THA, BMTA to target illegal hotels

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THA, BMTA to target illegal hotels
By Suchat Sritama
The Nation
Published on October 6, 2010

BANGKOK: -- The Thai Hotels Association (THA) in conjunction with the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration will survey hotels in 24 districts to force illegal operators to comply with the lodging law implemented in 2008.

The association also plans to ask the Interior Ministry to help enforce the hotel law, since many pseudohotels are providing substandard service and security, and hurting the hotel industry's image.

After Bangkok, the campaign will go to Phuket, Samui and Chiang Mai.

Charoen Nudpobsuk, vice president of the THA, said after the group's meeting yesterday that more than 40 per cent of all hotels, with some 100,000 rooms, were operating illegally.

Indirect hotels are guesthouses, residences, serviced apartments, dormitories and accommodations offering daily rentals. Such quasihotels have been stealing guests from registered hotels because they can offer very low rates. Most of them rent rooms through online channels.

According to THA figures, international visitor numbers reached forecasts over the past three years, but the average occupancy rate at its member hotels dropped gradually by 20 per cent per year.

Occupancy at threestar hotels in 2008 was 60 per cent but fell to 50 per cent during the first seven months of this year, while the average at fourstar hotels slipped from 66 per cent to 49 per cent.

Fivestar hotels also experienced a similar drop, from 62 per cent in the last three years to 46 per cent in the first seven months of this year.

"If we look at the visitor numbers, they remained at 14 million arrivals per year. However, hotels saw fewer customers and less income," Charoen said.

In Bangkok alone, only 299 hotels are officially registered, with a total of 58,820 rooms, while 169 are indirect operators with more than 48,000 rooms.

"THA estimates that more than 100,000 rooms across the country are not conforming to the hotel law," he said.

Wrong statistics may cause new investors to make bad decisions, while operators are at risk of losing business if they invest based on incorrect figures.

"The tourism industry has been in error for years because every figure cannot be trusted," he said.