Two Chiang Mai hotels raided as district chief says almost 200 city hotels don't have a license

[webfact]

Two Chiang Mai hotels raided as district chief says almost 200 city hotels don't have a license

 

Picture: Thairath

 

CHIANG MAI: -- Chiang Mai district chief Preecha Sirinam has admitted that 198 hotels in the downtown area of the city are operating without a license.

 

Many have been contacted but some are still refusing orders to register their businesses at district offices. Some of these have Chinese people as nominees, he said .

 

The city is mounting a crackdown on hotels as part of government and Interior Ministry policy to tighten up the trade and thereby improve safety for guests, Thairath reported.

 

Yesterday authorities raided two Muang district hotels and arrested their respective managers.

 

Officials posing as tourists entered both properties and as soon as rooms were opened up for them and their money was taken the raids proceeded.

 

Raided were The Him Hotel on Wualai Road and the WYP Hotel on Sri Don Chai Road. Both did not have the requisite licenses to operate for which the penalty can be a year's imprisonment or a fine of 20,000 baht or both.

 

In addition the authorities have the power to fine establishments 10,000 per day while they continue to operate without a license. So far since the crackdown began the authorities are saying that fines ranging from 100,000 to a million baht have been levied.

 

Source: Thairath

 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2017-02-23

[chuang]

In town new hotels have be mushrooming and I am sure most are chinese owned......

[Lupatria]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

district chief says almost 200 city hotels don't have a license

Do they build hotels over night there? How many years or man/hours did it take to get this insight?

Edited February 23, 2017 by Lupatria

[themerg]

Everything is different in Thailand.

[mamborobert]

 

9 minutes ago, Lupatria said:

Do they build hotels over night there? How many years or man/hours did it take to get this insight?

 

 

It is a nationwide execise already started in Phuket.  In early Jan hotels were given 30 days to get their license current,  At that time it was reported that in CM alone there were 600 unlicensed premises (apartment blocks/dorms/hotels/guest houses etc).

 

Same report said that nationally over 60% of rooms were not licensed and Deputy PM had a 5 year plan to bring them into the fold, the 30 day grace being the first part followed by enforcement and education and promotion and so on.

Edited February 23, 2017 by mamborobert

[elgordo38]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

Chiang Mai district chief Preecha Sirinam has admitted that 198 hotels in the downtown area of the city are operating without a license.

He knew this and  has done nothing till now. Rather sounds like entrapment. Just another one of the rainy day funds waiting to be tapped. What about all the legal hotels who have lost out because of these unlawful places do they get reimbursed for lost revenue. The BIB sure is not very business friendly only self serving. 

[TheFishman1]

Is giving Tea Mobey to the Cops is that the license There talking about lol. TIT

[terminatorchiangmai]

198 to go, hope they use the collected money to invest in the infrastructure.

Sorry still sleeping / dreaming.

[maoro2013]

What a joke.

[Bangkok Barry]

7 hours ago, webfact said:

So far since the crackdown began the authorities are saying that fines ranging from 100,000 to a million baht have been levied.

 

And collected? Just joking.

[Ulic]

I just wonder if it is the bureaucracy that does not allow these hotels to get a license , (without backhanders)

the hotels don't meet safety standards, or perhaps the hotels don't want a licence that would alert the

tax department to the business they are in. Some are really quite high end (4 star).

[Gonzo the Face]

Just a bit of update on this...... I was told today that there would not be any licenses issued  to guesthouses , only to hotels.  Awaiting legal opinion on this at the moment.  As if guesthouses would no longer be legal to exist.   Anybody hear anything like this?

[elgordo38]

22 hours ago, Gonzo the Face said:

Just a bit of update on this...... I was told today that there would not be any licenses issued  to guesthouses , only to hotels.  Awaiting legal opinion on this at the moment.  As if guesthouses would no longer be legal to exist.   Anybody hear anything like this?

Asking a legal question is a bit of a stretch here. There are many different forms and facts about legal. If you look at the bridge fiasco you can go back a 100 years in the legal playbook. Then sometimes laws can be made up on the spot to suit a purpose. The use legal here can be a vagary term. It would seem that everything is up for interpretation by the ruling party involved case by case. In other words your on your own.  

[KhonKaenKowboy]

On 2/24/2017 at 2:15 AM, Ulic said:

I just wonder if it is the bureaucracy that does not allow these hotels to get a license , (without backhanders)

the hotels don't meet safety standards, or perhaps the hotels don't want a licence that would alert the

tax department to the business they are in. Some are really quite high end (4 star).

So, kind of like the Yellow Book process in some areas.......but certainly not mine; it simply took seven trips to the office.

[Gonzo the Face]

Another thing I have seen no mention of...... what about the condos and condo owners, that do short time rental, even as little as nightly.....do they need a hotel license???

[KhonKaenKowboy]

1 minute ago, Gonzo the Face said:

Another thing I have seen no mention of...... what about the condos and condo owners, that do short time rental, even as little as nightly.....do they need a hotel license???

There are reports of signage in BKK condos that the practice is illeal and also some reports of Immigration offices not allowing foreign owners to file TM 30 on their foreign Tennants.

[localczar]

Best take this up with the license dept (if they can't fix it, it can't be fixed) down on khao san road, make sure they get a "safety" license for all short time rooms as well.

[CantSpell]

On 3/3/2017 at 1:38 PM, Gonzo the Face said:

Another thing I have seen no mention of...... what about the condos and condo owners, that do short time rental, even as little as nightly.....do they need a hotel license???

Condo licenses are only to operate condo's...

 

A 2-3 year old 5 star hotel in the city is today not allowed to operate as hotel as they opened with the wrong licence...

Must sell monthly only...

 

They do not seem to allow change of licence