Post-flood hotel industry changes

50% of small hotels don't pay hotel tax. New rules to even playing field for tax-paying hotels plagued by price wars & price cutting.

Photo of  tourists enjoying foot massages at Khaosan Road a budget tourism area with a many guesthouses and hotels. The government will consider changing hotel regulations to try and include smaller, short-stay hotels that lack a licence and pay smaller tax sums (Photograph: Sayant Pornnantharat).

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TOURISM: New hotel regulations may catch tax dodges by Chadamas Chinmaneevong

The government agreed to set up a new committee yesterday to look after hotels, in addition to possibly revising regulations that protect illegal short-stay providers.

Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Yongyuth Wichaidit met with representatives from the Thai Hotels Association (THA) yesterday, and THA will call a member meeting on Dec 9 to discuss possible new regulations.

At present, there is no legal way many free-standing units or even estates can obtain a hotel licence that requires similar taxation to what hotels must pay. 

Those illegitimate operators now make up almost half of the hotels in Thailand. They generally offer low daily room rates because of low operation costs and taxation. 

Normally serviced apartments or apartments pay property tax at a rate of 12.5% a year, while licensed hotels pay a rate based on the total number of rooms, or the income each room generates. 

Sampan Panpat, an honorary adviser to THA, said new regulations must be more flexible. For instance, small hotels should have fewer than 79 rooms. 

A law should also set a clear guideline to separate residential buildings from hotels and set a proper distance for hotels from the road, he said. 

In a related development, the Association of Thai Travel Agents (ATTA) forecast inbound tourism should recover by the second quarter next year if the government can ensure no epidemics will break out after the floods.

Susdivachr Cheewarattanaporn, the president of ATTA, said travellers are concerned about epidemics, causing them to postpone their trips to Thailand. Songkran should also provide momentum in the second quarter, he said

The Chinese New Year will bring Chinese tourists to the country in January. He predicted about 100,000 arrivals, down from usual levels of 150,000-200,000.

Booking of local package tours for the high season is only at 20-30% of capacity, compared to 70-80% normally, he said. If sales remain static by the middle of next month, a price war in short-haul markets such as China and Korea will happen, with operators cutting package prices 10-20%, he added.

Tourism Authority of Thailand governor Surapol Svetaseni asked tour operators and hoteliers to maintain prices because they are very competitive.

"Our average hotel room price is lower than neighboring countries like Vietnam and Burma. Our five-star hotel room rate is similar to the rate of their four or three-star hotels. TAT is working hard to create marketing campaigns to help every market," said Mr Surapol.

(Source: Bangkok Post, TOURISM, New hotel regulations may catch tax dodges, 1/12/2011, Chadamas Chinmaneevong, link) 

Hotel Industry Vocabulary

lack - does not have ขาดแคลน
licence - an official document that gives someone permission to do a business or some activity ใบอนุญาต

hotel licence
lack a hotel license - does not have permission from the government to run a hotel

licensed hotels - hotels that have permission from the government to operate
licensed hotels pay a rate based on the total number of rooms, or the income each room generates

regulations - official rules that control the way that things are done ระเบียบปฏิบัติ  ระเบียบ ข้อบังคับ  กฎระเบียบ
hotel regulations

even the playing field - make the conditions of doing business the same for all (so that one group of businesses does not have an unfair advantage that others do not have)

tax dodge - a way of paying less tax or no tax, tax evasion, tax non-compliance, usually an illegal way to avoid paying the tax you really owe (See Wikipedia)
catch tax dodges - find people and companies not paying taxes and take action against them (make them pay current taxes and back taxes)

revise regulations - change and improve regulations
short-stay - staying at a place for a short time (renting by the day or week, not by the month like an apartment)
short-stay providers - hotels, guesthouses, serviced apartments, etc (many of which do not have a hotel license)

illegal - against the law ผิดกฎหมาย, นอกกฎหมาย
illegal short-stay providers

revising regulations that protect illegal short-stay providers

meeting - when a group of people come together to discuss issues and make decisions การประชุม
call a meeting - make a plan for a meeting at a future date (and ask people to come to the meeting)

a member meeting - a meeting including all the members of an organization
call a member meeting on Dec 9 to discuss possible new regulations

free-standing unit - a place to live such as a house that is not part of a building (apartment) or attached to other cuildings (townhouse)  (See list of housing types at Wikipedia)
estates -
there is no legal way many free-standing units or even estates can obtain a hotel licence

illegitimate - not allowed by the rules or laws ที่ขัดต่อกฎหมาย  ฝ่าฝืนกฎหมาย
operators - companies or business people running some kind of business

illegitimate operators - businesses breaking the law, not allowed by the law
illegitimate operators now make up almost half of the hotels in Thailand.

daily room rates - the price of staying at a hotel for one day and night
offer low daily room rates because of low operation costs and taxation. 

serviced apartments - a type of furnished apartment available for short-term or long-term stays, which provides amenities for daily use. Serviced apartments can be less expensive than equivalent hotel rooms. Since the beginning of the boom in cheap international travel and the corresponding increase in the level of sophistication of international travelers, interest in serviced apartments has risen at the expense of the use of hotels for short stays.[citation needed] The benefits of serviced apartments may include more space and privacy, convenience when traveling with a family, and the cost savings associated with cooking one's own meals in the apartment" (See Wikipedia)

property tax - tax paid on property (land plus building) that you own (See Wikipedia)

serviced apartments or apartments pay property tax at a rate of 12.5% a year

income - money that people receive from work or some other source, used for household consumption and savings
generate income - when a business makes money by selling things
the income a room generates - when people pay to stay in a hotel room (and the hotel makes money)

clear - easy to understand
guideline - rules that tell you (roughly) how to do something
residential - houses for families to live in (not businesses) บริเวณที่พักอาศัย

set a clear guideline to separate residential buildings from hotels

proper - right, correct
distance - to act in a way that shows that you are not connected with someone or something เขยิบออก
proper distance - the right distance (not too close, not too far)

set a proper distance for hotels from the road

In a related development, ... - in another story (that is related to and relevant to this story) ...

epidemic - when large numbers of people start catching a disease (See Wikipedia)
an epidemic breaks out - an epidemic starts
the break out of an epidemic

ensure - to make certain that something happens or is done รับรอง ให้ความมั่นใจ ให้การยืนยัน
ensure no epidemics will break out after the floods

concerned - worried about something มีความกังวล
travellers are concerned about epidemics

forecast - a statement about what will happen in the future based on information available now พยากรณ์

inbound - travelling towards a particular point, particular into a city ขาเข้า (opposite of outbound ขาออก)
inbound tourism - the number of tourists coming into the country

recover - when the situation is improving, getting better ฟื้น
should recover by the second quarter

forecast inbound tourism should recover by the second quarter next year if the government can ensure no epidemics will break out after the floods

postpone - delay, reschedule, make a later date for an event เลื่อนออกไป
postpone their trips to Thailand.

momentum - unstoppable forwards movement (like a heavy object that takes some effort to get moving, but continues on its own after that)
provide - to give someone something that they want or need

Songkran should also provide momentum in the second quarter

package tours - a tourism product that combines transport and hotel room (accommodation) "advertised and sold together by a vendor known as a tour operator. Other services may be provided like a rental car, activities or outings during the holiday. Transport can be via charter airline to a foreign country. ... Package holidays are organised by a tour operator and sold to a consumer by a travel agent," also called a "package holiday" (See Wikipedia)
local package tours - package tours in this country: Thailand 
cutting package prices - reducing the price of tours to attract customers

book a tour - make an arrangement or "reservation" for a tour in the future (usually paying for it at this time too)
booking of tours

the high season - the time period during the year when the highest number of tourists come to a place (in Thailand, it is the cool season from November through February or longer)

booking of local package tours for the high season

capacity - 1. the total amount that can be contained ปริมาณสูงสุดที่จะรับได้ 2. the ability to do something, the amount that a factory or plant could produce if all the equipment was in use all the time ความสามารถในการทำงาน

Booking of local package tours for the high season is only at 20-30% of capacity, compared to 70-80% normally,

sales remain static - sales stay the same (don't increase) 
price war - when companies compete by lowering prices to attract customers

short-haul - short distance
short-haul markets - the tourism market of tourists from countries that are located only a short distance and short flight away 

a price war in short-haul markets such as China and Korea
operators cutting package prices 10-20%

If sales remain static by the middle of next month, a price war in short-haul markets such as China and Korea will happen, with operators cutting package prices 10-20%

hoteliers - the owner or manager of a hotel

maintain - to keep รักษา
maintain prices - keep prices the same (not lower them to compete and lure business competition)

competitive - มีการแข่งขัน
prices are very competitive - less than or equal to other companies offering the same sort of product

neighboring countries like Vietnam and Burma

campaigns - a long series of events staged to achieve a goal or to promote something (for example, an "anti-smoking campaign")
marketing campaigns - a series of events to tell people about a product and get them interested in buying the product