Hotel operators are enmeshed in the slow approval process for the first phase of the 1.7-billion-baht co-payment scheme, while some online travel agents (OTAs) have started to offer even lower prices than the government's subsidy scheme.
The co-payment scheme for local tourists began the registration process for the public on Tuesday, after being open for hotels to register since June 25.
However, only 2,000 hotels have registered nationwide, said Thienprasit Chaiyapatranun, president of the Thai Hotels Association (THA).
The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), which is helping to oversee the project, faced a flood of complaints from users due to technical glitches on the first day of registration.
Hotel operators also encountered difficulties joining the scheme.
Mr Thienprasit said based on the overwhelming feedback from local tourists who want to enrol in the programme, once they can register without any problems, the allotted 500,000 privileges should be rapidly claimed.
However, hoteliers are not allowed to adjust prices or use dynamic pricing with this programme, as the room rates published in the system cannot be amended.
He said this led OTAs to display lower prices on Tuesday, as hotels did not receive as many bookings as expected on the first day, while the prices offered by OTAs remains flexible based on actual demand during certain periods, especially during the low season.
Paisarn Sukjarean, president of the upper northern chapter of the THA, said early this week the number of approved operators in Chiang Mai totalled only 10 hotels.
He said hotel operators were informed the delay stemmed from verification to prevent possible fraud, as occurred with a similar scheme implemented by the previous government.
Mr Paisarn said some hotels used this opportunity to mark up prices for rooms joining the co-payment scheme, as they cannot adjust prices at a later stage, resulting in more expensive prices compared with those offered by OTAs.
"This scheme's process is more complicated than the previous project," he said.
"We want the TAT to streamline the process to facilitate operators keen to join the scheme to lift their business amid this sluggish period for tourism."
