Legal hotels fight back

23 Jan 2015  2035 | World Travel News

BANGKOK Thai Hotels Association hopes amendments to the law governing hotel construction will crack down on illegal hotels that are siphoning off revenue from registered hotels.
Speaking at the “Solution to clamp down on illegal Hotels” conference, Wednesday, THA president Surapong Techaruvichit said a rapid increase in booking technology, the internet and online banking are factors that allow illegal hotels to prosper.
“Those factors encourage an increase in hotel investment…but due to the strict regulations many of the new players cannot gain a license, while some hide to grab an advantage (by not paying tax),” he said.
He identified service apartment, apartments, dormitory, and condominiums as areas that needed investigation.
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA “Most of illegal operators are small hotels with fewer than 50 rooms and no meeting rooms or other services such as restaurants and lounges,” he said.
According to the Ministry of Interior’s latest data, there are 7,364 hotels with 366,632 rooms, nationwide, all registered hotels. However, reports suggest that there are 9,299 hotels that can be booked on a popular website, agoda.com, 20% higher than the ministry’s registered hotel figures.
A study of six major destinations – Bangkok, Pattaya, Phuket, Chiang Mai, Surat Thani (includes Samui), Hua Hin and Cha-am – shows there are 2,299 hotels with 203,424 rooms legally registered while the hotel booking website presents 5,852 hotels with 297,105 rooms.
“Phuket and Pattaya have the highest number of illegal hotels… illegal hotels drag room rates down, turn the country into a cheap destination, and destroy its tourism image,” the THA president argued.
Hoteliers, who have bothered to register their properties, say there are safety and security issues. There are no fire or police departments checks. Also, there is a lack of daily reporting of the guest list to police, which is a valuable tool to fight crime and terrorism.
The association is demanding the ministry act and clean up the hotel registration system to reduce illegal activities.
The Cabinet approved, last week, a draft law proposed by the Ministry of Interior to allow type A (fewer than 50 rooms) and B (fewer than 50 rooms but with food service) hotels to obtain full certification.
The THA president said the association and the ministry have been revising hotel regulations for years.
“Under a draft law currently under consideration, small hotels will be able to register and qualify for the same certification as larger hotels. However, it could take as much as six months for such legislation to take effect.”
He added: “If small hotels were included in the new regulations, it would be much easier to control services and standards. It is expected that the regulations will encourage 50% of the illegal hotels to register.”
The president also suggested the interior ministry enforce the law and regulations for illegal operators. Hoteliers have to show license numbers on advertisements, and officials and state authorities must only do business with properties that are legal.

sourced:ttrweekly.com 

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