This website http://www.thaivisa.com/ seems to be quite successful. It's been around for a while and has expanded.

Thailand Airsoft is still going

When did Expat Hotel start up? Mid 80's?

The bar in Soi Bangla opened in 1986.

The hotel was 1987 or 88.

Pegus. Regardless of what you think of the quality of their drivers, this company just burst out of nowhere and must be making a mint.

Aussie Bar, Katathani beach resort, aquarium, walkers inn Kho Lak, Phuket zoo

Aussie bar is one that shines out. I remember when it was a pokey little joint. Now its hard to get a seat in there. They charge through the nose though. 110baht for a tiger

its mainly Aussie tourists who go there and the price of a beer there is a lot cheaper than Australia

The owner invested and upgraded right after the tusnami when no one else was interested and has done very well

It depends where you drink at in Australia. Its cheaper than pubs. But not cheaper than RSL or leagues clubs. You can still get a Schooner for $4.50.

$4.50 aud is 130 baht

But a bottle of beer is 375 mils while a schooner is 425ml. Its a saving of about 40 cents

Draught beer is a lot cheaper here as well in the bars which sell it

How much does a small bottle cost in a bar or club Australia thats what you should compare the price to

Pegus. Regardless of what you think of the quality of their drivers, this company just burst out of nowhere and must be making a mint.

Big company in Turkey.

Again, it looks like it is doing well, but without the numbers looks can be deceiving.

The speedboat company rawai (end of viset right hand site) Busloads everyday

The Dara Hotel near central is one I never thought would have kicked a goal. It seems to be doing quite well

how did you come to that conclusion?

A friend of mine knows the owner and apparently he is going to build more.

Its full of Thais all year round

I've done some freelance work for The Dara Hotel over the years, and it really is striving - it's filled not only with Thais, but also Singaporeans, Malaysians and Koreans and they maintain a high occupancy rate. The owner is an exceptional guy, and I've also heard that he's planning to expand.

One thing I can assure you from a close source

Kata surf house is busy but they don't cover costs, let alone make a profit.

Rent is ridiculously high. They have a generator running the non stop and all that staff.

Trust me. It's bleeding.

Got to agree with you Hans. Looked like a loss maker from the start. Although I thought the land was on a long term lease from Club Med to the Norwegian guy who had the restaurant. He tore down that restaurant and became a partner in the Surf House, at least what I heard. Can't believe they never paid for a large transformer, but opted for the 2 hired generators, fuel, and service costs. As you say - bleeding money.

A bit scary how people can look at a business and because there are lots of bodies around, think - wow what a roaring success. Little do they realise what the overheads are and that in fact it could be loosing money like a leaky sump: note to self, get the car serviced.

A bit scary how people can look at a business and because there are lots of bodies around, think - wow what a roaring success. Little do they realise what the overheads are and that in fact it could be loosing money like a leaky sump

Exactly. A good illustration could be a discotheque. Filled to the brim night after night, but all the people coming in small groups, bringing their own bottle, ordering just soda and ice, which makes a bill of about 350 Baht for a table of 4 people, including corking charge. Lots of people working: serving staff, the band playing, security, coyote girls, cleaning staff and so on.

It would be nice to see some of these noted businesses expand to Samui.

Here everything is the same all over the island...boring & small.

We could really use a nice sized nightclub,

like the kind they have in Pattaya.

Great venue,

and lots of room to move around.

Because they aren't here, is why the younger crowd at least choose to visit other locations.

Of course being the first,

would seal up success for this area.

Bangkok Hospital Phuket- nicknamed by the barstools as the 'Money factory no.1'

Followed by Phuket International Hospital - Money factory no.2

Both hospitals have done very well over the years extracting excessive hospital fees and outrageous prices for medication (Phuket International Hospital to a lesser extent) from high risk-taking injured tourists ( with travel insurance) and those medical tourist’s in dire need of a boob job for vanity reasons.

Sue's bar in Kata been around many years,

Been a poop hole many years as well,

successful for Thailand i guess ??

The Dara Hotel near central is one I never thought would have kicked a goal. It seems to be doing quite well

Khun Hmoo's Indigo pearl resort, Nai yang. Plus her father's Toyota Pearl at the Bypass junction.

It would be nice to see some of these noted businesses expand to Samui.

Here everything is the same all over the island...boring & small.

We could really use a nice sized nightclub,

like the kind they have in Pattaya.

Great venue,

and lots of room to move around.

Because they aren't here, is why the younger crowd at least choose to visit other locations.

Of course being the first,

would seal up success for this area.

If more airlines were allowed to land on Samui, business would be better there.

Patong Whiskey.

How about , ahem ... the bib . There monthly return seems to be pretty high for no investment .

Wine Connection doesn't look like it's slowing down.

Supercheap. Are they only on Phuket island?

Supercheap. Are they only on Phuket island?

Yes, as far as I know owned by a Phuket family.

Supercheap. Are they only on Phuket island?

Yes, as far as I know owned by a Phuket family.

Not any more

Within the context of local restaurants, there are several stand outs for me that blend quality, consistency, and perennial customer appeal. 'Uptown', in Phuket Town is a carousel of hungry diners throughout the day, and their food is both good and inexpensive.

'Je Taime' near the old bus station, seems to attract a stream of customers throughout their opening hours. Best described as shabby chic, and consistently good food.

Up a notch or three, 'Kan Eang@Pier', manages to mix quality with sometimes bulk bookings (tour groups). I'm sure that they've got the fixed menus well rehearsed for the tours of Chinese and Russians, and really they don't impinge on the ad hoc and a la carte diners.

In terms of success in the world of food, these are doing OK.

what constitutes success, is it just punters through the door, is it a financial gain, is it providing job satisfaction for employees, i'm only asking as some of the most successful businesses in the world have been run not so whiter then white, if i could believe not one company fiddled there books, had a great turn over, made a profit whilst there staff were inspired to go to work every day, then thats a success, again can i ask what is the measure of success!!!!!!

what constitutes success, is it just punters through the door, is it a financial gain, is it providing job satisfaction for employees, i'm only asking as some of the most successful businesses in the world have been run not so whiter then white, if i could believe not one company fiddled there books, had a great turn over, made a profit whilst there staff were inspired to go to work every day, then thats a success, again can i ask what is the measure of success!!!!!!

How long is a piece of string?

Actually Shot , if you go to youtube and look for a channel called Vsauce. They've actually given a scientific answer to that very question.

what constitutes success, is it just punters through the door, is it a financial gain, is it providing job satisfaction for employees, i'm only asking as some of the most successful businesses in the world have been run not so whiter then white, if i could believe not one company fiddled there books, had a great turn over, made a profit whilst there staff were inspired to go to work every day, then thats a success, again can i ask what is the measure of success!!!!!!

How long is a piece of string?

twice the distance from the middle to the ends

what constitutes success, is it just punters through the door, is it a financial gain, is it providing job satisfaction for employees, i'm only asking as some of the most successful businesses in the world have been run not so whiter then white, if i could believe not one company fiddled there books, had a great turn over, made a profit whilst there staff were inspired to go to work every day, then thats a success, again can i ask what is the measure of success!!!!!!

Measure of success? Difficult to judge, though my own thought is that of continuity of good standards and quality, and measured in years rather than weeks or months.