Crackdown looms as 60% of Pattaya hotels deemed illegal

By Jetsada Homklin

 

Anawat Burapachon, a civil engineer with the Department of Public Works and Town & Country Planning and the Interior Ministry.

  

PATTAYA: -- About 60 percent of Pattaya’s hotels and guesthouses are operating illegally, with government officials about to launch a crackdown to either bring them into compliance or shut them down.

 

Speaking at the Sept. 14 Pattaya Business & Tourism Association meeting at the Grand Sole Hotel, President Sinchai Wattanasartsathorn estimated only 40 percent of Pattaya’s approximately 2,600 accommodations providers are legally registered and meet standards for safety and hospitality.

 

The Cabinet on Aug. 19 enacted new rules requiring illegal hotels nationwide to meet legal registration requirements within five years or be closed. Sinchai said the PBTA will now work with law enforcement and city officials to begin inspecting all lodging providers and ensure they are legally registered.

 

Anawat Burapachon, a civil engineer with the Department of Public Works and Town & Country Planning and the Interior Ministry, told the PBTA that, historically, the cost and strictness of legal hotel building codes and licensing was too high for some entrepreneurs. But rather than find another business venture, many entrepreneurs simply ignored the law and opened anyway.

 

Full story: http://www.pattayamail.com/news/crackdown-looms-60-pattaya-hotels-deemed-illegal-149511

 

-- Pattaya Mail 2016-09-28

 

 

For me i sounds more and more, there is to few tourist money in the game down there, and the big players want more of the cake. There was no problem for years but suddenly when the big players got hurt, they have to make a crackdown

Edited September 28, 20169 yr by carstenp

34 minutes ago, carstenp said:

For me i sounds more and more, there is to few tourist money in the game down there, and the big players want more of the cake. There was no problem for years but suddenly when the big players got hurt, they have to make a crackdown

Or, the government would like these illegal hotels to pay taxes rather than the police with brown envelopes?  Also could be in response to China's meeting asking for better safety for their record number of tourists??

Is it too much for these illegal operators to pay for a business/hotel license, pay appropriate business taxes, and maybe even comply with a few rudimentary safety standards?

4 minutes ago, OMGImInPattaya said:

Is it too much for these illegal operators to pay for a business/hotel license, pay appropriate business taxes, and maybe even comply with a few rudimentary safety standards?

Especially with the prices they are now charging!  As much as I pay for hotels in Europe! LOL

I assume this is the work of the Thai Hotel Association. Get rid of the smaller, cheaper hotels in any way possible. To the extent that's done, they can raise the rates.

 

 

Brother-In-Law effect - Rules OK!!   

It is nearly 20 years since the Royal Jomtien hotel fire, and only now are they cracking down on hotel safety...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Jomtien_Resort_Hotel_fire

 

Do we have to wait another 20 years before they start to look at the safety of the boats and ferries operating in the Pattaya area???

crackdowns, its almost like they think they are running a police state. of course we know they arent

14 minutes ago, phycokiller said:

crackdowns, its almost like they think they are running a police state. of course we know they arent

So making businesses abide by laws isn't a good thing?

I recently had a talk with a company which was hired by Pattaya City Hall to perform regular checks on construction and safety.

Of course they could only inspect registered hotels and guesthouses, but at least 60% didn't pass the first test(s): missing smoke-detectors, insufficient fire extinguishers, blocked emergency-exits, etc.

 

Can you imagine what they (won't) find if they inspect the not registered accommodations?

 

And yes, it seems to be a chronic low-season and the tourist cake has to be divided by too many accommodations

 

2 hours ago, OMGImInPattaya said:

Is it too much for these illegal operators to pay for a business/hotel license, pay appropriate business taxes, and maybe even comply with a few rudimentary safety standards?

 

What constitutes a hotel or a guest house and what differentiates it from a business that has rooms, a bar for example? Does the bar need a license also, maybe not if if it's really a guest house. You see the problem.

The time given for places to shape up or ship out always allows for other ministers and future governments to overturn previous rulings. Amazing Thailand!

3 hours ago, carstenp said:

For me i sounds more and more, there is to few tourist money in the game down there, and the big players want more of the cake. There was no problem for years but suddenly when the big players got hurt, they have to make a crackdown

Definitely agree with this.

 

As long as you can be 'made compliant' its always end up in beeing allowed to do it paying more money. So what's the point of the law then , if not excluding from the game people who cant pay as much as the big players. Same logic applies to the recent actions against street food vendor. You have to pay big bucks for yout phad thais now

Edited September 28, 20169 yr by bodymassagemyfriend

Shame. I was hoping they would clamp down on the thousands of illegal short-term condo rentals first.

2 hours ago, chiang mai said:

 

What constitutes a hotel or a guest house and what differentiates it from a business that has rooms, a bar for example? Does the bar need a license also, maybe not if if it's really a guest house. You see the problem.

No I don't see any problem as I'm sure what constitutes what is spelled out in the relevent regulations. It's no different than in any other country...despite what you might want to think.

15 hours ago, OMGImInPattaya said:

Is it too much for these illegal operators to pay for a business/hotel license, pay appropriate business taxes, and maybe even comply with a few rudimentary safety standards?

 

Would also be good if they clamped down on the AirBnB renters who in most cases pay no taxes and don't need to conform to regulations. 

48 minutes ago, futsukayoi said:

 

Would also be good if they clamped down on the AirBnB renters who in most cases pay no taxes and don't need to conform to regulations. 

 

Wasnt their an announcement a little while back in Phuket(?) saying that AirBnB type renting wasn't against the law and wasn't taxable?

16 hours ago, craigt3365 said:

Or, the government would like these illegal hotels to pay taxes rather than the police with brown envelopes?  Also could be in response to China's meeting asking for better safety for their record number of tourists??

 

Or it's the continuing shifting of payments away from the Police and into the pockets of the Military ...

First clean-up Pattaya police - then more businesses would have more to invest in safety.

"...rather than find another business venture, many entrepreneurs simply ignored the law and opened anyway..."!

And, no doubt, the Law turned a blind eye (after appropriate inducement).

 

 

Aah ha, the true essence of "Thainess"! Finally, something that Thailand really is the hub of!

Haha 60%? Illegality is the whole Pattaya economy


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20 hours ago, carstenp said:

For me i sounds more and more, there is to few tourist money in the game down there, and the big players want more of the cake. There was no problem for years but suddenly when the big players got hurt, they have to make a crackdown

 

Is it possible that some of the recent fires known internationally may have been a learning experience that if not acted on before something like the MGM Grande Hotel fire occurs, more than a few faces will be lost? Or is there really no f in way. 

21 hours ago, webfact said:

to meet legal registration requirements within five years or be closed

 

Hmm. 5 years to get legal. Will all have blown over / been forgotten about by then.

5 years lee-way 

So no fire escapes / locked fire escapes for next 4 years is acceptable ? 

And Tourism Minister wants to "look after the safety of tourists" ?

Again, absolutely farcical !!

So lets get real on this one.

Claimed 60% of hotels are illegal, therefore the true statistic is probably nearer 80%.

Official visits illegal hotel.

This this this this and this needs to be rectified.

Managers response.

Yes yes yes yes and yes.

See you in 5 years. 

 

5 years down the line, same official working on another "hair-brain" nonsensical project.

And life goes on ........

 

"""Thainess in all its' Glory."""

 

 

18 hours ago, joepattaya1961 said:

I recently had a talk with a company which was hired by Pattaya City Hall to perform regular checks on construction and safety.

Of course they could only inspect registered hotels and guesthouses, but at least 60% didn't pass the first test(s): missing smoke-detectors, insufficient fire extinguishers, blocked emergency-exits, etc.

 

Can you imagine what they (won't) find if they inspect the not registered accommodations?

 

And yes, it seems to be a chronic low-season and the tourist cake has to be divided by too many accommodations

 

Mission Impossible would be to check the rest of the tourist establishments in the country. Dodgy construction dodging the rules is the norm here. Brown envelopes buys you dodgy insurance. 

Yes, hopefully the illegal short-term condo renters will be next!

20 hours ago, craigt3365 said:

So making businesses abide by laws isn't a good thing?

Every time someone puts 'law' and Thailand in the same sentence or paragraph a smile comes to my face. Law, Thailand;  see ?

"The Cabinet on Aug. 19 enacted new rules requiring illegal hotels nationwide to meet legal registration requirements within five years or be closed."

 

Why within five (5) years, they are illegal now?

On 9/28/2016 at 4:01 PM, craigt3365 said:

Or, the government would like these illegal hotels to pay taxes rather than the police with brown envelopes?  Also could be in response to China's meeting asking for better safety for their record number of tourists??

Or, they want to give them to their friends?