A five-star hotel in Patong, Phuket, has been raided for operating without a licence, despite offering 219 rooms and charging up to 8,000 baht per night. Provincial officials confirmed the hotel had no operating permit under the Hotel Act B.E. 2547 (2004), no registered legal entity and no evidence of tax registration. The case has highlighted concerns that fewer than 1,000 of Phuket’s more than 6,000 accommodation providers are formally licensed.

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On 24 February, Phuket Governor Nirut Pongsitthithaworn received a report from Deputy Provincial Governor Rungrueng Thimabut, who led the operation following a complaint from a concerned citizen. The complaint alleged that a hotel in Patong, Kathu district, was operating more than 200 rooms without official approval.

Officials checked the DOPA e-Service administrative licensing system under powers granted by the Hotel Act B.E. 2547 and confirmed the hotel had neither obtained a licence nor applied for one with the Kathu District Office. A sting operation was then organised, with officers posing as tourists to book a Deluxe room priced at 5,000 baht per night.

Hotel staff registered the undercover officers, accepted payment and issued two black key cards marked QK25-0223 before escorting them to the room. Officers then signalled the arrest team, who entered the premises, identified themselves and detained the manager, Sanyadej, at the scene.

During questioning, Sanyadej stated the hotel belonged to a company and had been operating for three months. The property offered daily room rates ranging from 2,000 to 8,000 baht across 219 rooms. He was unable to produce a valid hotel operating licence.

Authorities will charge those involved, including unidentified associates still at large, with jointly operating a hotel business without a licence under Sections 4, 15 paragraph 1, 48 and 59 of the Hotel Act B.E. 2547.

Rungrueng said the hotel was also found to lack a building construction permit, company registration documents, an alcohol sales licence, employee registration records and tax registration documentation. He reported the raid and overall situation to the governor for further consideration.

Daily News reported that according to provincial data, Phuket has more than 6,000 hotels and accommodation providers, including beachfront villas and hostels, with the highest concentration in Patong, Kata, Karon and Mai Khao. However, the Provincial Administration Office, acting as registrar, reports only 988 licensed hotels with a total of 72,815 rooms. Further legal proceedings and related administrative reviews are expected to follow.

Picture courtesy of Daily News

Key Takeaways

• A 219-room five-star hotel in Patong was operating without any licence or registration.

• Phuket has over 6,000 accommodation providers but only 988 are officially licensed.

• The hotel faces charges under multiple sections of the Hotel Act B.E. 2547.

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Adapted by ASEAN Now Dailynews 25 Feb 2026

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This story truly beggars belief!

How could a property operating at the 5-star level be running without a proper hotel licence. You’d expect this kind of oversight to be impossible given the visibility and reputation such establishments rely on.

But the most serious point for me is the insurance angle. In the event of a fire, accident, or other emergency, guests and staff would likely find themselves completely uncovered. If the hotel isn’t licensed, then any insurance policy tied to its operations would almost certainly be invalid.

That means anyone staying there, or even working there, would be left exposed with no recourse.

Worse still, the report suggests that only about 16% of hotels and accommodation providers in Phuket are officially licensed!

It’s one thing for a business to skirt regulations, but when it directly impacts the safety and protection of people, it becomes much more than a bureaucratic issue (even in Thailand).

What I don't understand is that a business must be registered at the Chamber of Commerce and they need papers to start the business.. Besides that the Tax Department must receive yearly the taxpapers and check it, but nobody seas that a business is illegal or have a lack of papers??? There is a lot to do in Thailand as now we read about illegal clinics, hotels, businesses, and so.. It is a problem caused by lack of qualified people and corruption... Start with a good clean up and registration system. They start with public transporters, but I believe there are more urgent issues

And in the parallel universe of Thai defamation laws, no-one dares report the name or even the exact address of this fine establishment.

3 hours ago, Jim Waldron said:

How could a property operating at the 5-star level be running without a proper hotel licence.

Id like to tell you a little story about brown envelopes in thailand..........

So if they already know that the majority of hotels in Phuket (16%) are licensed and that over with over 6000 hotels, only 988 are licensed (that's a very specific number), one would think that it would be pretty easy to identify and charge the remaining hotels. Yet, it took a customer complaint for them to do anything!! And if like the hotel in the article, the majority of those hotels are not paying taxes - no wonder the economy is struggling. The government keeps pushing tourism as the answer to Thailand's economic problems, yet doesn't go after those same tourist operations for not registering their business (which generates income for the government) or for having tax registration documents (which would i assume requires them to pay taxes.) Baffling....

A five-room guesthouse might get away with it. But 219 rooms is not exactly keeping your presence below the radar.

Bizarre that it needs a "sting operation" to prove that it was actually operating as a hotel and not a very big private house.

It's not just the fact that a five star hotel with 219 rooms could be up and operating in plain sight, the actual building lacked a construction permit and one must presume no one's checked the construction, the provisions for fire escapes and evacuation. Plus no employee registration, and no licence to sell alcohol.

Thailand's keen to try and get its citizens and foreign residents paying their taxes, how about stating with the 84% of hotels in Phuket that appear to be operating without being registered, that's an awful lot of potential revenue that the government is not collecting.

3 hours ago, blaze master said:

Id like to tell you a little story about brown envelopes in thailand..........

I suspect this involved suitcases rather than envelopes