Sign in Subscribe
Tourism

Thai Hotels Pause Sales Due to Government Subsidy Scheme Glitches

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

Thai hotels, including prominent groups such as Dusit, have halted sales linked to the government's domestic tourism subsidy scheme due to technical issues. Back-end malfunctions in the system have prevented hotels from logging in to the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) system to manage bookings. Prachoom Tantiprasertsuk, chair of marketing at the Thai Hotels Association, highlighted several key problems with the program, including a static pricing method and outdated technology.

Key Takeaways:

  • Over 1,200 hotels, including Dusit, have temporarily paused sales due to technical issues with the government's domestic tourism subsidy scheme.
  • The primary concern is with the pricing method, which locks in hotel rates once they are submitted and cannot be revised, even if the hotel wishes to adjust pricing based on market conditions.
  • The back-end technology is outdated, with no automatic slip verification, requiring hotels to manually check the authenticity of payment slips uploaded by guests.
  • Dusit hotels in Thailand have stopped accepting new bookings for the scheme, but will proceed with bookings that are already paid and confirmed.
  • The approval process for hotels to enroll in the scheme has been lengthy, resulting in a limited number of available accommodations.
  • Minor Hotels has registered 26 of its hotels in Thailand for the program, but only eight have been approved.
  • The TAT has informed hotels that bank accounts used to receive payments must be with Krungthai Bank and verified by the bank before being listed on the website, requiring a 3-4 day registration process.

Statistics:

  • 2,292 hotels have published their rates on the TAT website.
  • 3,047 properties are awaiting verification by the bank.
  • 1,200+ hotels are represented in online discussions with the TAT about the issues with the scheme.
  • 26 hotels are part of Minor Hotels in Thailand registered for the program.
  • 8 hotels in Minor Hotels have been approved to participate in the scheme.
  • 3-4 days is the required registration time for hotels to complete the approval process.

Sources:

  • Prachoom Tantiprasertsuk, chair of marketing at the Thai Hotels Association
  • Thai Hotels Association
  • Dusit International
  • Minor Hotels
  • Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT)

Read more