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

[geisha]

17 hours ago, Lacessit said:

Poor guy, perhaps he is down to his last Lamborghini.

How did he get to be so rich with such a dumb proposition? Inheritance?

Actually, no. His father was us military having served in world war 2 and the Korean War. His mother worked for Time magazine. Heineken lived in Thailand since the age of 14, was educated in Bangkok. 
He began with a 1200$ bank loan and started a cleaning enterprise . From there , his work grew and grew. He didn’t get to his present position because of wrong decisions. No one can hardly call him foolish. 
I live in an area that relies completely on tourism. Everything, and especially hotels and restaurants have been brought to their knees because of Covid. Only the fittest survived. They need all the help they can get to refurbish,  restaff ( higher wages) , and pay off the loans they had . How many businesses are laughing all the way to the bank after more than two years of loss ??? 
If he thinks the industry needs this boost, then I think he’s probably right. 8$ is not the end of the world for this class of hotels ( Anantara, Avani and many more) . It’s not going into his pocket or to the government but to help a suffering industry. 

[worldexpress]

Utterly the dumbest thing I heard/seen this week. ????

[rickudon]

He should add 300 baht to the cost of his Pizzas (already expensive) - see how long his business lasts then. I will avoid HIS brand from now on.

[DjSilver]

Always racism against foreigners in Thailand. No matter if they are foreigners themselves.

[bert bloggs]

Well my sister was coming in feb amd my daughter and familly  but cant afford it already ,and he wants to put prices up, 

Wonderful Thailand

[madmitch]

22 minutes ago, geisha said:

Actually, no. His father was us military having served in world war 2 and the Korean War. His mother worked for Time magazine. Heineken lived in Thailand since the age of 14, was educated in Bangkok. 
He began with a 1200$ bank loan and started a cleaning enterprise . From there , his work grew and grew. He didn’t get to his present position because of wrong decisions. No one can hardly call him foolish. 
I live in an area that relies completely on tourism. Everything, and especially hotels and restaurants have been brought to their knees because of Covid. Only the fittest survived. They need all the help they can get to refurbish,  restaff ( higher wages) , and pay off the loans they had . How many businesses are laughing all the way to the bank after more than two years of loss ??? 
If he thinks the industry needs this boost, then I think he’s probably right. 8$ is not the end of the world for this class of hotels ( Anantara, Avani and many more) . It’s not going into his pocket or to the government but to help a suffering industry. 

$8 isn't much if you're booking a five star hotel but it is if you're booking a smaller hotel. 

 

Let him put 300 baht on his prices and let other hotels decide whether or not to follow suit.

[off road pat]

20 hours ago, soi3eddie said:

If Mr Heinecke thinks that hotels need to charge more then surely they will. Hotel pricing is driven by costs and the market (supply/demand). No artificial support needed to generate more profits for him! Is he saying publicly that there should be dual pricing for foreigners? This is just plain wrong and will backfire on him and the country if they pander to his greedy non-sense. Especially when everything needs to be done to attract travellers in this recession. If I knew which hotels he's involved with, I would surely boycott them.

 

William Ellwood Heinecke (Thai: วิลเลียม เอ็ลล์วู๊ด ไฮเน็ค; born 1949) is an American-born Thai businessman. He is the Founder & Chairman of Minor International PCL. Minor International includes Minor Hotels, Minor Food Group and Minor Lifestyle. He is the CEO and Chairman of Minor Corporation, the CEO and Chairman of Minor International, and Chairman of Minor Food Group.

[Sparktrader]

21 hours ago, nigelforbes said:

Sad, he should know better than to propagate two tier pricing.

Called racism.

[Sparktrader]

28 minutes ago, madmitch said:

$8 isn't much if you're booking a five star hotel but it is if you're booking a smaller hotel. 

 

Let him put 300 baht on his prices and let other hotels decide whether or not to follow suit.

I moved hotel over 330 baht.

[Sparktrader]

2 hours ago, Shocked farang said:

Well he is still considered a farang by most Thais, the main advantage is that he can actually own land and properties in the Kingdom. 

Doesnt look Thai.

[Sparktrader]

11 hours ago, johnhender said:

Everyone loves capitalism till they are the victim -

State based price hikes isnt capitalism. Free market is capitalism. His idea is socialist.

[BangkokReady]

22 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

American-Thai billionaire and hotel tycoon Bill Heinecke advises Thailand to charge international tourists an extra 300 baht (US$8) per room per night to aid the hotel industry’s post-pandemic economic recovery.

As long as the price is clear when booking - so that customers can choose to go elsewhere - go for it.  It will probably drive people away from Thailand and to cheaper destinations who are actively trying to encourage tourism, rather than price gouging.

[Sparktrader]

53 minutes ago, rickudon said:

He should add 300 baht to the cost of his Pizzas (already expensive) - see how long his business lasts then. I will avoid HIS brand from now on.

Good idea. Not good anyway.

[Sparktrader]

Just now, BangkokReady said:

As long as the price is clear when booking - so that customers can choose to go elsewhere - go for it.  It will probably drive people away from Thailand and to cheaper destinations who are actively trying to encourage tourism, rather than price gouging.

You can't force hotels to charge more unless it's a tax. Then the money gets given to gov. Doesnt help the hotels at all. Less tourists, less hotel revenue. Terrible idea.

 

If you want to sell more pizzas do you raise prices by 40%? 

 

 

[Grahamlil]

So easy when you are a billionaire, that's half the trouble to many fat cats

[ThailandGuy]

Must be a friend of the guy who bought Twitter.  Asking people to pay more in a economy and energy crisis world wide? What do you think will happen? 555555. 

He should have played the leading role in "One flew over the cuckoo's nest"! What a joke!

[BangkokReady]

2 minutes ago, Sparktrader said:

If you want to sell more pizzas do you raise prices by 40%?

I guess I'd do what this guy is doing and ask the government to force all pizza restaurants to up prices by 40%.???? 

[Sparktrader]

2 minutes ago, ThailandGuy said:

Must be a friend of the guy who bought Twitter.  Asking people to pay more in a economy and energy crisis world wide? What do you think will happen? 555555. 

He should have played the leading role in "One flew over the cuckoo's nest"! What a joke!

Musk fee is one company. Free to not use it. This guy wants a nation wide $8 tax. He is a commie now.

[ThailandGuy]

10 minutes ago, Sparktrader said:

Musk fee is one company. Free to not use it. This guy wants a national wide $8 tax. He is a commie now.

The Musk "friendship" was pure sarcasm.  Unfortunately You missed that.  Raising prices for only Farangs will backfire. Especially in the current economy worldwide. People will start avoiding Thailand and spend their money in the countries around the kingdom. They are not stupid as there is a limit in squeezing the lemon and shaking the money tree!

[Sparktrader]

1 minute ago, ThailandGuy said:

The Musk "friendship" was pure sarcasm.  Unfortunately You missed that.  Raising prices for only Farangs will backfire. Especially in the current economy worldwide. People will start avoiding Thailand and spend their money in the countries around the kingdom. They are not stupid as their is a limit in squeezing the lemon and shaking the money tree!

Go Laos, Phils, Vietnam, Cambodia. Id go Laos and Siem Reap.

 

 

[Sparktrader]

1 hour ago, geisha said:

Actually, no. His father was us military having served in world war 2 and the Korean War. His mother worked for Time magazine. Heineken lived in Thailand since the age of 14, was educated in Bangkok. 
He began with a 1200$ bank loan and started a cleaning enterprise . From there , his work grew and grew. He didn’t get to his present position because of wrong decisions. No one can hardly call him foolish. 
I live in an area that relies completely on tourism. Everything, and especially hotels and restaurants have been brought to their knees because of Covid. Only the fittest survived. They need all the help they can get to refurbish,  restaff ( higher wages) , and pay off the loans they had . How many businesses are laughing all the way to the bank after more than two years of loss ??? 
If he thinks the industry needs this boost, then I think he’s probably right. 8$ is not the end of the world for this class of hotels ( Anantara, Avani and many more) . It’s not going into his pocket or to the government but to help a suffering industry. 

$8 tax goes to gov not hotels!

[Sparktrader]

7 hours ago, tomazbodner said:

Minor Hotels is a hotel owner, operator and investor with a portfolio of over 75,000 rooms across more than 520 hotels, resorts and serviced suites under the Anantara, AVANI, Oaks, Tivoli, Elewana, NH Collection, NH, nhow, Marriott, Four Seasons, St. Regis, Radisson Blu and Minor International brands.

 

Minor Food is one of Asia's largest casual dining and quick-service restaurant companies, operating over 2,410 outlets in 24 countries under The Pizza Company, The Coffee Club, Riverside, Thai Express, Benihana, Bonchon, Swensen’s, Sizzler, Dairy Queen and Burger King brands.

 

Minor Lifestyle is one of Thailand's largest distributors of lifestyle brands with over 390 points of sale, focusing primarily on fashion and lifestyle products. Its brands include Anello, BergHOFF, Bodum, Bossini, Charles & Keith, Esprit, Joseph Joseph, Radley, Zwilling J.A. Henckels and Minor Smart Kids.

Dont buy from any of them.

[MrMuddle]

20 hours ago, LomSak27 said:

A man who knows what he has to say and who to say it to. It does not matter if it sounds ridiculous or not. After all this is the man who took his 116 Pizza Hut restaurants and rebranded them overnight into The Pizza Company after a "dispute" with the parent company.  Not easy and according to some, the real reason he eventually renounced  US citizenship and became a citizen of Thailand. 

I wasn't aware he also owns The Pizza Company, they won't be getting any money from me, in future.

[Sparktrader]

1 minute ago, MrMuddle said:

I wasn't aware he also owns The Pizza Company, they won't be getting any money from me, in future.

He is popular now. 

[MrMuddle]

1 hour ago, worldexpress said:

Utterly the dumbest thing I heard/seen this week. ????

You missed this, then, Nadhim Zahawi is a UK Conservative Minister. Leslie Phillips was a very famous male actor.
 

[prakhonchai nick]

Perhaps someone with more time than me could provide a list of all hotels and other interests this man has in Thailand, so that we expats can avoid them, and advise our visiting friends and relatives to do the same.

[rudi49jr]

I would suggest donating all your money to charity and refrain from making ridiculous suggestions in the future. 

[Sparktrader]

Working example

 

Daily 500 baht

Weekly 2500 baht

Monthly 8,000 baht

 

Daily becomes 800 baht

 

What happens to weekly and monthly?

 

 

[Kerryd]

This "idea" was already made into law months ago.

I noticed last month, when I was looking at booking a room in Buriram in December, that some hotels already had dual pricing on their rooms.

And it wasn't "300 baht" more. It was 750 baht more. For every room type, for every date.

Luckily I found another place a couple hundred meters away that charged one price regardless of skin colour (and you can bet that is the determining factor most of the time.).

This is something other countries should reciprocate as well as the land ownership prohibition.

Make it a law that Thai citizens have to pay more to stay in hotels in other countries and are forbidden from buying land in those countries.

How long before the "elite" started howling for change ?

[Lacessit]

1 hour ago, geisha said:

Actually, no. His father was us military having served in world war 2 and the Korean War. His mother worked for Time magazine. Heineken lived in Thailand since the age of 14, was educated in Bangkok. 
He began with a 1200$ bank loan and started a cleaning enterprise . From there , his work grew and grew. He didn’t get to his present position because of wrong decisions. No one can hardly call him foolish. 
I live in an area that relies completely on tourism. Everything, and especially hotels and restaurants have been brought to their knees because of Covid. Only the fittest survived. They need all the help they can get to refurbish,  restaff ( higher wages) , and pay off the loans they had . How many businesses are laughing all the way to the bank after more than two years of loss ??? 
If he thinks the industry needs this boost, then I think he’s probably right. 8$ is not the end of the world for this class of hotels ( Anantara, Avani and many more) . It’s not going into his pocket or to the government but to help a suffering industry. 

You think he is probably right? AFAIK putting up prices reduces demand, it's basic economics.

Even Warren Buffett and Bill Gates are capable of admitting they are wrong occasionally.