Robust tourism should help hotels in the South enjoy surging room rates and service charges for both high and low seasons, as many five-star beach resorts have already announced a new round of service charges, with the highest rate reaching 92,924 baht in January.
Suksit Suvunditkul, president of the southern chapter of the Thai Hotels Association, said many hotels in Phuket have been focusing more on driving room rates than occupancy, as well as utilising a dynamic pricing strategy rather than binding themselves with fixed contract rates, as in the past.
These business directions resulted in higher service charges for their employees, which typically account for 10% of room revenue, said Mr Suksit.
Hotel service charge announcements nationwide for January went viral on social media because of their enormous amounts, such as 92,924 baht for JW Marriott Phuket, 65,854 baht for Anantara Golden Triangle, and 43,244 baht for Four Seasons Bangkok.
For December and January, Phuket hotels typically earned the highest income during the high season, Mr Suksit said.
Three- and four-star hotels were estimated to increase their average daily rate by 10-20%, while the room price for five-star resorts should increase at a slower rate as they already charge a much higher level.
The dynamic pricing strategy has seen many hotels keep a portion of rooms for last-minute sales at maximum prices, said Mr Suksit.
For instance, during the Electric Daisy Carnival Thailand 2025 music festival in Phuket last week, many four-star hotels sold rooms for 12,000 baht per night, with strong demand from foreign tourists to continue this strategy.
Even though more workers are employed, they could still earn higher revenue from service charges due to a spike in room rates, unlike the early years after the pandemic, when the high service charges were attributed to lower numbers of staff amid labour shortages.
Mr Suksit said hotel service charges during low season should be 50% of the high season rate as tourists in Phuket would fall during that period, but it is still acceptable as there are more consistent flows of arrivals from Russia, the Middle East, China and India for the whole year.
Pongsakorn Ketprapakorn, executive director of Khaolak Emerald Beach Resort and Spa, said hotels in Phangnga typically offer lower service charges than the same tiers in Phuket due to fewer tourists, although some hotels were performing even better than pre-pandemic levels.
Since Phangnga has four months of low season with monsoon, discouraging tourists from visiting, it can be solved by encouraging investment in man-made attractions, such as water parks or malls, to accommodate tourists throughout the year.
Tourism operators also hope the new Andaman Airport in Phangnga will help them gain more tourists in the future.