The New Hotel At Chiang Mai Gate

[dave2]

the new imm hotel opened yesterday or the day before ? at chiang mai gate 200 yards from UGs main shop

the blackboard on the pavement ( sidewalk to yanks ) says .

soft opening ... 777 baht a night including breakfast and free wi fi .

can anyone explain to me what a ..... soft opening of a hotel is in thailand ?

coz ive NO idea

dave2

Edited July 24, 2009 by dave2

[wolf5370]

the new imm hotel opened yesterday or the day before ? at chiang mai gate 200 yards from UGs main shop

the blackboard on the pavement ( sidewalk to yanks ) says .

soft opening ... 777 baht a night including breakfast and free wi fi .

can anyone explain to me what a ..... soft opening of a hotel is in thailand ?

coz ive NO idea

dave2

Biting my tongue to try and stop any poor-taste jokes spilling forth about 'soft openings' in Thailand...I would suggest it means that its a quiet openening, without fanfare or publicity - possibly before their 'grand' opening which will be advertised.

[Drew Aitch]

the new imm hotel opened yesterday or the day before ? at chiang mai gate 200 yards from UGs main shop

the blackboard on the pavement ( sidewalk to yanks ) says .

soft opening ... 777 baht a night including breakfast and free wi fi .

can anyone explain to me what a ..... soft opening of a hotel is in thailand ?

coz ive NO idea

dave2

Hi Dave

A soft opening simply means no promotion, no big fuss, hype or major publicity made in preparation for the big day. The blackboard on the pavement is probably about as far as their marketing campaign has stretched to. In other words, they've spent diddly squat on advertising hoping the savings made on that will not stop folks from finding them and patronising their business.

Aitch

[Donnyboy]

what we need~ another new hotel

any one in the industry that knows the current occupancy hotel rates in CM?

I think the break even point was 60% in NZ, but i think Thailand runs alot leaner than that

[Priceless]

the new imm hotel opened yesterday or the day before ? at chiang mai gate 200 yards from UGs main shop

the blackboard on the pavement ( sidewalk to yanks ) says .

soft opening ... 777 baht a night including breakfast and free wi fi .

can anyone explain to me what a ..... soft opening of a hotel is in thailand ?

coz ive NO idea

dave2

Excuse me, but how can Chiang Mai Gate be 200 yards from UG's main shop? I'd put it at closer to 1000 yards

/ Priceless

[Donnyboy]

the new imm hotel opened yesterday or the day before ? at chiang mai gate 200 yards from UGs main shop

the blackboard on the pavement ( sidewalk to yanks ) says .

soft opening ... 777 baht a night including breakfast and free wi fi .

can anyone explain to me what a ..... soft opening of a hotel is in thailand ?

coz ive NO idea

dave2

Excuse me, but how can Chiang Mai Gate be 200 yards from UG's main shop? I'd put it at closer to 1000 yards

/ Priceless

i think hes thinking of Thapae Gate

[Priceless]

Made a bit of a mess of it, see next post instead / Priceless

Edited July 24, 2009 by Priceless

[Priceless]

the new imm hotel opened yesterday or the day before ? at chiang mai gate 200 yards from UGs main shop

the blackboard on the pavement ( sidewalk to yanks ) says .

soft opening ... 777 baht a night including breakfast and free wi fi .

can anyone explain to me what a ..... soft opening of a hotel is in thailand ?

coz ive NO idea

dave2

Excuse me, but how can Chiang Mai Gate be 200 yards from UG's main shop? I'd put it at closer to 1000 yards

/ Priceless

i think hes thinking of Thapae Gate

So do I actually, but that makes the OP rather a failure as marketeer, doesn't it

/ Priceless

[dave2]

pricless ... im marketing NOTHING

If you think

[dave2]

pricleess ... im marketing NOTHING coz im a brit

If you think i have any interest in this hotel you are wrong

the question i asked is ..... what is a soft opening ?

if you have any problems in understanding the question ?

please answer it with some knowledge ?

if you cant .... please keep quiet : )

theres a good boy : )

dave2

[Rinrada]

Soft opening is a bit a of a pratice run to iron out any potential problems.

Get the staff up and running..changing beds,washing out the joint every morning after the guests leave (some pigs better behaved)geting the bar and restaurant into order and finally exposing (not lit) front desk to the wonderfull money laden fickle masses/toorists who will expect everything and more.......and maybe even setting the dash/tips levels... ...basically no fanfair until the creases have been ironed out.........then the Mayor gets an invite.

Believe Immi got a place in Bangkok... read summit about the about 2 years ago...

[Priceless]

pricleess ... im marketing NOTHING coz im a brit

If you think i have any interest in this hotel you are wrong

the question i asked is ..... what is a soft opening ?

if you have any problems in understanding the question ?

please answer it with some knowledge ?

if you cant .... please keep quiet : )

theres a good boy : )

dave2

Since I am not in Chiang Mai at the moment, I started out wondering what hotel you were talking about. Then I guessed that you in fact didn't know which was which of Chiang Mai gate and Thapae gate. I didn't comment on the "soft opening" question because I thought the answer was obvious (and I'm not a Brit, not even a native English speaker, actually). Since then Rinrada has given an excellent explanation of the expression.

The statement about "marketeer" was made as a bit of a (possibly poor) joke, which I tried to indicate with (emoticons are sometimes considered the "internet equivalent of body language", as you might have known).

My sincere apologies for upsetting you. It was certainly unintentional

/ Priceless

Edited July 24, 2009 by Priceless

[IanForbes]

the new imm hotel opened yesterday or the day before ? at chiang mai gate 200 yards from UGs main shop

the blackboard on the pavement ( sidewalk to yanks ) says .

soft opening ... 777 baht a night including breakfast and free wi fi .

can anyone explain to me what a ..... soft opening of a hotel is in thailand ?

coz ive NO idea

dave2

THAT is a HOTEL? It looks more like a medium size guest house to me. I know, because I used to stay at the Chiang Mai Gate hotel... which actually IS a hotel. The Chiang Mai Gate hotel would be pretty close to the that establishment if it truly is near the Chiang Mai gate and not the Tai Pei gate. I'm not making any disparaging remarks about it though. Guest houses are a perfectly good form of accommodation.

Others have already given a good explanation of the term "Soft opening".

[cmsally]

The Imm chain is I believe owned by a certain beer company, so not short of a Baht or two.

So business climate probably not too worrying for them.

They can sit and gnash their teeth at what presumably is their direct competition across the gate (is that also 799 or was it 899 a night).

The place in question is actually the old Suriwong Plaza at Tapae Gate

[Priceless]

The Imm chain is I believe owned by a certain beer company, so not short of a Baht or two.

So business climate probably not too worrying for them.

They can sit and gnash their teeth at what presumably is their direct competition across the gate (is that also 799 or was it 899 a night).

The place in question is actually the old Suriwong Plaza at Tapae Gate

Thank you very much for the exact reference

/ Priceless

[daoyai]

Am happy to see that long empty but obviously well built building refurbished and put to use. If the rooms are well soundproofed could be a good option for tourists.

[Ulysses G.]

They have not even removed the paper that is taped over all of the windows yet!

[harrry]

They have not even removed the paper that is taped over all of the windows yet!

Well paper is cheaper than curtains and what farang at Tapae Gate looks out the window once he gets into a room anyway?

[Ulysses G.]

Sounds like a high class operation.

[dave2]

to priceless and all.

appologies to all for moving this hotel to chiang mai gate.

thats what hapens when you post after 23 .... or was it 27 ? large changs ( joke )

it is indeed at thapae gate almost opposite the montri as priceless says and the front is decieving ill admit.

ill get my coat now .... dave2

ps thanks for the answers of what a soft opening is : )

enjoy the 799 montri !

[Sansai Sam]

It is most definately Thapae Gate and not Chiang Mai Gate and it is roughly opposite the M Hotel, formerly known as the Montri Hotel.

[Gonzo the Face]

IMM Hotel ! ! !

Whats this ????

I was told that was to be the new International Headquarters for GECKO BOOKS. ! ! !

[Ulysses G.]

We strongly considered it, but it was was not big enough.

[orang37]

Well paper is cheaper than curtains and what farang at Tapae Gate looks out the window once he gets into a room anyway?

Sawasdee Khrup, Khun Harry,

A very fine Zen "koan" !

Well-done, Sir, and rare : simultaneously.

best, ~o:37;

[PeaceBlondie]

Wow, the old Suriwong Plaza. Rumoured to be owned earlier by a Shinywater relative. When I took my TEFL course there, it was thw only tenant, 2003.

[Chunkton]

The Imm chain is I believe owned by a certain beer company, so not short of a Baht or two.

So business climate probably not too worrying for them.

They can sit and gnash their teeth at what presumably is their direct competition across the gate (is that also 799 or was it 899 a night).

The place in question is actually the old Suriwong Plaza at Tapae Gate

I believe it was Taksin's sister that owned Suriwong Plaza. Rumored to be built over a very old grave yard going back to Burmese invasions, and ghosts in abundance, hence of course it's earlier failure. If so definitely a foreigner oriented hotel, don't take your Thai wife there or live to regret it.

[Ulysses G.]

I think that the graveyard was inside the moat in front of the Top North Hotel. That is what I have always heard. Many failed businees along that stretch.

[bojo]

Great location, if the rooms are functional and smart at that price, it should do very well. Anyone know the spec? I would imagine local traders are rubbing their hands with glee.

Regards Bojo

[cmsally]

The Imm chain is I believe owned by a certain beer company, so not short of a Baht or two.

So business climate probably not too worrying for them.

They can sit and gnash their teeth at what presumably is their direct competition across the gate (is that also 799 or was it 899 a night).

The place in question is actually the old Suriwong Plaza at Tapae Gate

I believe it was Taksin's sister that owned Suriwong Plaza. Rumored to be built over a very old grave yard going back to Burmese invasions, and ghosts in abundance, hence of course it's earlier failure. If so definitely a foreigner oriented hotel, don't take your Thai wife there or live to regret it.

According to older long term residents of that area,it stands on the site of what was once a temple .

[WinnieTheKhwai]

THAT is a HOTEL? It looks more like a medium size guest house to me.

Keep in mind that the entire Suriwong Plaza building is behind it. So while the front to the main road is mid sized, the actual building is definitely huge. (Don't know if they actually used the lot of it of course)

Secondly, size does not a hotel make.

Others have already given a good explanation of the term "Soft opening".

Yes. And in addition to that, it's when you want to go open for business, but your favorite monk or fortune teller told you that the 'auspicious' day to open is actually somewhere in March 2010. So then whenever that day is, you have the big opening gig, even though you've been open for months.