samuibruno Posted February 3, 2013 Share Posted February 3, 2013 hi all just heard about this new ??? requirement and wondered if any body else heard about it and if it affects private villa rentals? Warning from Tourism Authority of Thailand to online booking for guides and any other tourism related activites. There have been many scams done by those using the internet for booking tourists wanting to visit Thailand. For this reason The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is now cracking down on these businesses with new laws. Starting Dec. 1, 2012 any operation in the tourism industry from tour operator, hotel, guest house, B&B to guides and taxis will need to register with TAT and pay 100,000 Thai baht in escrow. This money will be held in case any of these businesses commit fraud or fail to deliver services promissed to clients. The money will then be paid to the unsatisfied clients and then the company who committed such act will no longer be able to do business in the tourism industry. This is to protect the consumer so make sure before you book with a tour operator, hotel, guest house, B&B to guides and taxis make sure they have a TAT license. The licensed number should be posted on their web site or in their email. The license number will be 2 numbers then a dash then 5 more numbers. The TAT now has a task force in place to monitor search engines and social web sites such as trip advisor to find those doing internet booking. If they are not registered with TAT they will be fined and shut down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PoorSucker Posted February 3, 2013 Share Posted February 3, 2013 Do you have your own website promoting your villa, then yes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evadgib Posted February 3, 2013 Share Posted February 3, 2013 (edited) This practice has been going for at least a decade. Edited February 3, 2013 by evadgib Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigC Posted February 3, 2013 Share Posted February 3, 2013 i take it that this is for agencies and not for land lords of tenant that own the rented properties also it says advertising via the web so if someone was to walk u to you and ask if you have a house for rent then this does or does not apply. with a small sign infornt of the propery saying for rent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samuibruno Posted February 3, 2013 Author Share Posted February 3, 2013 hi all thanks for replys yes i have my own villas for rent we have our own website as well as advertising on tripadvisor ,sawadee etc have a friend who last year applied for TAT licence for their tour operation and was only charged 10,000 baht deposit/bond and 2000 thai baht annually for upkeep of registration which to get TAT liscense if needed wasn't too bad however 100,000 baht is a large chunk of cash and it doesn't really explain exactly if personal websites/parties would b required to register thats why i asked if anybody else had any info/insights into this cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
candypants Posted February 3, 2013 Share Posted February 3, 2013 six years in operation and this is the first i have heard of it. Never ripped anyone off though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsala Posted February 3, 2013 Share Posted February 3, 2013 The original report does not mention private villas. But you didn't quote the source, which would be helpful. "tour operator, hotel, guest house, B&B to guides and taxis" In addition the Thai banking system does not operate on "escrow" scaremongering at best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samuibruno Posted February 4, 2013 Author Share Posted February 4, 2013 hi all ive had an update the friend i spoke about who got their licence last year has contacted their solicitor and asked the question whom has been given the reply something along the lines of the 10,000 baht that they paid to the TAT was for the licence to operate the business with out a website if you operate a website which generates an income via the internet you will need to pay an additional 100,000 thai baht the article is posted on TripAdvisor site under tour guides[link below] http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g293915-c125475/Thailand:Finding.A.Tour.Guide.html again im just trying to find more info about this thanks for your replies 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkeycountry Posted February 6, 2013 Share Posted February 6, 2013 "Starting Dec. 1, 2012 any operation in the tourism industry from tour operator, hotel, guest house, B&B to guides and taxis will need to register with TAT and pay 100,000 Thai baht in escrow." Sounds like it goes for everyone, not just those with internet bookings. Looking forward to all the phuket taxis and tuktuks paying 100k to TAT :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigC Posted February 6, 2013 Share Posted February 6, 2013 hi all ive had an update the friend i spoke about who got their licence last year has contacted their solicitor and asked the question whom has been given the reply something along the lines of the 10,000 baht that they paid to the TAT was for the licence to operate the business with out a website if you operate a website which generates an income via the internet you will need to pay an additional 100,000 thai baht the article is posted on TripAdvisor site under tour guides[link below] http://www.tripadvis...Tour.Guide.html again im just trying to find more info about this thanks for your replies what if your website is hosted over seas by another company surely that is just advdertising Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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