Online database in the works for Pattaya hotels
SUCHAT SRITAMA
THE NATION

PATTAYA: -- PATTAYA CITY plans to set up a hotel information centre, the country's first online information unit, to help operators make more informed investment decisions.

"Once the centre is open, tourism operators, public organisations and members of the public can search for updated data and statistics for reference or use it as a guide for new investment," Chuwit Mitrchob, assistant director-general of the Designated Areas for Sustainable Tourism Administration (DASTA), said last week.

Many investors built hotels |in Pattaya or expanded into |the city over the years because they were given an inaccurate picture.

"The city has too many hotel rooms and that has ignited a price war," he said.

The hotels are located in 10 sub-districts in Pattaya and two sub-districts in Sattahip.

DASTA recently conducted a study on the hotel business and investment in Pattaya and found that the city was lacking accurate data.

According to a survey, there are 12,000 hotels in the country, while Interior Ministry figures show that there are only 7,400 registered hotels, which account for 350,000 rooms.

Pattaya alone has 225 registered hotels, less than the 2,600 hotels from the survey.

City Hall will soon ask all hotels - registered and non-|registered - to provide their information to the centre for analysis.

Key tourism stakeholders such as the Thai Hotels Association's Eastern Chapter, Pattaya Tourism Business Association, the Association of Thai Travel Agents and the Tourism Authority of Thailand have expressed full support for the project, as they believe it will prevent a price war and also help operators make higher margins.

If the first project is successful, DASTA will endorse similar ideas in other key tourist cities.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/business/Online-database-in-the-works-for-Pattaya-hotels-30268717.html


-- The Nation 2015-09-14

Will they include all the unlicensed, and hence illegal, per-night condo rentals?

So a price war is bad?

It's almost 2016 and... "the country's first online information unit"

This should be good.

Will someone keep the database up to date?

Will someone keep the database up to date?

Don't ask so much. Once something is built (Thai style), maintenance is not needed.

"Many investors built hotels |in Pattaya or expanded into |the city over the years because they were given an inaccurate picture.

Um, would the inaccuracies have come from TAT perhaps?

So a price war is bad?

It is if you are Thai.

Bear in mind that very few Thais give the proverbial flying xxxx about foreign tourists, be they long-term or short-term. They mostly just want them to spend as much money as possible and it doesnt really matter if it's on overpriced condos/hotels or bad restaurants or even jetski scams or ladyboy muggings or bribes/fines for not wearing a crash helmet. Just as long as it goes from a farang pocket into a Thai pocket, it's all good.

online database of hotels.... you mean like expedia and agoda?

Do they need it

Will it be multilingual or Goggle translated

(deliberate spelling mistake)

Will it be truthful / honest

Will it include customer reviews

Too many hotels (let's build more)

or

I want to start a bed and breakfast

The hotel rates will be cheaper i think.

What else,,,,,,

"Many investors built hotels |in Pattaya or expanded into |the city over the years because they were given an inaccurate picture.

Um, would the inaccuracies have come from TAT perhaps?

but there shouldn't be any problem at all to fill up all these hotels when the extra 1 million Chinese tourists arrive

I would prefer the weak city government clean up the sidewalks, get rid of all the illegal motorbike businesses that jam the streets and improve pedestrian and wheelchair access to crosswalks, sidewalks and buildings.

They should also feed the database with information about tourists who urinates in the street and analyze their behaviour.