Foreign ownership ‘could mean more illegal hotels’
published : 14 Aug 2024 at 07:58
writer: Gary Boyle
ORIGINAL SOURCE/WRITER: Molpasorn Shoowong
Hotel operators are concerned about changes to foreign ownership rules for real estate because they believe it could lead to more illegal hotels in Thailand.
The government’s proposal aims to extend the leasehold period to 99 years for foreigners, while increasing the quota for foreign ownership of condominiums from 49% to 75% of usable space in a building.
These proposals would hit Thai hotels because they would encourage foreign home buyers to rent their units to tourists, said Udom Srimahachota of the Thai Hotels Association.
For instance, Chinese nominee agents might purchase an entire floor in a condo project and rent all the rooms out to only Chinese visitors in major tourism provinces, which has happened in the past.
He said Thai hotels face higher expenses than non-licensed rooms.
In Thailand there are about 16,000 registered hotels and roughly 15,000 unlicensed hotels.
In Hua Hin, a low-rise condo project was purchased in high volume by Russian agents, then rented out exclusively to Russian tourists, competing with local licensed hotels, said Mr Udom.
Learn from listening
Vocabulary
- agent (noun): a person or company that buys or sells something for someone else - ตัวแทน
- encourage: to cause someone to want to do something - กระตุ้น ให้การสนับสนุน
- expenses: money spent in doing a particular job, or for a particular purpose - ค่าใช้จ่าย
- leaseholders: people or companies that are leasing an asset such as land or a car -
- licensed: having an official document that gives someone permission to do or use something - มีใบอนุญาต
- nominee: a legal arrangement whereby investments are held by a a person or company on behalf of the real owner - ผู้รับถือหุ้นให้บุคคลอื่นที่ไม่ต้องการจะเปิดเผยตัวตน
- proposal: a plan or suggestion for a group to consider - ข้อเสนอ
- quota: an amount of something that someone is officially allowed to have or do - โควตา
- registered (adj): to be on an official list; to be on an official list of names of people who are allowed to do something, e.g., vote, study, sell something, stay in a hotel etc - ซึ่งลงทะเบียนไว้
- unlicensed: not having a license or the correct papers to do something - ไม่ได้ตีทะเบียน, นอกกฎหมาย