Bangkok Offers The Least Expensive Four-Star Accommodation Of World Cities: Survey

[webfact]

SURVEY

Cheapest hotels are here, in Bangkok

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Bangkok offers the least expensive four-star accommodation of world cities rated by the TripAdvisor Tripindex, at less than one-quarter the cost of those in London on average.

However, if travellers want a night on the town as well, Hanoi offers the best deals, the survey found.

The average four-star room rate in Bangkok is US$81.13 (Bt2,563) per night, cheapest on the list. The most expensive rooms are in London, averaging $361.64 per night - more than quadruple the cost of those in Bangkok.

The average cost of a room in the 10 least expensive cities on the list is just $113.32, while the most expensive cities come in at an average of $261.99 a night. That means the rooms in the 10 priciest cities are more than double the cost of those in the 10 least expensive.

The TripIndex also calculated the combined costs for two of a one-night stay in a four-star hotel, cocktails, a two-course dinner with a bottle of wine, and taxi transport (two return journeys of about 3.2 kilometres each). Costs listed are accurate for June 1 to August 31.

Under those criteria, Hanoi offers the most affordable night out for travellers with a total TripIndex cost of $141.12. At more than triple the cost of Hanoi, London topped the list as most expensive with a cost of $518.01.

However, a trip to Asia is no guarantee of "more bang for their buck", said Jean Ow Yeong, TripAdvisor spokeswoman.

"Interestingly, once on the ground, European cities such as Budapest and Warsaw turn out to be as affordable as some Asian cities, while Singapore and Sydney are in the ranks of London, Paris and New York as some of the most expensive cities."

Southeast Asia was the region that claimed the most cities in the 10-least-expensive list, including Hanoi, which took the top spot, while Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta took the third, fifth and eighth spots respectively.

Meanwhile, Europe dominated the most-expensive list with seven cities: London took the first place, while Oslo, Zurich, Paris, Stockholm, Moscow and Copenhagen took the second, third, fourth, fifth, seventh and eighth places respectively.

The international TripIndex destination list comprises key cities from 48 of the 50 countries that receive the largest number of international visitor arrivals according to data compiled by the United Nations World Tourism Organisation.

Prices were collected through a variety of research methods. Prices were taken in local currencies between March and May and converted into US dollars on May 29.

TripAdvisor is the world's largest travel site. TripAdvisor-branded sites make up the largest travel community in the world, with more than 50 million unique monthly visitors and more than 60 million reviews and opinions. The sites operate in 30 countries worldwide.

-- The Nation 2012-06-13

[shows]

I don't think this is much to be proud of when you consider the appalling wages and, in many cases, conditions the staff work for and under. Although I enjoy the prices part of me is appalled when I'm paying more for a night's accommodation than the staff serving me incredibly well will get for week's salary! And do they get all or even part of the 10% service charge automatically added to the bill?

Pay the staff at even half the salary level of the Western European/Australian hotels and see what the cost would be!

[Lifer]

The thinking is a little flawed. No country pays their employees based on other countries cost of living. Employees paid in more expensive cities probably don't make much more than they do here if you consider the higher cost of living in their own cities.

If you feel guilty, pay the staff that provides extra service a tip directly. The same problems with employee compensation applies to all employees in their country.

The only way to protest this situation is with your choice of staying in a hotel here or somewhere else.

[Sayonarax]

Oh dear the old wage cry. Id like you to go find a townhouse or small house to rent, for $200 a month in Australia then get back to me.. cause ill rent it.

Service charge is put in to a pool and is divide among staff at the end of the month. (-minus tea money, just because they can)

[Soutpeel]

However, a trip to Asia is no guarantee of "more bang for their buck",

I will bet it does.... .....this is one of the main reasons Thailand is so popular...

[steven100]

Why do they continue to announce this total Bullshit !!

you walk into any 4-5 star hotel in Bangkok and see what they want !! it's not close to what this BS story indicates ...

WHAT A LOAD OF RUBBISH ....

do they really think everyone is so stupid ?

[ginjag]

Should really compare cities where wages/costs are similar. Bkk hotel is not so cheap when you add the air fare on. especially Thai Airways.

[seminomadic]

Survey's surely not taking into account the extremely poor infrastructure (crowded, unmaintained sidewalks or lack thereof, bizarro-world traffic to start with) surrounding said hotels in both BKK and Hanoi

.

Edited June 13, 2012 by seminomadic

[georgey]

Why do they continue to announce this total Bullshit !!

you walk into any 4-5 star hotel in Bangkok and see what they want !! it's not close to what this BS story indicates ...

WHAT A LOAD OF RUBBISH ....

do they really think everyone is so stupid ?

sorry unclear as to what u mean by:

"you walk into any 4-5 star hotel in Bangkok and see what they want !!?

[tw25rw]

I don't think this is much to be proud of when you consider the appalling wages and, in many cases, conditions the staff work for and under. Although I enjoy the prices part of me is appalled when I'm paying more for a night's accommodation than the staff serving me incredibly well will get for week's salary! And do they get all or even part of the 10% service charge automatically added to the bill?

Pay the staff at even half the salary level of the Western European/Australian hotels and see what the cost would be!

Do you leave a tip when you check out?

[jonclark]

All the article proves is that Thailand wins in the race to be bottom. And then they complain about the tourists which come here.

Fat, beer swilling English louts [to play along with the (incorrect) national stereotyping often seen on TV] come here cause the hotels are cheap, which means more money to be spent swilling beer and being loutish...and banging bar girls. Stands to reason??

[Soutpeel]

All the article proves is that Thailand wins in the race to be bottom. And then they complain about the tourists which come here.

Fat, beer swilling English louts [to play along with the (incorrect) national stereotyping often seen on TV] come here cause the hotels are cheap, which means more money to be spent swilling beer and being loutish...and banging bar girls. Stands to reason??

Hey what about having a go at ....the American porn producers & drug dealers, Russian louts, Indian, Chinese etc while your at it.... besides British loutish is a cultural right developed over many centuries of invading places and creating empire etc...

[jonclark]

All the article proves is that Thailand wins in the race to be bottom. And then they complain about the tourists which come here.

Fat, beer swilling English louts [to play along with the (incorrect) national stereotyping often seen on TV] come here cause the hotels are cheap, which means more money to be spent swilling beer and being loutish...and banging bar girls. Stands to reason??

Hey what about having a go at ....the American porn producers & drug dealers, Russian louts, Indian, Chinese etc while your at it.... besides British loutish is a cultural right developed over many centuries of invading places and creating empire etc...

I wasn't having a go

[simple1]

All the article proves is that Thailand wins in the race to be bottom. And then they complain about the tourists which come here.

Fat, beer swilling English louts [to play along with the (incorrect) national stereotyping often seen on TV] come here cause the hotels are cheap, which means more money to be spent swilling beer and being loutish...and banging bar girls. Stands to reason??

Don't think that English lager louts will be paying to stay in 4 star hotel, more like 800 baht a night

[Bagwan]

No mention of Tokyo in the OP. Did the World stop and Japan get off?

[harrry]

While the top 5 stars may be really such I have stayed at several 4 star and 5 star hotels in Bangkok.

In each case they should have been labelled at least one star less.

They may have many staff but the old thai habit of sannook and sitting or standing round talking to each other abounds when customers require service.

THey do have better room service than abroad but the restaurants still bring food to customers at different times and it may evn be cold when it arrives due to having been sitting round too long.

At one 4 star last month a steak was obviously precooked and heated in the microwave and the vegetables were still refrigeator cold.

If we take the labels as they should be maybe the thai hotels, whilst some are cheap are not the bargain they seem.

[SantiSuk]

Any discussion based on star ratings is fraught with difficulties. In general though I agree with the headline, if the situation is the same as 4 years ago when I used to decide on venues for my company's regional business conferences. Much cheaper than HK and Singapore, and cheaper than KL. Jakarta, too difficult (at the time). Tokyo out of sight. Europe out of sight. Mainstream US cities out of sight. Florida could come up with some good deals off season.

The Peninsular, at less than 100 bucks a night for a personal stay including breakfast (this was 4 years ago), used to knock my socks off.

[spidermike007]

I don't think this is much to be proud of when you consider the appalling wages and, in many cases, conditions the staff work for and under. Although I enjoy the prices part of me is appalled when I'm paying more for a night's accommodation than the staff serving me incredibly well will get for week's salary! And do they get all or even part of the 10% service charge automatically added to the bill?

Pay the staff at even half the salary level of the Western European/Australian hotels and see what the cost would be!

What exactly are you suggesting? Just because you are carrying around all of this unresolved guilt, does that mean the entire economic scale in Asia should change? Would that somehow make you feel better about yourself, and the world? Think about it. The wages in Thailand are higher than many of it's neighbors, and the hotels are already expensive enough, if you take all of this into account. Do you honestly think higher rates would translate into higher wages, and not just more mansions for the owners? If you answered yes to this question, I have an very well priced bridge I can sell you.

[kerryk]

I don't think this is much to be proud of when you consider the appalling wages and, in many cases, conditions the staff work for and under. Although I enjoy the prices part of me is appalled when I'm paying more for a night's accommodation than the staff serving me incredibly well will get for week's salary! And do they get all or even part of the 10% service charge automatically added to the bill?

Pay the staff at even half the salary level of the Western European/Australian hotels and see what the cost would be!

I was wondering how we were going to give this thread an anti Thai spin . Good job. 1st post.

[kerryk]

Why do they continue to announce this total Bullshit !!

you walk into any 4-5 star hotel in Bangkok and see what they want !! it's not close to what this BS story indicates ...

WHAT A LOAD OF RUBBISH ....

do they really think everyone is so stupid ?

Perhaps you can document your statement otherwise methinks you are posting rubbish.

[kerryk]

While the top 5 stars may be really such I have stayed at several 4 star and 5 star hotels in Bangkok.

In each case they should have been labelled at least one star less.

They may have many staff but the old thai habit of sannook and sitting or standing round talking to each other abounds when customers require service.

THey do have better room service than abroad but the restaurants still bring food to customers at different times and it may evn be cold when it arrives due to having been sitting round too long.

At one 4 star last month a steak was obviously precooked and heated in the microwave and the vegetables were still refrigeator cold.

If we take the labels as they should be maybe the thai hotels, whilst some are cheap are not the bargain they seem.

Of course we should judge Thai hotels by their steak quality! Makes perfect sense to me.

[h90]

While the top 5 stars may be really such I have stayed at several 4 star and 5 star hotels in Bangkok.

In each case they should have been labelled at least one star less.

They may have many staff but the old thai habit of sannook and sitting or standing round talking to each other abounds when customers require service.

THey do have better room service than abroad but the restaurants still bring food to customers at different times and it may evn be cold when it arrives due to having been sitting round too long.

At one 4 star last month a steak was obviously precooked and heated in the microwave and the vegetables were still refrigeator cold.

If we take the labels as they should be maybe the thai hotels, whilst some are cheap are not the bargain they seem.

Exactly, main problems:

1) staff: no english....

2) staff: happy chatting while the customer needs something

3) lousy European food....steak bloody, medium or well done is always the same well done and the spaghetti sauce comes out of the can.

You feel well in the hotel as everyone is smiling friendly and when they bring you the wrong food and cold you are still happy because it is charming.

But on the hard facts the service is often below the rating.

[h90]

While the top 5 stars may be really such I have stayed at several 4 star and 5 star hotels in Bangkok.

In each case they should have been labelled at least one star less.

They may have many staff but the old thai habit of sannook and sitting or standing round talking to each other abounds when customers require service.

THey do have better room service than abroad but the restaurants still bring food to customers at different times and it may evn be cold when it arrives due to having been sitting round too long.

At one 4 star last month a steak was obviously precooked and heated in the microwave and the vegetables were still refrigeator cold.

If we take the labels as they should be maybe the thai hotels, whilst some are cheap are not the bargain they seem.

Of course we should judge Thai hotels by their steak quality! Makes perfect sense to me.

yes we should judge also by the food quality.

[kerryk]

All the article proves is that Thailand wins in the race to be bottom. And then they complain about the tourists which come here.

Fat, beer swilling English louts [to play along with the (incorrect) national stereotyping often seen on TV] come here cause the hotels are cheap, which means more money to be spent swilling beer and being loutish...and banging bar girls. Stands to reason??

Hey what about having a go at ....the American porn producers & drug dealers, Russian louts, Indian, Chinese etc while your at it.... besides British loutish is a cultural right developed over many centuries of invading places and creating empire etc...

I wasn't having a go

I think you were having a go at Thai bashing. We all can read. You did write, "All the article proves is that Thailand wins in the race to be bottom. And then they complain about the tourists which come here."

[kerryk]

Survey's surely not taking into account the extremely poor infrastructure (crowded, unmaintained sidewalks or lack thereof, bizarro-world traffic to start with) surrounding said hotels in both BKK and Hanoi

.

I realize the anti Thai and anti Asian bashing part of your post but the article didn't say they were rating infrastructure only hotels. You may need well maintained sidewalks but I doubt if many come to BKK in search of well maintained sidewalks.

[NanLaew]

Why do they continue to announce this total Bullshit !!

you walk into any 4-5 star hotel in Bangkok and see what they want !! it's not close to what this BS story indicates ...

WHAT A LOAD OF RUBBISH ....

do they really think everyone is so stupid ?

Thai bash #1

Should really compare cities where wages/costs are similar. Bkk hotel is not so cheap when you add the air fare on. especially Thai Airways.

Thai bash #2

Survey's surely not taking into account the extremely poor infrastructure (crowded, unmaintained sidewalks or lack thereof, bizarro-world traffic to start with) surrounding said hotels in both BKK and Hanoi.

Thai bash #3

Three strikes! YOU'RE OUT!!!

Amazing work indeed by the 'usual suspects'. All done within 8 posts as well!

PS.Just booked a couple of huge suites for me and my business partner next week at the In Residence (formerly Raddison) on Sukhumvit Soi 13 for £56 per night. Their large, well appointed studio's are even cheaper.

[NanLaew]

All the article proves is that Thailand wins in the race to be bottom. And then they complain about the tourists which come here.

Fat, beer swilling English louts [to play along with the (incorrect) national stereotyping often seen on TV] come here cause the hotels are cheap, which means more money to be spent swilling beer and being loutish...and banging bar girls. Stands to reason??

Hey what about having a go at ....the American porn producers & drug dealers, Russian louts, Indian, Chinese etc while your at it.... besides British loutish is a cultural right developed over many centuries of invading places and creating empire etc...

I wasn't having a go

Then why are you here Jon?

[NanLaew]

While the top 5 stars may be really such I have stayed at several 4 star and 5 star hotels in Bangkok.

In each case they should have been labelled at least one star less.

They may have many staff but the old thai habit of sannook and sitting or standing round talking to each other abounds when customers require service.

THey do have better room service than abroad but the restaurants still bring food to customers at different times and it may evn be cold when it arrives due to having been sitting round too long.

At one 4 star last month a steak was obviously precooked and heated in the microwave and the vegetables were still refrigeator cold.

If we take the labels as they should be maybe the thai hotels, whilst some are cheap are not the bargain they seem.

Of course we should judge Thai hotels by their steak quality! Makes perfect sense to me.

yes we should judge also by the food quality.

Huh? You stay in a hotel and chose to eat ONLY in their restaurants? In Kinshasa maybe this is a great idea but in Bangkok? With all the 5-star eating choices in Bangkok, the hotels have a hard act to keep their rooming customers from popping out to eat.

[harrry]

While the top 5 stars may be really such I have stayed at several 4 star and 5 star hotels in Bangkok.

In each case they should have been labelled at least one star less.

They may have many staff but the old thai habit of sannook and sitting or standing round talking to each other abounds when customers require service.

THey do have better room service than abroad but the restaurants still bring food to customers at different times and it may evn be cold when it arrives due to having been sitting round too long.

At one 4 star last month a steak was obviously precooked and heated in the microwave and the vegetables were still refrigeator cold.

If we take the labels as they should be maybe the thai hotels, whilst some are cheap are not the bargain they seem.

Of course we should judge Thai hotels by their steak quality! Makes perfect sense to me.

yes we should judge also by the food quality.

Huh? You stay in a hotel and chose to eat ONLY in their restaurants? In Kinshasa maybe this is a great idea but in Bangkok? With all the 5-star eating choices in Bangkok, the hotels have a hard act to keep their rooming customers from popping out to eat.

Maybe they should try harder....and you should try to go out to eat using an electric wheelchair in a country where wheelchair taxis do not exist. Part if the definition of 4 and 5 star hotels is the availability and quality of restaurants.

[swillowbee]

... the great values in Bangkok's locally operated 4-star hotels has a meaningful follow-on effect to the international 5-star properties.

... the value gap between a well-run local 4-star and what is needed to be profitable in an internationally operated 5-star is hard for visitors to ignore ... a relatively nice experience can be bought for USD 100-125 at a locally operated 4-star ... justifying the USD 250-300 that is typically achieved at international 5-star properties (Four Seasons, Oriental, W Hotel, St. Regis, etc.) is difficult for most travelers to justify, except for the price insensitive wealthy.

... the follow-on impact is that Thailand's 5-star hotels are also generally pretty good bargains compared to other major cities ... but ... they are also known as notoriously poor investments.

... I understand that the Bangkok Four Seasons is perennially, year in and year out, the least profitable of the Four Seasons 80+/- international hotels ... all the quality expected of a Four Seasons, at a modest price ... so much might be reasonably implied for all of the international 5-star properties here.

... still, this has not stopped new internationally operated 5-star hotels from being built by Thai owners, despite market analysts best advice not to build ... this seems unlikely to change anytime in the forseeable future, and will suppress rate creep across all hospitality classes and serviced apartments ... good for travellers ... bad for investors.

Edited June 14, 2012 by swillowbee