Thai Person Making Hotel Reservation In Internet

[MasterBlend]

Hi all

The situation: I'm going to stay in a hotel in Thailand with my thai wife and her family. For a reason I'm thinking of making a hotel reservation on www.hotelclub.com so that the name of the main guest be thai person with only a Thai ID card with no latin alphabets. I would pay the reservation with my credit card.

Question #1: Will everything work fine if I transliterate the person's name to latin alphabets and then we present to voucher and person's thai ID card on check-in?

Question #2: If, for some reason, I would make two separate one night-reservations to the same person for two subsequent nights and transliterate the name a little different each time, would there be any problems or confusion from the part of hotel because the name is transliterated differently?

If someone has experience in this kind of situation, I would much appreciate some advice.

PS. This is my first post. If it is in wrong place please feel free to move it to proper place.

MasterBlend

[tw25rw]

I don't think it would be a problem with the transliteration. This kind of thing happens all the time.

You would need to be there to present the card though.

[ClaytonSeymour]

Just be aware that some of the hotel booking sites state that the rates are not available to Thai nationals. I tried to book a hotel in the Wife's name on Sawasdee.com - she received an e-mail from them asking her to get her 'foreigner friend' to make the booking in their name.

[henryalleman]

Hi all

The situation: I'm going to stay in a hotel in Thailand with my thai wife and her family. For a reason I'm thinking of making a hotel reservation on www.hotelclub.com so that the name of the main guest be thai person with only a Thai ID card with no latin alphabets. I would pay the reservation with my credit card.

Question #1: Will everything work fine if I transliterate the person's name to latin alphabets and then we present to voucher and person's thai ID card on check-in?

Question #2: If, for some reason, I would make two separate one night-reservations to the same person for two subsequent nights and transliterate the name a little different each time, would there be any problems or confusion from the part of hotel because the name is transliterated differently?

If someone has experience in this kind of situation, I would much appreciate some advice.

PS. This is my first post. If it is in wrong place please feel free to move it to proper place.

MasterBlend

Don't make an reservation by internet, far too expensive, better you book a room on arrival. Hotels in Thailand are never 100% occupied. Use the net to get information about price and facilities, that's all. There is always a possibility to bargain even in 4 star hotels. Should visit Sawadee.com/hotel because most of the times they publish the cheapest rates.

One last advise, when you pay by credit card ALWAYS INSIST, to make the payement in Thai Baht, if neccesary even let them make a new bill, because the currency rates of hotels are much more higher than the credit card currency rates.

I learn this by experience.

good luck and have a nice holliday.

[henryalleman]

Hi all

The situation: I'm going to stay in a hotel in Thailand with my thai wife and her family. For a reason I'm thinking of making a hotel reservation on www.hotelclub.com so that the name of the main guest be thai person with only a Thai ID card with no latin alphabets. I would pay the reservation with my credit card.

Question #1: Will everything work fine if I transliterate the person's name to latin alphabets and then we present to voucher and person's thai ID card on check-in?

Question #2: If, for some reason, I would make two separate one night-reservations to the same person for two subsequent nights and transliterate the name a little different each time, would there be any problems or confusion from the part of hotel because the name is transliterated differently?

If someone has experience in this kind of situation, I would much appreciate some advice.

PS. This is my first post. If it is in wrong place please feel free to move it to proper place.

MasterBlend

Don't make an reservation by internet, far too expensive, better you book a room on arrival. Hotels in Thailand are never 100% occupied. Use the net to get information about price and facilities, that's all. There is always a possibility to bargain even in 4 star hotels. Should visit Sawadee.com/hotel because most of the times they publish the cheapest rates.

One last advise, when you pay by credit card ALWAYS INSIST, to make the payement in Thai Baht, if neccesary even let them make a new bill, because the currency rates of hotels are much more higher than the credit card currency rates.

I learn this by experience.

good luck and have a nice holliday.

Sorry forgot some important issue again,

When they make the bill, look carefully that they don't put a foreign currence besides Thai baht, because than you have to pay your bill in that foreign currency, so you only accep only amount an in Thai Baht. Once Charoen Princess in Khon Khaen tricked me by saying theyh would deduct it in Thai Baht, well it wasn't I lost 200 baht by it. I prefer to give a tip of 200 Baht than to make some hotel owner more rich.

[ThomasHOL]

Don't make an reservation by internet, far too expensive, better you book a room on arrival. Hotels in Thailand are never 100% occupied. Use the net to get information about price and facilities, that's all. There is always a possibility to bargain even in 4 star hotels. Should visit Sawadee.com/hotel because most of the times they publish the cheapest rates.

One last advise, when you pay by credit card ALWAYS INSIST, to make the payement in Thai Baht, if neccesary even let them make a new bill, because the currency rates of hotels are much more higher than the credit card currency rates.

I learn this by experience.

good luck and have a nice holliday.

In my experience it is more expensive to not book than to do it by internet. When i been to the hotels in person they always quoted higher prices than i could find online. But perhaps smaller hotels are more open to discounts.

[Owain]

Hi all

The situation: I'm going to stay in a hotel in Thailand with my thai wife and her family. For a reason I'm thinking of making a hotel reservation on www.hotelclub.com so that the name of the main guest be thai person with only a Thai ID card with no latin alphabets. I would pay the reservation with my credit card.

I think you might have a problem putting your wifes name as the guest and paying with your credit card.Why not just use your name?

[onethailand]

Question #1: Will everything work fine if I transliterate the person's name to latin alphabets and then we present to voucher and person's thai ID card on check-in?

If in Thailand, shouldn't be a big problem. However - various sites may not let you book for someone else, nor allow someone to book with your credit card, for security reasons.

Question #2: If, for some reason, I would make two separate one night-reservations to the same person for two subsequent nights and transliterate the name a little different each time, would there be any problems or confusion from the part of hotel because the name is transliterated differently?

Again, if in Thailand, shouldn't be a big problem.

I have no idea why you're trying to do this, but I don't think it is such a good idea. ClaytonSeymour is also right - many sites may not be able to accept bookings for Thai nationals.

HenryAlleman - most hotels themselves always use Baht, unless specifically stated otherwise. However, many booking sites cannot process transactions in Baht. If you're talking about the actual credit card swipe processing at a location, I agree you should always select the local currency - this applies in supermarkets and department stores as well.

However, if you walk into a hotel and ask for a room, in most cases you will be paying a much higher rate than if booked online, especially in cases where prepayment is required. If you want better rates, you should almost always book in advance - and if you don't trust third-party booking sites, many hotel sites themselves offer special Internet or Best Available Rates which will be significantly cheaper than getting the rate directly at the hotel.

[MJo]

I use latestays dot com, usually good rates. They also show "full rate" which i believe is the list price used many times if you just walk in.

Sometimes your thai partner can get better price just by phone call from the hotel but sometimes they have adviced me to book from 3rd party web pages to get better rate...

[henryalleman]

Question #1: Will everything work fine if I transliterate the person's name to latin alphabets and then we present to voucher and person's thai ID card on check-in?

If in Thailand, shouldn't be a big problem. However - various sites may not let you book for someone else, nor allow someone to book with your credit card, for security reasons.

Question #2: If, for some reason, I would make two separate one night-reservations to the same person for two subsequent nights and transliterate the name a little different each time, would there be any problems or confusion from the part of hotel because the name is transliterated differently?

Again, if in Thailand, shouldn't be a big problem.

I have no idea why you're trying to do this, but I don't think it is such a good idea. ClaytonSeymour is also right - many sites may not be able to accept bookings for Thai nationals.

HenryAlleman - most hotels themselves always use Baht, unless specifically stated otherwise. However, many booking sites cannot process transactions in Baht. If you're talking about the actual credit card swipe processing at a location, I agree you should always select the local currency - this applies in supermarkets and department stores as well.

However, if you walk into a hotel and ask for a room, in most cases you will be paying a much higher rate than if booked online, especially in cases where prepayment is required. If you want better rates, you should almost always book in advance - and if you don't trust third-party booking sites, many hotel sites themselves offer special Internet or Best Available Rates which will be significantly cheaper than getting the rate directly at the hotel.

You can believe me or not, but I never paied more than than a rate published on a website on the Internet, and sometimes even more cheap. This is certainly so upcountry in 3 and 4 stars hotels. maybe its because I always travel in low season. I know also that with Songkran, Chinese newyear and so on, you can not have sharp prices.

For instance

Pimarn Nakhon Sawan Internet booking price standard deluxe incl. breakfast 1000 baht incl. Breakfast, I paied 800 Baht; (I was alone)

Riverhouse resort Mae Sariang internet rate internet booking standart single 1200 Baht incl Breakfast, I paied 1200 Baht.(with my wife)

Wangcome Chiang Rai, internet booking rate deluxe single incl. breakfast 1550 Baht, I paied 1400 baht. ( I was alone)

Charoensri Grand Royal Udon, internet booking rate inc. Breakfast 1300 baht I paied 1200 Baht.( I was alone)

I checked my hotel bill's again to be sure.

all this prices in march and april 2008, before Songkran.

Should try next time

[ozfarang81]

Thats nice if you want to walk in and start negotiating, but I usually, not always, prefer to have the booking in advance. I have found myself wandering around Udon Thani in the past looking for a room when one at Charoensri Grand Royal is not available.

The site I recommend highly for hotel reservations online is: agoda.com. It is absolutely fantastic with prices, ALMOST always lower than wotif and pretty much any other site I have visited. They also give you rewards points for every booking, and you can earn more rewards points by doing a short review of the hotel after you have stayed there. The website is fast, and emails you a nice PDF file of your accommodation voucher almost immediately to take along to the hotel. 5 star website! and great for hotels around the world! Note that it does charge in USD, however it shows the prices in any currency you like.

[onethailand]

You can believe me or not, but I never paied more than than a rate published on a website on the Internet, and sometimes even more cheap. This is certainly so upcountry in 3 and 4 stars hotels. maybe its because I always travel in low season. I know also that with Songkran, Chinese newyear and so on, you can not have sharp prices.

For instance

Pimarn Nakhon Sawan Internet booking price standard deluxe incl. breakfast 1000 baht incl. Breakfast, I paied 800 Baht; (I was alone)

Riverhouse resort Mae Sariang internet rate internet booking standart single 1200 Baht incl Breakfast, I paied 1200 Baht.(with my wife)

Wangcome Chiang Rai, internet booking rate deluxe single incl. breakfast 1550 Baht, I paied 1400 baht. ( I was alone)

Charoensri Grand Royal Udon, internet booking rate inc. Breakfast 1300 baht I paied 1200 Baht.( I was alone)

I don't doubt you, however the examples you used are not the most popular hotels, nor are they part of a major chain, nor are they in the most popular destinations. You will have a hard time finding similar deals in Bangkok, Phuket, Pattaya, Koh Samui or Chiang Mai.

So in some instances and locations you are probably right - but not for the majority of instances and locations.

[ClaytonSeymour]

I don't doubt you, however the examples you used are not the most popular hotels, nor are they part of a major chain, nor are they in the most popular destinations. You will have a hard time finding similar deals in Bangkok, Phuket, Pattaya, Koh Samui or Chiang Mai.

So in some instances and locations you are probably right - but not for the majority of instances and locations.

Agree with this 100%.