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

[scorecard]

1 hour ago, connda said:

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

They do not have to participate, and if I was a hotelier, I'd advertise the fact that my hotel only has one price scheme for everyone. 

It could be a good advertising scheme.

Wife of son's work buddy opened a coffee shop 10 minutes walk from the Chiang Mai night market, many pedesrians, shop quite successful with 2 full time employees, good selection of quality cakes, sandwiches etc. Same pricing for all customers Thai and foreign.

 

Son's buddy and his wife decides to celebrate their success, booked a 7 days package to Bali.

 

Wife of son's buddy was quickly appraoched by her older loud demanding sister who insisted that she run the coffee shop while little sister and husband away.

 

They enjoyed their holiday, on return from Bali went to the coffee shop, 1 employee had been sacked by big sister.

 

Signage had been changed, cost of coffee, all drinks, cakes etc., etc., all changed. Reduced prices for Thais and triple the old pricing for farang.

 

Revenue had dropped significantly, son's buddy asked big sister 'how many coffees do you now sell to foreigners every day?' Answer 'Yesterday 1, some days none' Then 'why are the cakes and sandwiches all stale and hard?' Big sister angrily responds 'because foreigners refuse to buy them'.

 

Big sister told to leave. Signs changed instantly back to same pricing for all customers, and big discounts on drinks, cakes, etc.

 

It took about 6 months to get the revenue back to prior Bali levels.  

[Senior Player]

7 hours ago, Derek B said:

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

Sure, for you perhaps. But what about all those other millions of tourists that the country is supposedly trying to entice back who aren't married or in a relationship with a Thai national? Whatever way you look at it, this is poor PR.

[timberpond]

Practical? In Thailand? Give me an example.

[zzaa09]

Proposal?

Suggested?  

Choice?

 

How does this translated in Thai parochial authoritarian speak?

 

[Elkski]

10 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. Congratulations Thai Government, openly telling the world that Non Thais can be scammed, fleeced and generally treated as rubbish. Another Xenophobic racist IDEA coming from a Thai Government. 

This a good comment.   It just shows that scamming foreigners is supported by the mind of the hiso elite. No wonder I felt this on each and every visit.   I say the US needs to charge Thai people double for our national parks. And now hotels and car rentals and why not airfare on US airlines.  And property taxes. 

[Chongalulu]

8 hours ago, wealthychef said:

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/ 

 

Commerce and economics is my background so suggest you’re education is the one lacking. Quoting special measures in particular circumstances doesn’t suddenly make USA ,a renowned free market economy either socialist or government controlled. Oh,and your assumption is wrong too ! ???? 

[misterphil]

Total garbage. 
 

If i book a hotel room for me and my Thai wife on Agoda its one price. 
 

If i book it its the same price if my wife books it. 
 

Get a grip for crying out loud. ????

[Black Angus]

They couldn't win the vote of confidence. So this was their only other way. Talk about being Hounded. Did make so much fuss about Sir K and his curry , beer lunch.

                    Just hate hypocrisy.

With regard to Thailand and staying out of trouble, I have found this is useful the world over. Treat all like you would treat yourself. And by the way Rooster I am still wait your help in retuning a KIM to the person in Phuket

[greeneking]

7 hours ago, shackleton said:

Why is it they come out with these ridiculous schemes dual pricing ect with no idea of the consequences ???? 

They should discuss with the Hoteliers Tourist board Meeting wise 

First have a idea where they all agree a strategy then put out to the Media all singing from the Hym sheet ????

 

There are hotels and guesthouses. There are potential customers. Who needs a Minister's opinion? If anyone does I think there is a Minister for Sports and Tourism as well as the very well resourced people already duplicating that job called TAT.

[paulikens]

Do the hotels have to implement it tho or is it up to each hotel?  If they don't have to then maybe the hoteliers are making the right noises knowing full well  they are gonna to implement it but making out its the governments fault.   

[scorecard]

1 hour ago, misterphil said:

Total garbage. 
 

If i book a hotel room for me and my Thai wife on Agoda its one price. 
 

If i book it its the same price if my wife books it. 
 

Get a grip for crying out loud. ????

Point taken.

 

Right now it's a proposal...

[ed strong]

Every country has their own way of 'dual pricing' or giving their own nationals an advantage over foreigners and I don't have a problem with it.

 

Take Wimbledon the tennis tournaments and how the British players are given centre court when they aren't always the best players at that time in the tournament. Great for the British audience but imagine being a foreigner and paying for top tier tickets and then having to watch second or even a third tier match just because a player is from the home country.

[billd766]

13 hours ago, ThaiBob said:

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. 

The problem is. that that this IS their reality

[Dumbfounded]

If the Govt wants Thais to have cheaper room rates than foreigners then they will have to giddy up the discount through some kind of rebate scheme. The hoteliers won't kill their business with dual pricing

[Captain Monday]

1 hour ago, billd766 said:

The problem is. that that this IS their reality

Major international hotel chains such as Bonvoy, Hilton, IHG, would not have  have anything to do with this half-baked suggestion. To make them look ridiculous then subject to international criticism? Probably counter to all their corporate mission statements.   Another bad idea. Mooted, mulled and forgotten forever.

[Gilligan In Drag]

Its an attack on the tourism industry. They know it will put people off, its the same globalists that brought you everything else that's ben going on since 2020 financial crash. What d'you think they'd like you running all over the planet while they have to make sure you're up to date on your boosters? You make it so hard on the poor dears at City London and Blackrock et al running off to Thailand. You'll stay in your coffin, own almost nothing  and be on anti-depressants.

[Phil1964]

And I thought the British government was a bunch of racist, nonsensical idiots who could'nt organise the proverbial in a brewery, but it looks like Thailand's government seeks to return Thailand to a third world state so that their loving neighbour, China, can pick it all up on the cheap.

 

[Daithi85]

On 7/9/2022 at 3:17 AM, 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.

 

Don't be silly, absaloutly no reason to avoid  Thailand.life is great here .????

[wealthychef]

12 hours ago, nchuckle said:

Commerce and economics is my background so suggest you’re education is the one lacking. Quoting special measures in particular circumstances doesn’t suddenly make USA ,a renowned free market economy either socialist or government controlled. Oh,and your assumption is wrong too ! ???? 

You asked for examples of when price fixing worked, and I give you two of them.  No doubt you were ignorant of these obvious examples or you wouldn't have asked for them.  So now, you use three logical fallacies, namely special pleading[^1], moving the goal posts[^2] and the argument from authority[^3] as a way for you to weasel out of thinking what was it about these actions that worked in these circumstances and how they might apply to our circumstances of today.  

 

Your dogma is showing and your "background in commerce" smells of BS.  What exactly is this background since you insist on trotting it out?  I could use a laugh listening to you brag about your career as a financial coach or your junior college economics class or your experience running a shoe store or perhaps picking stocks or whatever.  Your ideas about economics amount to nothing but a credulous recitation of state TV propaganda about the Great US Empire and its marvels, combined with the usual entitlement and ignorance of world affairs.  If you provide any evidence of the ability to think independently, I'd love to engage on a couple of ideas that I think refute your claims.   Here they are.  

 

First, socialism, I doubt you even know what that word means, do you?  No doubt you are completely ignorant of this basic economic theory.  Is your brain even capable of wrapping itself around the concept of worker's rights?  Or do you just not care about workers except as to how they juice your stock market returns?  

 

Second, calling the USA a "renowned free market society" is just plain ignorant of what the US is actually renowned for at the moment, namely war and greed.  It's also ignorant of the meaning of the term "free market" in my view.  In a free market, actors have equal information and power to choose. The actual system operating in the US is more accurately known as "crony capitalism" and you have to be blind to not see that.   The government, media and military are all captured by industry which is a well-known step on the way to fascism.  Socialism is the antidote, not the problem.  

 

Since your vaguely referenced "background in commerce and ecomonics" did not include any training in logical thought, let me help you with some terms:  

[^1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_pleading

[^2]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moving_the_goalposts

[^3]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argument_from_authority

 

Please don't do these any more.  And please don't spell "your" wrong anymore, it makes you look dumb.  

 

[Chongalulu]

46 minutes ago, wealthychef said:

You asked for examples of when price fixing worked, and I give you two of them.  No doubt you were ignorant of these obvious examples or you wouldn't have asked for them.  So now, you use three logical fallacies, namely special pleading[^1], moving the goal posts[^2] and the argument from authority[^3] as a way for you to weasel out of thinking what was it about these actions that worked in these circumstances and how they might apply to our circumstances of today.  

 

Your dogma is showing and your "background in commerce" smells of BS.  What exactly is this background since you insist on trotting it out?  I could use a laugh listening to you brag about your career as a financial coach or your junior college economics class or your experience running a shoe store or perhaps picking stocks or whatever.  Your ideas about economics amount to nothing but a credulous recitation of state TV propaganda about the Great US Empire and its marvels, combined with the usual entitlement and ignorance of world affairs.  If you provide any evidence of the ability to think independently, I'd love to engage on a couple of ideas that I think refute your claims.   Here they are.  

 

First, socialism, I doubt you even know what that word means, do you?  No doubt you are completely ignorant of this basic economic theory.  Is your brain even capable of wrapping itself around the concept of worker's rights?  Or do you just not care about workers except as to how they juice your stock market returns?  

 

Second, calling the USA a "renowned free market society" is just plain ignorant of what the US is actually renowned for at the moment, namely war and greed.  It's also ignorant of the meaning of the term "free market" in my view.  In a free market, actors have equal information and power to choose. The actual system operating in the US is more accurately known as "crony capitalism" and you have to be blind to not see that.   The government, media and military are all captured by industry which is a well-known step on the way to fascism.  Socialism is the antidote, not the problem.  

 

Since your vaguely referenced "background in commerce and ecomonics" did not include any training in logical thought, let me help you with some terms:  

[^1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_pleading

[^2]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moving_the_goalposts

[^3]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argument_from_authority

 

Please don't do these any more.  And please don't spell "your" wrong anymore, it makes you look dumb.  

 

I notice you try to compensate for lack of knowledge with waffling and rambling irrelevance and as a final indication of a lack of argument have to fall back on typos to bolster it.

[jacko45k]

16 hours ago, scorecard said:

Big sister told to leave. Signs changed instantly back to same pricing for all customers, and big discounts on drinks, cakes, etc.

At least she had the strength to deal with her. I have seen a lot of businesses being damaged by employed relatives who act like entitled dictators. 

[wealthychef]

30 minutes ago, nchuckle said:

I notice you try to compensate for lack of knowledge with waffling and rambling irrelevance and as a final indication of a lack of argument have to fall back on typos to bolster it.

So let's add ad-hominem to your logical gaffes and note once more your lack of any substance to back up your idea that the US is a free market economy and your lack of any knowledge about socialism which you ignorantly criticize.  I answered your points and refuted your arguments and you have failed to demonstrate even the ability to spell correctly.  If you find my ideas lacking, then I'm sure others will notice that which you didn't.  Maybe you can get a friend to explain it to you?   

[Henryford]

19 hours ago, moe666 said:

My wife will be doing the bookings from now and she will be asking for the Thai discount. I stopped going to Thai national parks and other attractions years ago

As someone said above i do all my hotel bookings through Agoda. When i first open the app how do they know my nationality? Will they quote me a price and then double it when i pay as a non Thai?

[SuwadeeS]

Let them. But the billl will come, Sure.

If this Information gies viral to International tourist Organisations.

The Feedback will Hit Thailand very hard.

Pra,ut should kick out the Person, who had this discrimitating and nacistic idea. 

I will do inform the European tourist association, anyway.

[scorecard]

2 hours ago, jacko45k said:

At least she had the strength to deal with her. I have seen a lot of businesses being damaged by employed relatives who act like entitled dictators. 

The 'big sister' in this family has caused many serious problems for her siblings and friends*, she's been fined for refusing police / court orders and fined twice for being rude to snr. police officers. *Some years back she decided to go to Bkk for a holiday and turned up at the house of an old friend unannounced and abused the maid for no reason. Next morning she decided to go shopping but her husband had already taken their car somewhere. She noticed another car parked at the front of the house and noticed the keys in the house. So she took the car and couldn't be contacted until late that evening. Turned out it was a rental car, picked up the previous afternoon by the son of the 'friend', for the son to, next morning, drive himself and several friends to a wedding 250 Km away. 

Big sister returned to the house in a tuk tuk. When asked about the location of the car she had stolen she said 'it's damaged, can't drive it'. The young man who rented the car quickly called the car rental company, they called the police. Police and rental mngr turn up at the house quickly and young man who had rented the car told he has to pay about 20000Baht for the damage to the car. Family turn to 'big sister' who refuses to acknowledge any responsibility and insists that car rental companies are all thieves and scammers. Snr. cop tells his men to take 'big sisters' car to pay part of the money now due to the rental company and orders 'big sister' to be locked up. Ten days later 'big sisters' husband has been able to borrow the remaining money owed to the rental company. Snr. cop instructs that all of the families ('Big sister' and husband, plus the young man who rented the car and his parents) to report to the police station. Snr. cop orders 'big sister' to 'grap' to all present (lie on the ground and apologize). She refuses and insists she had done nothing wrong and proceeds to seriously abuse the snr. cop. She's fined a further 5,000Baht (which station chiefs can do) and does 3 more days in jail. When she comes out she demands the young man who initially rented the damaged car rent another car and pay for the car to take her back to her home town. Snr. cop intervenes and tells her to take a bus. 

 

This is just one of many incidents this nasty woman has generated. Nowadays the whole family ensure they are nowhere near her and have told her she is banned to come to their homes. And her husband has put notices / statements in local newspapers refusing to accept any debts that she incurs. 

[Jimjim1]

On 7/8/2022 at 9:17 PM, 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.

Total bunch of brain dead tossers, 

They have all but destroyed the tourist industry with their indiscriminate ill thought out rules and regulations and now on the same standing they are ringing the death knell on what remains.

I give up, I love Thailand, I come here 4 or 5 times every year and spend over 200,000baht each time, but after this level of stupidity I am off to Cambodia, they appear to have a different strain of pork there.

[JimTripper]

19 hours ago, scorecard said:

Wife of son's work buddy opened a coffee shop 10 minutes walk from the Chiang Mai night market, many pedesrians, shop quite successful with 2 full time employees, good selection of quality cakes, sandwiches etc. Same pricing for all customers Thai and foreign.

 

Son's buddy and his wife decides to celebrate their success, booked a 7 days package to Bali.

 

Wife of son's buddy was quickly appraoched by her older loud demanding sister who insisted that she run the coffee shop while little sister and husband away.

 

They enjoyed their holiday, on return from Bali went to the coffee shop, 1 employee had been sacked by big sister.

 

Signage had been changed, cost of coffee, all drinks, cakes etc., etc., all changed. Reduced prices for Thais and triple the old pricing for farang.

 

Revenue had dropped significantly, son's buddy asked big sister 'how many coffees do you now sell to foreigners every day?' Answer 'Yesterday 1, some days none' Then 'why are the cakes and sandwiches all stale and hard?' Big sister angrily responds 'because foreigners refuse to buy them'.

 

Big sister told to leave. Signs changed instantly back to same pricing for all customers, and big discounts on drinks, cakes, etc.

 

It took about 6 months to get the revenue back to prior Bali levels.  

Sounds like the changes were more about anger towards foreigners, then increased profits.

[micmichd]

2 hours ago, Henryford said:

As someone said above i do all my hotel bookings through Agoda. When i first open the app how do they know my nationality? Will they quote me a price and then double it when i pay as a non Thai?

No. You just get a discount if you qualify as a Thai. 

[scorecard]

6 minutes ago, JimTripper said:

Sounds like the changes were more about anger towards foreigners, then increased profits.

Sure, the 'big sister' concerned has said many times before 'foreigners have to pay more' and similar. Another family member was in a florist shop in Chiang Mai with 'big sister'. Florist was selling a bunch of flowers to a foreigner. Big Sister intervened and asked 'what the price for Thai people and for foreigners?'

Florist responded 'same price'. Big sister now insists it's Thai law she must charge foreigners 4 times the Thai price. Foreigner says nothing, just disappears. Then a severe argument between the florist and Big Sister. Florists Thai husband then asks all present to leave the shop, then pushes Big Sister out the door and locks the door. Shop re-opend a couple of hours later. 

 

 

[zzaa09]

4 hours ago, wealthychef said:

You asked for examples of when price fixing worked, and I give you two of them.  No doubt you were ignorant of these obvious examples or you wouldn't have asked for them.  So now, you use three logical fallacies, namely special pleading[^1], moving the goal posts[^2] and the argument from authority[^3] as a way for you to weasel out of thinking what was it about these actions that worked in these circumstances and how they might apply to our circumstances of today.  

 

Your dogma is showing and your "background in commerce" smells of BS.  What exactly is this background since you insist on trotting it out?  I could use a laugh listening to you brag about your career as a financial coach or your junior college economics class or your experience running a shoe store or perhaps picking stocks or whatever.  Your ideas about economics amount to nothing but a credulous recitation of state TV propaganda about the Great US Empire and its marvels, combined with the usual entitlement and ignorance of world affairs.  If you provide any evidence of the ability to think independently, I'd love to engage on a couple of ideas that I think refute your claims.   Here they are.  

 

First, socialism, I doubt you even know what that word means, do you?  No doubt you are completely ignorant of this basic economic theory.  Is your brain even capable of wrapping itself around the concept of worker's rights?  Or do you just not care about workers except as to how they juice your stock market returns?  

 

Second, calling the USA a "renowned free market society" is just plain ignorant of what the US is actually renowned for at the moment, namely war and greed.  It's also ignorant of the meaning of the term "free market" in my view.  In a free market, actors have equal information and power to choose. The actual system operating in the US is more accurately known as "crony capitalism" and you have to be blind to not see that.   The government, media and military are all captured by industry which is a well-known step on the way to fascism.  Socialism is the antidote, not the problem.  

 

Since your vaguely referenced "background in commerce and ecomonics" did not include any training in logical thought, let me help you with some terms:  

[^1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_pleading

[^2]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moving_the_goalposts

[^3]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argument_from_authority

 

Please don't do these any more.  And please don't spell "your" wrong anymore, it makes you look dumb.  

 

Actually, a deep systematic oligarchical/authoritarian rule defines what the U.S. is truly about - socially, politically, economically or whatever.........romantically waxed as all those lovely and deluded things [frredom/independence/self-sufficiency/exceptionalism] that really don't exist within that particular culture.