Billionaire hotel tycoon Bill Heinecke asks Thailand to charge foreigners more per room to aid industry’s economic recovery

[John Shepherd]

Heinecke had me chased out of Thailand after I publicly exposed Minor's flagship hotel, the illegal St Regis Bangkok. He bribed the police through a Minor subsidiary; they apologetically admitted this to me themselves. I have all the police paperwork and local authority (BMA) documentation to prove this. However, it is impossible to find a lawyer brave enough to stand up to this bully. Even the PM's office agreed that the St Regis is illegal but claimed to be unable to do anything about it. Minor is suing Marriott (which operates the St Regis Bangkok) in a sham lawsuit through the Thai court for alleged non-performance of the JW Marriott Resort and Spa in Phuket; this is to ensure Marriott silence re the St Regis. Marriott is well aware of its own part in the illegalities having covered up this serious issue during the 2016 Starwood merger. Hotel industry global corruption at its finest

Edited November 22, 2022 by John Shepherd

[John Shepherd]

On 11/10/2022 at 6:46 AM, jayboy said:

Very much so but his astute formation of alliances with those who really matter in Thailand goes back well before the Prayuth coup (at least 20 years before), ie at the very highest and most influential level.Look at his investors and look at the Minor Group Board of Directors.Those who who suggest he is somehow less than Thai rather miss the point.He is in fact completely and typically Thai and entwined in the Thai world, not least because in he acts and behaves like a top Sino-Thai businessman, and he knows how to play the game through deep understanding of the Thai business world.He's no angel and certainly has the necessary ruthless streak (look at his recent record on London's iconic Wolseley Restaurant in Piccadilly) but the vast majority of comments on Heinecke on this thread are based on a comprehensive ignorance.

 

P.S His business genius didn't manage to avoid an existential shock in the late 1990's financial crisis, but he was far from being the only top player in that position.

You are correct in stating that he is completely and typically Thai. In fact, a top level Thai business man once said to me to me that "Bill is more Thai than Thais". This was in a discussion on the nature of Thai corruption. The danger for Heinecke now is that he is behaving as a Thai in other parts of the world including the USA and putting himself in danger of FCPA violations. (In fact he has already done that!) Real Thai businessmen are more intelligent than to behave in that way

[soi3eddie]

2 hours ago, John Shepherd said:

Heinecke had me chased out of Thailand after I publicly exposed Minor's flagship hotel, the illegal St Regis Bangkok. He bribed the police through a Minor subsidiary; they apologetically admitted this to me themselves. I have all the police paperwork and local authority (BMA) documentation to prove this. However, it is impossible to find a lawyer brave enough to stand up to this bully. Even the PM's office agreed that the St Regis is illegal but claimed to be unable to do anything about it. Minor is suing Marriott (which operates the St Regis Bangkok) in a sham lawsuit through the Thai court for alleged non-performance of the JW Marriott Resort and Spa in Phuket; this is to ensure Marriott silence re the St Regis. Marriott is well aware of its own part in the illegalities having covered up this serious issue during the 2016 Starwood merger. Hotel industry global corruption at its finest

On what basis is the hotel "illegal"?

 

[Lemsta69]

2 hours ago, soi3eddie said:

On what basis is the hotel "illegal"?

 

if you really want to know then Google "St Regis Bangkok John Shepherd" and prepare to go down the rabbit hole.