Hotel association calls for hotel legalization to stop price war, better safety standards

Thai Hotels Association has called on the government to legalize all hotels in the country as now more than half operating without licenses, thus creating price war and affecting tourism.

Association president Supawan Tanomkiatpum gave a figure of some 400,000 cheap hotel rooms throughout the country, over half or some 270,000 rooms were illegal.

She said the figure did not include rooms in condominiums and service apartments which were converted to provide renting on a daily basis.

As a consequence, this has caused price war and zero dollar tours, she said.

She admitted that the hotel room rate in the country was very low because the illegal hotels were not regulated and there were many illegal hotel operators.

But she said that in other countries room is higher because of the balance of demand and supply.

She said it was this season that the association would like the government to understand that why all illegal hotels must be legalized.

If they are all in the system, and know the exact number of the rooms available, then they could be well managed, she said.

The military junta has pushed for a new building law this year specifying the kind of building that could operate as hotels to give the opportunity to hotel operators to bring the building into the legal system.

The building that could be converted to hotel must have safety standard in accordance with the number of floors it has.

For example, if the building has no more than two floors, and less than 10 rooms, the walkway should be more than one-meter-wide, and must arrange for fire extinguishers.

For building having more than two floors, and more rooms, the walkway must be wide.

For building having more than four floors, emergency escape stairways made of fire resistance material is a must.

Source: ThaiPBS