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

[Loinx22]

3 minutes ago, Derek B said:

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

Depends if they're going by look or by name.  Kinda like a farang driving a bike down the street and a Chinese.  Who they pulling over?  Or as someone has mentioned, at the national park with their (Malaysian?) girl who got Thai rate.  

I mean I'm guessing (once again this is so stupid that it's kinda pointless talking about) that hotels go by name... So Xi Jingping gets foreign price. 

 

[jacko45k]

1 hour ago, Nickelbeer said:

Rather surprised at the contempt Thais often show for Immigration law.

I think it is more for police in general.

The issue is that you will not have a TM30 if staying at her place, and she has not registered you.... nothing to worry about until you need to do something else at immigration. Also hotels are not in compliance if they do not submit a TM30.  For example those pursuing a Residence Cert. at Jomtiem were at one time having TM30 confirmed.... and a fine issued if none available. 

[Chongalulu]

22 minutes ago, wealthychef said:

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

We’ll you could always try socialism and government mandated pricing - if only you could find a single successful example of that working ! ???? 

For all it’s faults capitalism and democracy has always proved superior,as has the equation of supply and demand. 
remember ,oil companies lost billions during the pandemic and again with the write down of its investments in Russia (Rosneft etc). It’s a volatile business and days of plenty are only the swing to the roundabout.

[thurien]

2 hours 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?

easy: room charge for Thai     e.g.    1500 thb, your wife pays 750

          room charge for Farang e.g.    5200 thb, you pay 2600

your couple's total: 3350

 

[blazes]

2 minutes ago, thurien said:

easy: room charge for Thai     e.g.    1500 thb, your wife pays 750

          room charge for Farang e.g.    5200 thb, you pay 2600

your couple's total: 3350

 

Hotel prices are per room rather than per person.

[Loinx22]

2 minutes ago, thurien said:

easy: room charge for Thai     e.g.    1500 thb, your wife pays 750

          room charge for Farang e.g.    5200 thb, you pay 2600

your couple's total: 3350

 

I mean, when you book a room.  Generally speaking the only name they care about is the person who booked it (paid).  I don't remember them asking my "guests" name.  It was me booking a room for 2 people with my card.  

Now they will ask the names of both people to charge accordingly?  This is so dumb at this point... Will never happen.

Although...........

[robertson468]

2 hours ago, pokerface1 said:

Discrimination in this day and age will have consequences. If the hotels follow the directive forced on them I would hope agoda and booking dot com. Remove all Thai hotels from their websites due to  discrimination. That would surely give the TAT a big kick in the family jewels. 

I don't think so, have you seen the commission that Booking.com charges already?  Very nearly 20% for each booking!  However, I don't think any of the booking platforms could cope with dual pricing as they are not constructed that way.  The really sad thing is, the word is already out and many Tourists will now be looking at coming to Thailand with a very jaundiced eye and it might just be the tipping point for them to book elsewhere, just when there are the seeds of a recovery in the Tourism Industry.

A poorly thought out, xenophobic idea that will be viewed by many as immature and damaging to the Thai Tourism Industry.

[brianthainess]

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....

That's what i was thinking, or if we both turn up what are they going to charge 75% of full rate. another scenario if a high end hotel pay a girl short time to check-in win win situation. ????

[renaissanc]

3 hours ago, NHPT said:

Damage to Thailands "image" is done.

 

Its in the foreign press now and there is no damage control that can fix that.

 

Can't fix stupid.

It could be worse, I suppose. What if the government demanded that hotels applied the same ratio of rates used in National Parks where the ratio can be as much as 10X higher for foreigners. Maybe that's Stage 2 of the Big Plan to restore tourism. LOL!

[freedomnow]

Best gift the country could get would be a solid month without these

strategy idea morons being given a mic...it's relentless.

[Loinx22]

Let's all not forget.  This "plan" has been in motion since what?  2014?  It may have not started with the hotels but it certainly was up and running for a while now.  The sterilization of Thailand, the "Targeting high value tourist", etc...

They throw a whole load of <deleted> to a wall and see what sticks to fill their coffers.  It's been going on for 6ish years now.  

[sqwakvfr]

1 hour ago, pomchop said:

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

 

Oil companies and gas station owners are two different things.  Many gas stations in the US are owned by individuals as franchises of big oil companies.  

 

I used to own Exxon Stock(before it bought Mobil) and I got some good returns.  I also used to know an Exxon Gas Station owner and he was always struggling.  His margin for gas was thin so he made up for it by selling candy, drinks, potato chips etc.  Joe Biden does not appear to understand basic economics as well.  

[jesimps]

It must be a bad idea as even the usual toadies are quiet on this one.

[wealthychef]

30 minutes ago, nchuckle said:

We’ll you could always try socialism and government mandated pricing - if only you could find a single successful example of that working ! ???? 

 

OK, how about Richard Nixon in 1972, Roosevelt in World War 2?   

You could always try educating yourself about the nature of economics and try to move beyond the 3rd grade level of understanding typical Americans (which I'm guessing you are) have about how government spending and policies affect the so-called "free markets."  https://scheerpost.com/2022/06/10/there-are-better-ways-for-societies-to-address-inflation-than-by-hiking-interest-rates/ 

 

[SteveAZ]

This to me this sounds like an excellent way to kill tourism not boost it. To the average local it sounds like a good idea. Since there’s hardly any transparency or accountability  it’s reasonable to assume much of the income generated from these schemes are likely to end up in the pockets of officials and will not benefit the local population nor the country.  

[Henryford]

Crazy idea. I would certainly boycott any hotel with dual pricing. They would probably end up with far fewer bookings.

[Canadian Snowbird]

Amazing Thailand. How many times do they get to shoot themselves in the foot? I've been turned off by the stupidity for the past 2 years. I used to enjoy spending winters in Thailand. Not sure that will happen again though if this continues.

[Loinx22]

Just now, SteveAZ said:

This to me this sounds like an excellent way to kill tourism not boost it. To the average local it sounds like a good idea. Since there’s hardly any transparency or accountability  it’s reasonable to assume much of the income generated from these schemes are likely to end up in the pockets of officials and will not benefit the local population nor the country.  

I would bet money that only a hand full of local hotels (guesthouses) would take part in this scheme.  

[JimTripper]

I don't like being treated like a 2nd class citizen ???? (I'm gonna tear your hotel room to pieces).

 

My favorite trick is wet plaster balls in the toilet that later stick in there and harden and need to be chisled out of the pipes.

[ThaiFelix]

12 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

saying that the idea was not practical

Since when has this government worried about practicality??  This would take forward thinking and planning etc.  No, lets just do what we always do, impliment the changes immediately and then patch it all up as we go along when problems arrive.  In this way the laws are confusing, vague and open to interpretation so we still got them by the balls.

[flyfrog]

Another way to show tourists stay away, I think its the only country in the world that would  double price the hotels for tourists, what a promotion for Thailand????

[BangkokReady]

2 hours ago, Nicholas Paul KNIGHT said:

Any expat living here for a number of years and NOT married will need to work out how to stay at the local price.

You can't make the booking in a Thai name if they are your girlfriend?

[hotchilli]

12 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Thai hoteliers expressed concerns over the government’s plans to set dual accommodation pricing for foreign and local tourists, saying that the idea was not practical during the country’s attempt to spur tourism and the domestic economy.

The government should keep it's nose out of the business.

Hoteliers know their locality, with associated attractions, let them set a competitive price.

 

[Road Warrior]

whoes the idiot thought of that ??  sure this will help to aqure tourist  trade ??? 

[Bangkok Barry]

4 hours ago, darrenr said:

Does this mean hotels have to charge the full rate and cannot apply discounts I.e off season , long bookings 14 days or more , I always get my room 40% off full rate when I book may to September (which is what happens pre pandemic and currently)

You don't have to do anything because the tourism ministry numbskulls who dreamed up the idea have no clue how the tourist and hotel industry works, so nothing will happen. Just one of the never-ending weekly idiotic ideas that are spewed out by people who have no idea what they are talking about. It really is amazing how so many people in Thailand, a country where face is paramount, willingly make themselves look stupid.

[animatic]

Local foreign devils married to ‘thai angels’, who travel are not incoming tourists, but will be over charged simple because of their passport.

 

Sadly a pink Thai Resident ID coming with the yellow book Tabien baan likely won’t get you local pricing. 

but the people needed to bring more cash flow to the industry will likely think twice about coming. The Hoteliers must be gargling their lips in stress attacks after hearing this idiocy. Anutin 10.4 another day another foot shot. Running out of feet to shoot.

[SpanishExpat]

Just perfectly shows the difference between brain dead dinosaurs = government vs rational thinking within the free market economy = hoteliers. 
 

Imagine how prosperous and bright Thailands future would be, IF they had capable and forward thinking individuals in the government!

[Bangkok Barry]

2 hours ago, ianwheldale said:

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? ????????

Years ago I went on-line to book a table at the Baiyoke Tower Sky restaurant, and to complete the reservation I had to state my nationality. It could only have been to assess how much they would charge. I wonder how many restaurants in the world won't let you book a table unless you tell them what passport you hold. I don't know if that system still operates.

[Bangkok Barry]

1 hour ago, robertson468 said:

A poorly thought out, xenophobic idea that will be viewed by many as immature and damaging to the Thai Tourism Industry.

And the fact that it came from the ministry tasked with boosting tourism is just beyond belief. What planet do these people live on? One where the only country is Thailand, or one where people have countless choices of where to visit where it's one price for all, regardless of passport held?

[Lacessit]

2 hours ago, jacko45k said:

I think it is more for police in general.

 

Agree, every Thai I know or have met has utter contempt for the police. Not surprising, considering the constant flow of examples of police corruption making the daily news.

 

At the end of our one month holiday in Australia, my Thai GF remarked to me she had not seen a single policeman outside Melbourne Airport.