commercial businesses will backfire and severely damage Thailand's tourism reputation.

 

Edited July 9, 2022 by Gecko123

[4MyEgo]

10 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

President of the Thai Hotels Association, Marisa Sukosol Nunbhakdi, stated that the dual-pricing idea was “impractical”

Not to mention would send a lot of them to the wall, as foreigners are not stupid and wouldn't put up with it.

 

The best solution is to bring this election forward to today and get rid of this lot who have zero idea about anything apart from their ego's which is destroying and will continue to destroy this country.

[Barefootknobby]

And, can you imagine the headache for the likes of booking 

.com, Agoda etc sorting out who is and who isn’t falling into different categories, they have certainly thought this one through before opening their mouths as usual. I would imagine most bookings these days are done online??

[RichardColeman]

10 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

According to the deputy government spokesperson on Thursday, the government would introduce the implementation of a dual-tariff condition in which foreign visitors may be charged rates similar to the pre-pandemic period while local tourists may continue to pay at current discounted rates.

Actually, I would not be TOO outraged at that, tourists not having the discounted rate, etc

 

BUT, it would never work like that, it would be taken advantage of and tourists charged 300%-1000% more than thais eventually down the line.

 

 

[Wrwest]

1 hour ago, Loinx22 said:

Soooo, when my wife (Thai) and I stay at a hotel how tf would they charge that?  By whoever's name is on the booking?  Or they have to do the maths?  This is beyond dumb.  Wouldn't think too much into it.

Although............ 

I often have Da call to get a price. Cheaper than I can get not speaking much Thai and clearly a farang.

[ianwheldale]

I generally book hotels on Agoda if going on a trip. Will Agoda now have an additional line in the customer details asking if I am farang? ????????

[Sydebolle]

Ha, ha ha ha ........

Received an email of a friend of mine who had me looking around for six single rooms for a big Thailand tour of 22 days. The group changed its mind - going elsewhere after reading all that carp on dual pricing. The writing, in big capital letters, is on the wall. 

The present official position of hoteliers is "not practical"? Well, guess what, I consider this racist and nothing else. It will not go through - of course not - but the damage is there and guess what; people are considering where to spend the next winter holidays .......... 

[Loinx22]

7 minutes ago, Wrwest said:

I often have Da call to get a price. Cheaper than I can get not speaking much Thai and clearly a farang.

We'd do that when it came to renting condos or certain other things.  For hotels, generally speaking it's all done online.  

Thailand is starting to say the quiet parts out loud which is not a good look for them.  I mean if they start announcing that at certain temples or museums that they have separate shoe racks for farangs and Thais it wouldn't be the best look.   Ya know, keep that quiet.   

[kennw]

4 hours ago, 2baht said:

...........confirms that they are not too smart!

A typical myoptic view, they are forgetting Thailand competes on the global stage, the hotels set their rates based on market conditions, so TAT (Govt) want to disturb the market with a racially based policy? Do so at your peril mate. 

[Phxdiver]

2 hours ago, blazes said:

Assuming this racist proposal is not rescinded, those of us expats who have Thai wives or girlfriends can simply ask the missis to make the bookings....

Yep.  Quickest way to a 30% discount...

 

[wealthychef]

4 hours ago, garyk said:

Government planting this seed in Thailand means it will be played to the hilt. Best to avoid Thailand until back to normal now.

 

Thailand has always been unpredictable and weird, which is why it's charming.  Sadly, I believe it will never be "back to normal" because normality has been crushed by the authoritarian overreach of pretty much every government on the planet, combined with the inevitable opportunistic profiteering of multinational corporations to boost prices.  What does "back to normal" mean to you?  To me it means more tourists, which means more beach hotels and garbage.   And it means back to the merciless whipsawing of capitalism until the next World War fought by poor people at the direction of plutocrats.  I think it's time for humans to start thinking beyond narrow economic interests...  but until they start doing that, Thailand is as good as any place to get a nice massage, a craft beer, do some scuba diving, and eat some sticky rice!  Mai bpen rai na krap.  Jai yen yen

[SleepyJoe]

I think it should be fine to do as long as other countries have reciprocal dual pricing for Thai visitors.

[hioctane]

It is just poor PR. People just hate the idea of “dual pricing.” There are many ways to do the same thing to achieve the same result.

[ThaiBob]

Do they really think the booking websites (Agoda, Booking.com Hotels.com, etc.) would implement such a policy? Can you see international hoteliers (Sheraton, Hyatt, Holiday Inn, etc.) doing this. Time for a reality check. 

[nickmondo]

no <deleted> Sherlock!

 

[Derek B]

Just get the Thai gf to book online..............................problem sorted.

[Chongalulu]

This goes beyond shortcomings in economic literacy and commercial understanding- and it is both of those- but strays into area of fundamental lack of intelligence. Given that similarly stupid announcements from government officials are commonplace it would be interesting to see the results of IQ tests should they be applied to a raft of senior officials behind these unthinking announcements.

We know Thailand ranks very low in the PISA EDUCATIONAL TABLES which may explain some ,but this represents a serious deficiency in the most basic skills of critical thinking. Does Thailand in general have an issue with this or is cronyism so pervasive that a large percentage of the dimmer members of its society make it to these kinds of positions? 

[Derek B]

How would this proposal play out for the Chinese & ASEAN visitors? 

[huangnon]

1 hour ago, Lacessit said:

Hoteliers are not idiots, they don't stay in business if they are. Unlike TAT staff, who are on the government teat.

The hoteliers can see this moronic proposal will damage Thailand as a tourist destination, and do them no favors with foreigners residing here long-term either.

Exactly. Utterly stupid thinking, and proving just how out of touch these people are with the situation (and reality in general).

[Mywayboy]

9 hours ago, dinsdale said:

Just another example of a policy from an empty head. Money gets you to the top not intelligence.

Thai logic at work again.

They would rather leave a rental property empty because their friend up the road is getting 100 baht more than they want.

Dumb as @#$!%#$$.

Rather than secure a good tenant for Nid Noi less.

Amazing Thai logic.