Massage Prices.

[harleyclarkey]

What's the story?

My GF and I are just back after, probably our last, week in Phuket. Every single one of the massage parlours had increased their price to 300 baht. Last year my very good shop just beyond Kata Villa Inn (near Dino Park) had an hour for 150 baht with may others at the 200 mark. .

Is there a Mr Big who controls most of the shops and insisted, in the calm way of the Thai mafia (!), that every other shop follow suit? Or did they just get together and decide to jack up the price by up to 100%?

What I am curious about is how did they manage to get every single shop from Karon to Chalong to increaase at the same time? Well there was one exception that we found. In Kata we had a decent enough massage for 200 baht.

[LivinginKata]

Not Phuket News forum material. moved to Phuket general forum.

[Guest]

If the massage place next door seems to have plenty of customers with increased price, it's obvious that the massage shop will increase their price as well.

There are still very good places which charge 350B for 2 hour thai massage on the island. If you see elderly Thais going to a massage place, it's likely that the place is good value of money.

Touristic places are for tourists with a price tag accordingly.

[maipompui]

Not sure if collusion or some other deal there, but i think that the prices have been very low for many years now in reality, and with the now exhorbitant cost of living on Phuket the ladies sure deserve an increase in income [if of course they do get a % of the extra cost]

[Jimi007]

According to my wife, who is Thai, it's been 300 Baht in Rawai for a few years. She said it's 150 is you go to one of the blind people's massage places. But $10 for a massage is pretty cheap. After all, Phuket is the most expensive province in Thailand... Even my barber raised his prices for Thai men to 100 Baht on January 1st, same as I still pay and have paid for 6 years.

[falkan]

100bath for the blind massage in chalong

[harleyclarkey]

According to my wife, who is Thai, it's been 300 Baht in Rawai for a few years. She said it's 150 is you go to one of the blind people's massage places. But $10 for a massage is pretty cheap. After all, Phuket is the most expensive province in Thailand... Even my barber raised his prices for Thai men to 100 Baht on January 1st, same as I still pay and have paid for 6 years.

Wow...Rawai semems a bit dear.

Yes my local barber in Chalong has gone from a very reasaonabl;e 40 baht 4 years ago to 100 now. Talk about inflation!!

[harleyclarkey]

Not sure if collusion or some other deal there, but i think that the prices have been very low for many years now in reality, and with the now exhorbitant cost of living on Phuket the ladies sure deserve an increase in income [if of course they do get a % of the extra cost]

I am sure there was collusion as every one of them went from 150/200/250 an hour to a flat 300 baht. I found only one single shop in Kata that had an offer for 200 baht...and not bad at all. It's just the collusion (target? Foreigners) that rankles me and I would love to know how the heck every shop from Chalong to Karon is exactly the same price. Every one has the ols price blanked out with the new hand written price..

[Guest]

According to my wife, who is Thai, it's been 300 Baht in Rawai for a few years. She said it's 150 is you go to one of the blind people's massage places. But $10 for a massage is pretty cheap. After all, Phuket is the most expensive province in Thailand... Even my barber raised his prices for Thai men to 100 Baht on January 1st, same as I still pay and have paid for 6 years.

What currency is $10 and how much is it?

Monthy salary for a person who does massage is somewhere around 7-10Kbaht. That's about 300B/day and maybe 30B/hour. Tips excluded.

School teacher salaries are a bit higher but not much. I guess they can not afford to go for massages every now and then.

[thrilled]

200 baht or 300 baht,I could care less.i mean in the us it's going to be $50-$75 or more.

I get A message every other day sometimes every day.At 300 baht it's a steal.

[Jimi007]

According to my wife, who is Thai, it's been 300 Baht in Rawai for a few years. She said it's 150 is you go to one of the blind people's massage places. But $10 for a massage is pretty cheap. After all, Phuket is the most expensive province in Thailand... Even my barber raised his prices for Thai men to 100 Baht on January 1st, same as I still pay and have paid for 6 years.

What currency is $10 and how much is it?

Monthy salary for a person who does massage is somewhere around 7-10Kbaht. That's about 300B/day and maybe 30B/hour. Tips excluded.

School teacher salaries are a bit higher but not much. I guess they can not afford to go for massages every now and then.

$10 Dollars US is about 300 Baht. Most of the massage places I know of are an owner and a partner or two who spit the rent and profit. Rents aren't cheap around here... Not that I ever even go, as my wife is certified in Thai massage. She learned from some of her friends to help me with my joint and tendon pain. She gave me a two hour massage this afternoon.

[stevenl]

Yes, of course aimed at foreigners since all the massage places in Kata are aimed at foreigners.

No, no collusion, they simply concluded they are not making enough money to make a living, and they still are not by the way.

Thirdly, better look around, plenty of places are still offering different prices.

[petercallen]

Its called inflation, happens everywhere

[seabear]

According to my wife, who runs a massage business in Soi Sugar Palm, the massage "Ladies" from the beach went to demonstrate to the Tetsaban for higher prices. So the Tetsaban invited all the massage owners or their representatives to a meeting. There they were then ordered to rise the prices the next day. If they would not rise their prices, their licence would not be renewed. Voila.

[N47HAN]

300 Thb for an hours massage

jeez whats next ..... lol

Edited February 24, 2012 by N47HAN

[geriatrickid]

Considering what some of those ladies have to touch, 300 baht is inadequate.

If someone is not going to return to Phuket because the cost of an hour's massage increased by 100 baht/ $3-4 US-CAD-AUS who cares?

Maybe they should just stay home. Chump change.

[bunta71]

According to my wife, who runs a massage business in Soi Sugar Palm, the massage "Ladies" from the beach went to demonstrate to the Tetsaban for higher prices. So the Tetsaban invited all the massage owners or their representatives to a meeting. There they were then ordered to rise the prices the next day. If they would not rise their prices, their licence would not be renewed. Voila.

Talking to my current favorite massage ladies, on Kamala beach about ways to bring more customers to them. I suggested giving out cards to customers with a buy eight or ten massages and then get one free. Similar to the coffee shacks in Seattle do. They said they could not because they would suffer dire consequences if they rocked the boat.

[harleyclarkey]

Yes, of course aimed at foreigners since all the massage places in Kata are aimed at foreigners.

No, no collusion, they simply concluded they are not making enough money to make a living, and they still are not by the way.

Thirdly, better look around, plenty of places are still offering different prices.

No Steve that was the whole point of my post. Evert single one has put their price up to 300 baht. I was curious as to how so many shops, maybe a couple of hundred, managed to do so together. I asked was there a Mr. Big who gave the order?

For sure it is aimed at foreigners but I found most of them were empty and the girls sitting outside...surprise, surprise!

The one shop I found in Kata at 200 baht was full and busy. A lesson here?

[harleyclarkey]

Considering what some of those ladies have to touch, 300 baht is inadequate.

If someone is not going to return to Phuket because the cost of an hour's massage increased by 100 baht/ $3-4 US-CAD-AUS who cares?

Maybe they should just stay home. Chump change.

GT... Come on.....It is not the price of the massage that determined whether we will go back or not!! Really!

And no...and I don't want them to touch what you refer to. I actually want a massage and noting else.

I thought I was in Moscow for a start. The tuk, tuk mafia are alive and thriving, hotel prices are among the dearest in Thailand, the police are totally corrupt, people are now hostile and even agggressive. My GF, who is polite and very gentle, asked the price of a necklace to be shouted at in Kata..."why do you want to know...you will not buy anyway" An Indian girl in the small arcade at the top of the small hill on main street Kata.

Dalily reports here of scams, frauds and violence against foreigners, etc, etc. Sure it happens elsewhere but not to the same extent as on Phuket. See the TV topic regarding the EC rep taking these matters up with the Thai authorities. Good luck to him...he'll need all he can get. They don't give a toss about us.

I spent a magic 7 days in Khanom and Surat and the differenc is immediate. We also went to Penang and Langawi. There are safe, clean well run islands, There is just too much choice now and Phuket seems to have gotten more than its' fair share of low life dirt bags.

No. Phuket is off our ttravel plans and I used to live there...Chalong.

Edited February 24, 2012 by harleyclarkey

[harleyclarkey]

According to my wife, who runs a massage business in Soi Sugar Palm, the massage "Ladies" from the beach went to demonstrate to the Tetsaban for higher prices. So the Tetsaban invited all the massage owners or their representatives to a meeting. There they were then ordered to rise the prices the next day. If they would not rise their prices, their licence would not be renewed. Voila.

Thanks Seabear...that is what I was after. I guessed there was some meting or Mr. Big who ordered/arranged for higher prices.

My post, not understood by many replies, was not about the price per se...but the fact the price rose as if by magic in practically every single shop.

My guess this won't last as the one I came across was busy as heck and they charged 200 baht. Like a low cost airline..they put bums on beds and will actually make more money than the empty shops at 300 baht.

[harleyclarkey]

300 Thb for an hours massage

jeez whats next ..... lol

No Nath...not my point at all..

[harleyclarkey]

Its called inflation, happens everywhere

66-100%?? No it is not inflation. It's just price fixing.

The price is not what I was on about.

[Rickster]

Speechless!!!!! 6 quid for a massage <deleted>......some people are just never satisfied, same as bartering over 20 baht for a T-shirt.....get a freakin life!!!!

Edited February 24, 2012 by Rickster

[RedCardinal]

Monthy salary for a person who does massage is somewhere around 7-10Kbaht. That's about 300B/day and maybe 30B/hour. Tips excluded.

I think you'll find that many places pay up to 50% commissions to the staff for each massage. Yet other places also include accommodation for staff. The 7-10k is often just the base salary.

[Old Croc]

Part of the problem is that there are now so many shops, and so many trained and semi-trained massage ladies, that they are not getting the volume any more.

Prices are raised to try and keep ahead of rents. They all know what the others in their areas are doing with prices so all follow suit.

[stevenl]

Monthy salary for a person who does massage is somewhere around 7-10Kbaht. That's about 300B/day and maybe 30B/hour. Tips excluded.

I think you'll find that many places pay up to 50% commissions to the staff for each massage. Yet other places also include accommodation for staff. The 7-10k is often just the base salary.

Unfortunately not, 7-10 K is the total. Base salary would be more like 3-4 K.

[Filer]

Currently in the South at Hat Yai. Town centre massage prices here, with most customers being the considerable numbers of Thai and other Asian visitors, seem to have held steady for some time at 200 Bht/hr (in some cases, such as in the hotels, maybe 250 Bht/hr). Very few western visitors here and lots of massage places jostling for business, all of which keeps the lid on prices. I don't have the answer to the OP's question about Phuket, but I suspect that the western expats who must make up the bulk of the customers in Phuket just represent a soft target if the massage parlour operators want to collude in moving prices up.

[pete600]

Monthy salary for a person who does massage is somewhere around 7-10Kbaht. That's about 300B/day and maybe 30B/hour. Tips excluded.

I think you'll find that many places pay up to 50% commissions to the staff for each massage. Yet other places also include accommodation for staff. The 7-10k is often just the base salary.

Unfortunately not, 7-10 K is the total. Base salary would be more like 3-4 K.

Wish i could get away with paying 3-4k per month. My girls for the last 3 months are making 12-15k per 2 weeks no extras but they are working 10h a day

[stevenl]

Wish i could get away with paying 3-4k per month. My girls for the last 3 months are making 12-15k per 2 weeks no extras but they are working 10h a day

And that is base?

[simonphuket]

... Not that I ever even go, as my wife is certified in Thai massage. She learned from some of her friends ......

Lol, that does not sound like "certified" to me

My wife is spa trainer in one of the top-spa's on the island and she often gets new students who worked in these massage parlors. She started out there herself years ago. They learn the job from another massage lady who learned from another etc. They never had a proper training. Training time is limited to just a few hours and then it's time to earn money. Not like the top spa's where they go through 4 month of tough training, including theory. And if not good enough, they are out. The products (eg oil) used in the cheap parlors are quite often of debatable quality (cheap cheap) and may be harmful to your skin if used often.

Find the massage parlors used by the locals and stay away from any of those tourist traps in the main areas... They more often than not, have no clue what they are doing. It may feel relaxing, but a proper massage? Nope. 300 baht is still a bargain, but you get what you pay for