Hyatt Regency Hua Hin Regency club closure. is a post from: Thai Hotels

From mid-summer (August 15), The Regency Club rooms and facilities at the Hyatt Regency Hua Hin will be unavailable to guests as the hotel will be starting a complete overhaul and renovation of all Regency Club rooms and facilities. The BARAI Spa will be unaffected.

Closing it down in the middle of the summer seems a little strange, but I suppose they need to do this in order to have it ready by the middle of December for the start of the peak season.

From the official press release listed below, it looks like they will be enclosing the balconies on the second and third floor rooms with glass sliding doors to incorporate what until now has been the balcony, into the room. As you can see from the photo below there is a decent sized balcony with a table and two chairs. Rooms on the ground floor had this area enclosed with glass walls, making a kind of sun room, and there was a sofa and chairs there.

Hyatt Regency Hua Hin Regency Club room

It is interesting to note in the press release that once the renovations are complete, Regency Club guests will receive a complimentary 60-minute spa treatment for two people per stay at THE BARAI spa.

Let’s hope they also make some improvements to the food and drink choices available in the Regency Club, which as I remember, in Thailand tend to be quite a disappointment compared to other Hyatt properties in Asia.

From August 15 to December 15, 2010, the Regency Club facility at Hyatt Regency Hua Hin will be closed for a complete and total renovation. During this period, all guestrooms and suites in the Regency Club area, the Regency Club Lounge, Regency Club swimming pool and Regency Club garden area will be unavailable for guest use.

When the renovated Regency Club is unveiled, guests will experience a stunning room designed for the ultimate in comfort and convenience. To bring guests closer to nature, all Regency Club rooms on the ground floor will feature an outdoor patio with on-your-doorstep access to the gardens and swimming pool area. This new Regency Club Garden Room will expand the room size from the current 38 sq. m to roughly 45 sq. m, including the outdoor patio area. The second and third floor rooms will also have the luxury of additional space through an innovatively designed balcony area. This design will include an option to open the large panoramic sliding windows to enjoy fresh air and an outdoor feel or to keep the doors closed feeling the spacious comfort of your own room. This enclosed balcony feel will expand our existing upper floor rooms by 9 sq. m to an actual room size of 38 sq. m.

All this will be complemented by a wide range of standard Regency Club benefits, as well as new, unique and value-added inclusions, namely complimentary Internet connectivity (both wired and Wi-Fi) and a complimentary 60-minute spa treatment for two people per stay in our award-winning THE BARAI spa.

During the renovation period there will be no major disruption to the day-to-day operations of the rest of the hotel’s facilities as the renovation is confined to specific areas in the sprawling resort grounds. The team is committed to ensuring that guest satisfaction, comfort and convenience, as well as delivery of prompt service, remains as top priority during this time. The Presidential Villa and The Barai Suites remain open and available for bookings as normal.

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Thailand fares well in Best Hotels list 2010 is a post from: Thai Hotels

Best Hotels list 2010 features many Thai hotels and resorts.

Hotels and resorts in Thailand secured over 40% of the spots in the Asia categories in the results of the Traveler’s Choice 2010 poll conducted by Tripadvisor.com.

The Best Service category was dominated by Thailand, with independent travelers voting Thai resorts into 6 of the top 10 spots. The Kingdom also fared well in the Family Resorts, Relaxation & Spa as well as B&B and Inns categories, securing 50% of the top 10 spots in each category.

Thai resorts also managed a number of placings in the international categories of best hotels with The Secret Garden in Chiang Mai placing 5th in the list of top 10 bargain hotels in the world and the Cape Sienna Hotels & Villas in Kamala being voted the 4th most romantic resort in the world in 2010. Bandara Resort & Spa just made the list of top 10 Relaxation/ Spa Hotels in the World, at number ten.

Below are the results for each Asian category, with links to each hotel where you will find more information and photos.

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Bangkok hotel closures & re-opening status is a post from: Thai Hotels

Bangkok hotel re-opening dates list updated daily.

Bangkok is now back to normal with all roads, hotels, shops and attractions operating as normal. I am leaving the previous updates below as a record of events.

Following the departure of UDD protesters in central Bangkok, the city is now in cleanup mode. A city-wide curfew remains until Sunday night. Hotels that were forced to close are cleaning up and preparing for re-opening, with most set to re-open Monday the 24th or Wednesday the 26th. This morning I have updated Bangkok hotel re-openings for the Ratchadamri and Siam areas which were the most severely affected areas, and will update the others later today.

I am calling many of the hotels in the affected areas every today to check whether they are open and when they are re-opening. I will list all hotel closures and re-opening dates here. Below is the list of their current status as of today. Check back daily as I will be updating this list of Bangkok hotel closures everyday until the situation is back to normal.

Updated 12 pm Bangkok time, Tuesday May 25th 2010

Any dates given for planned re-opening of hotels are of course subject to change depending on the situation.

Ratchadamri

• Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok Hotel re-opening Wednesday May 26th.
• Four Seasons Bangkok Hotel re-opening Wednesday May 26th.
• Courtyard by Marriott Hotel re-opened Monday May 24th.
• CentrePoint Ratchadamri : Closed. Will open 7am Thursday May 27th

Siam

• Intercontinental Hotel Bangkok : Closed- Hotel re-opening May 26th
• Centara Grand at Central World : Closed – Re-opening June 1
• Novotel Bangkok at Siam Square re-opened May 24.
• Siam@Siam Design Hotel re-opened May 24th
• Pathumwan Princess re-opened May 23
• VIE Hotel re-opened Monday May 24th.

Sukhumvit

• Renaissance Ratchaprasong : Closed - Re-opening June 1st.
• Holiday Inn : Closed. Re-opening Wednesday May 26th.
• JW Marriott : Open
• Majestic Grande : Open
• Furama Xclusive Sukhumvit Hotel : Open
• Bell-aire Princess : Open
• Hotel Manhattan : Open
• Centre Point Sukhumvit Soi 10 : Open
• Centre Point Thong Lor : Open
• Amari Boulevard : Open
• Park Plaza Sukhumvit : Open

Pratunam

• Amari Watergate Bangkok : Open
• Intra Regent : Closed -Currently plans to re-open June 1st.

Lang Suan

• Mayfair Marriott Executive Apartments re-opened Monday May 24th.
• Fraser Place Urbana Lang Suan : Open
• Luxx XL Lang Suang : Open
• CentrePoint Langsuan reopens May 26th.
• Sawasdee Langsuan Inn Hotel re-opened May 24th
• Capehouse Serviced Apartments re-opened. Lobby renovations for next 2 weeks, restaurant is not open.

Wireless Road

• Plaza Athenee- A Royal Meridien : Open
• Centerpoint Wireless Road Hotel re-opening May 26th
• Conrad Hotel : Open

Sathorn

• Lebua at State Tower : Open
• Sathorn Vista Marriott Apartments: Open
• Banyan Tree: Open
• Panthip Court : Open
• The Sukothai re-opened May 24th.
• FuramaXclusive Sathorn : Open
• Metropolitan re-opened May 24th.
• Radisson Hotel Sathorn : Open

Sala Daeng/Silom

• Dusit Thani Bangkok re-opened
• Pan Pacific : Open

Others

• Centre Point Silom : Open
• Pullman King Power reopening May 25th.

Riverside hotels and Khao San Road

Hotels in these areas were not affected and open for business as usual.

Updated 10:30am Bkk time, Saturday May 22nd 2010

Any dates given for planned re-opening of hotels are of course subject to change depending on the situation.

Ratchadamri

• Grand Hyatt Erawan : Closed Re-opening Wednesday May 26th.
• Four Seasons Hotel : Closed- Re-opening Wednesday May 26th.
• Courtyard by Marriott : Closed. Re-opening Monday May 24th.
• CentrePoint Ratchadamri : Closed. Decision will be made on re-opening on Monday 24th

Siam

• Intercontinental Hotel : Closed- Re-opening May 26th
• Centara Grand at Central World : Closed – Vague answer from sales office saying “next week”. When pressed she said that staff will be coming to work on the 26th.
• Novotel Bangkok at Siam Square : Closed – Plans to reopen May 24.
• Siam@Siam : Closed-Plans to re-open May 24th
• Pathumwan Princess : Closed – “Tomorrow or Monday”. No clear policy yet
• VIE – Closed. Re-opening Monday May 24th.

Sukhumvit

• Renaissance Ratchaprasong : Closed – If the government lifts the curfew, they will open “at the end of the month”, most probably next Friday May 28th.
• Holiday Inn : Closed. No staff at hotel to answer phone calls- recorded message. From their website: (We) have at this stage decided to suspend all guest services and not to accept any reservations until further notice.
• JW Marriott : Open – accepting reservations.
• Majestic Grande : Open – accepting reservations.
• Furama Xclusive Sukhumvit Hotel : Open and accepting reservations.
• Bell-aire Princess : Open
• Hotel Manhattan : Open
• Centre Point Sukhumvit Soi 10 : Open
• Centre Point Thong Lor : Open
• Amari Boulevard : Open

Pratunam

• Amari Watergate Bangkok : Open
• Intra Regent : Closed -Currently plans to re-open June 1st.

Lang Suan

• Mayfair Marriott Executive Apartments : Closed until May 23rd.
• Fraser Place Urbana Lang Suan : Open but not accepting new reservations until Sunday 23rd May, however walk-ins will be accomodated.
• Luxx XL Lang Suang : Closed Nobody answering the telephone tonight.
• CentrePoint Lang Suan : Closed
• Sawasdee Langsuan Inn Hotel : Closed
• Capehouse Serviced Apartments : Closed

Wireless Road

• Plaza Athenee- A Royal Meridien : Closed Planning on opening again May 24th.
• Centerpoint Wireless Road Hotel : Closed
• Conrad Hotel : Open – accepting reservations.

Sathorn

• Lebua at State Tower : Open
• Sathorn Vista Marriott Apartments: Open
• Banyan Tree: Open for current guests but not accepting new guests until May 31st.
• Panthip Court : Open
• The Sukothai : Closed until May 24th.
• FuramaXclusive Sathorn : Open
• Metropolitan : Closed until May 24th.

Sala Daeng/Silom

• Dusit Thani : Closed. Calls redirected to Dusit Thani Surinakarin (near the airport). No date set for re-opening yet.

Others

• Centre Point Silom : Open

Riverside hotels and Khao San Road

Hotels in these areas are open for business as usual.

Updated 8:44 pm Bkk time, Thursday May 20th 2010

Any dates given for planned re-opening of hotels are of course subject to change depending on the situation.

Ratchadamri

• Grand Hyatt Erawan : Closed Plans to re-open Wednesday May 26.
• Four Seasons Hotel : Closed- No staff at hotel, calls diverted to Ko Samui Four Seasons. Plans to re-open May 24th.
• Courtyard by Marriott : Closed. No date set for re-opening yet. Plans to re-open May 24th. Reservations not accepted until then.
• CentrePoint Ratchadamri : Closed

Siam

• Intercontinental Hotel : Closed- Not accepting bookings. No staff at hotel to answer phone calls- recorded message.
• Centara Grand at Central World : Closed – Central World was set on fire yesterday following the retreat of protesters.
• Novotel Bangkok at Siam Square : Closed – Plans to reopen May 24.
• Siam@Siam : Closed-Plans to re-open May 24th

• Pathumwan Princess : Closed – Staff say they plan to re-open in the “next 2 or 3 days”. No clear policy yet.

Sukhumvit

• Renaissance Ratchaprasong : Closed – If the government lifts the curfew, they will open “at the end of the month”, most probably next Friday May 28th.
• Holiday Inn : Closed. No staff at hotel to answer phone calls- recorded message. From their website: (We) have at this stage decided to suspend all guest services and not to accept any reservations until further notice.
• JW Marriott : Open – accepting reservations.
• Majestic Grande : Open – accepting reservations.
• Furama Xclusive Sukhumvit Hotel : Open and accepting reservations.
• Bell-aire Princess : Open
• Hotel Manhattan : Open
• Centre Point Sukhumvit Soi 10 : Open
• Centre Point Thong Lor : Open
• Amari Boulevard : Open

Pratunam

• Amari Watergate Bangkok : Open
• Intra Regent : Closed -Currently plans to re-open June 1st.

Lang Suan

• Mayfair Marriott Executive Apartments : Closed until May 23rd.
• Fraser Place Urbana Lang Suan : Open but not accepting new reservations until Sunday 23rd May, however walk-ins will be accomodated.
• Luxx XL Lang Suang : Closed Nobody answering the telephone tonight.
• CentrePoint Lang Suan : Closed
• Sawasdee Langsuan Inn Hotel : Closed
• Capehouse Serviced Apartments : Closed

Wireless Road

• Plaza Athenee- A Royal Meridien : Closed Planning on opening again May 24th.
• Centerpoint Wireless Road Hotel : Closed
• Conrad Hotel : Open – accepting reservations.

Sathorn

• Lebua at State Tower : Open
• Sathorn Vista Marriott Apartments: Open
• Banyan Tree: Open for current guests but not accepting new guests until May 31st.
• Panthip Court : Open
• The Sukothai : Closed until May 24th.
• FuramaXclusive Sathorn : Open
• Metropolitan : Closed until May 24th.

Sala Daeng/Silom

• Dusit Thani : Closed. Calls redirected to Dusit Thani Surinakarin (near the airport). No date set for re-opening yet.

Others

• Centre Point Silom : Open

Riverside hotels and Khao San Road

Hotels in these areas are open for business as usual.

Updated 9:13 pm Bkk time, Wednesday May 19th 2010

Any dates given for planned re-opening of hotels are of course subject to change depending on the situation.

Ratchadamri

• Grand Hyatt Erawan : Closed Plans to re-open Wednesday May 26.
• Four Seasons Hotel : Closed- No staff at hotel, calls diverted to Ko Samui Four Seasons. Plans to re-open May 24th.
• Courtyard by Marriott : Closed. No date set for re-opening yet.
• CentrePoint Ratchadamri : Closed

Siam

• Intercontinental Hotel : Closed- Not accepting bookings. No staff at hotel to answer phone calls- recorded message.
• Centara Grand at Central World : Closed – At time of updating this post, Central World was on fire following the retreat of protesters.
• Novotel Bangkok at Siam Square : Closed – Plans to reopen May 24.
• Siam@Siam : Open -All guests will be checking out tomorrow (Thursday). Currently unclear if they will remain open tomorrow.
• Pathumwan Princess : Closed – Decision on re-opening expected May 22.

Sukhumvit

• Renaissance Ratchaprasong: Closed – No date set for reservations.
• Holiday Inn : Closed. No staff at hotel to answer phone calls- recorded message.
• JW Marriott : Open – accepting reservations.
• Majestic Grande : Open – accepting reservations.
• Furama Xclusive Sukhumvit Hotel : Open and accepting reservations.
• Bell-aire Princess : Open
• Hotel Manhattan : Open
• Centre Point Sukhumvit Soi 10 : Open
• Centre Point Thong Lor : Open
• Amari Boulevard : Open

Pratunam

• Amari Watergate Bangkok : Open
• Intra Regent : Closed -Currently plans to re-open June 1st.

Lang Suan

• Mayfair Marriott Executive Apartments : Closed until May 23rd.
• Fraser Place Urbana Lang Suan : Open but not accepting new reservations until Sunday 23rd May. Not answering telephone tonight.
• Luxx XL Lang Suang : Closed
• CentrePoint Lang Suan : Closed
• Sawasdee Langsuan Inn Hotel : Closed
• Capehouse Serviced Apartments : Closed

Wireless Road

• Plaza Athenee- A Royal Meridien: Closed
• Centerpoint Wireless Road Hotel : Closed
• Conrad Hotel : Open – accepting reservations.

Sathorn

• Lebua at State Tower : Open
• Sathorn Vista Marriott Apartments: Open
• Banyan Tree: Open for current guests but not accepting new guests until May 31st.
• Panthip Court : Open
• The Sukothai : Closed until May 24th.
• FuramaXclusive Sathorn : Open
• Metropolitan : Closed until May 24th.

Sala Daeng/Silom

• Dusit Thani : Closed.

Others

• Centre Point Silom : Open

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New website focusing on new Thai hotels & resorts is a post from: Thai Hotels

A new website dedicated to newly opening hotels and resorts in Thailand has just been launched over at www.NewThaiHotels.com.

If you are a lover of hotels and resorts, especially in Thailand, this is a website that you may want to keep an eye on.

Subscribe to their RSS feed, or better yet sign up to get an email alert whenever a new post is added to be sure you are one of the first to know about new hotels and resorts opening throughout Thailand.

One of the benefits of knowing about new hotel openings is that when a lot of hotels open, they go through what is called a “soft opening“, which is basically an unofficial opening a few weeks prior to the official grand opening. This gives the new staff and management time to get used to the day to day operations of the hotel and basically practice their service on the small number of guests who are more often than not staying at a reduced rate.

So if you are willing to put up with a few wrinkles being ironed out as well as the possibility that not all of the facilities may be yet working 100%, checking out a new hotel during a soft opening might be a good opportunity for you to have a vacation on the cheap.

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New Website focusing on Thai tourism news is a post from: Thai Hotels

I try to keep this blog focused on Thai hotels that I have stayed at so I can give people an idea of some of the great places you can find in Thailand.
However I also find that there are other things about Thailand that I want to blog about and let people know about that don’t necessarily fit in with the scope of this blog.

One of those things is news and information that would be of interest to tourist and/or people that were soon to make a trip to Thailand. It’s updated with a number of news items daily so if you are interested you may want to check it out, bookmark it or subscribe to the RSS feed.

The site is http://www.thaivacationnews.com/

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TAT offering new tours for transit passengers is a post from: Thai Hotels

SPECIAL TOURS FOR TRANSFER PASSENGERS AT SUVARNABHUMI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

Transfer passengers at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi International Airport making a stopover of 12 hours or less will soon be able to take short “appetiser” tours of the Thai capital and its environs in order to whet their appetites to return later for “main course” tours.

To be inaugurated on 1 June, 2009 by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) Chairman Mr. Weerasak Kowsurat, the “Package Tour for Transfer Passengers” project is being organised by TAT together with the Association of Thai Travel Agents, Airports of Thailand, Ministry of Transport, Immigration Department and Thai Airways International. It will be effective until 31 May, 2011.

The facility will allow thousands of daily air passengers with time to spare between connecting flights to take a wide variety of tours in Bangkok and surrounding areas. As an incentive to take the tours, they will not be required to pay the 500-Baht airport tax, upon re-checking in for their onward flights.

TAT Chairman Weerasak commented, “The campaign will give transfer passengers a chance to enjoy a brief tour of the Thai capital and nearby provinces. By giving them a quick first impression, we hope to encourage them to come back for a longer stay in future.”

“Certainly, the money they spend during this whirlwind transfer will go some way towards helping some of our travel and tourism enterprises, especially small- and medium-sized companies, and keeping Thai people in jobs,” Mr Weerasak said.

ATTA has been appointed the sole official organiser of the tours, which are of about four hours duration each.

Information on the tours will be provided to all transfer passengers at Suvarnabhumi International Airport through a number of in-flight collaterals, especially on THAI Airways International aircraft, and in the transfer halls.

Passengers keen to join the tours will need to follow these simple procedures:

* Check whether their stopover time is enough to take any of the tours (not over 12 hours), and then select the appropriate one. Full tour programme details including costs, travel times to and from the airport will be provided.

* Contact either of the two tour counters that will be set up on both sides of the Transfer Hall and fill in the application form requesting an exemption of the airport tax.

* Tour counter officials will assist the passengers with all immigration formalities and take them to join the selected tours.

* After the tour, guides will take the passengers back to the airport for their departure flight and help them with immigration formalities.

List of interesting tour packages:

* Klong Tour
Take a boat ride to the Thonburi canals, discover a part of Bangkok that remains the “Venice of the East”.

* Grand Palace & Emerald Buddha
Tour the Royal Palace complex which is still used for ceremonial occasions. Thailand’s most superb royal temple with some of the finest murals in Asia.

* Shopping Paradise
Enjoy the prime shopping area at Central Chidlom, CentralWorld, Zen, Siam Paragon, or MBK Shopping Complex. On the return to the airport, stop to visit the Gemopolis jewellery factory.

* Massage & Spa
Relax with the Thai traditional massage package, followed by a Thai herbal hot compress massage and aromatherapy full body oil massage.

* Golf Tour
Experience the high standard of golf courses nearby Suvarnabhumi International Airport such as, Kiarti Thanee Country Club, Summit Windmill Golf Club, etc.

* Erawan Museum and Crocodile Farm
The Erawan, the three-head elephant is the vehicle of the Hindu God Indra. The museum houses a collection of antiques and contributes to the preservation of yjr Thai cultural heritage. Many of these are priceless objects of art. Proceed to the world largest crocodile farm. Over 60,000 crocodiles of different kinds in various pits. Watch a live demonstration of crocodiles being caught bare-handed and enjoy the elephant show.

* Siam Ocean World
Billed as the largest aquarium in Southeast Asia, with world standard exhibits and features.

* Siam Niramit
One of the world’s largest theatres stages a lavish production exploring the cultural heritage and beliefs of the Thai people.

The prices will include an air-conditioned vehicle with English-speaking guide, and admission and tour expenses as mention in the programme. Golf tours will include transport, green fees, and caddy fees.

According to the Airports of Thailand, the number of transfer passengers at Suvarnabhumi International Airport totalled 1.5 million (-9.79%) in 2008 and 446,997 passengers during January-April 2009, a decline of 9.29%.

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Agoda best price Guarantee is a post from: Thai Hotels

Agoda's Best price guarantee

Agoda, one of the biggest names in online hotel reservations has consistently offered some of the lowest rates to be found online for hotels and resorts not only in Thailand and around Asia, but also for all other regions of the world as well.

Their Agoda Rewards system, which awards points worth between 4 and 7% of each booking, allows for even greater discounts on their already famously low prices. Their new Best Price Guarantee raises the bar again and practically cements them as the first choice for online hotel reservations.

The basic details of the guarantee are as follows. After booking a hotel room through Agoda, if you find the same room for the same dates at a cheaper price on another website that is viewable and available, within 48 hours of booking your room, let Agoda know and they will match the rate or beat it.

Check out the Agoda website for more details of their Best Price Guarantee and to check out their low rates for your self.

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Desperate Thai hotels slash prices is a post from: Thai Hotels

Thailand is renowned as one of the cheapest cities in the world to enjoy 5 star hotel accommodation at the best of times. But with the recent week long closure of both city airports by anti-government protesters, hotels struggling to cope with record low occupancy rates are slashing prices in desperate attempts to attract guests.

In what should be Thailand’s peak tourists season, hotel occupancy rates are as low as 19% throughout the country.

Prakit Chinamourpong, president of Thai Hotels Association (THA), was quoted by Bangkok newspaper The Nation;

“Some luxury hotels are running with a single-digit occupancy rate, sharply down from the average 70 per cent rate recorded in the same period last year.”

“For the overall hotel industry, the average occupancy rate this month alone has declined 19.1 per cent,” he said, adding that the impact of the Bangkok airports’ shutdown was greater than the 2004 tsunami.”

A quick search around for current rates on offer reveals some amazing bargains for travellers still willing to come to Thailand this season.

For example the Hyatt Regency Erawan, a 5 star luxury hotel in Bangkok with rooms that normally start at USD 224 on discount hotel reservation sites, is now offering rooms for as little as USD 141 in early January.

Likewise, you can also get rooms at the beautiful 5 star Bangkok Marriott Resort & Spa for as little as USD 109.

If you are looking for executive serviced apartments, the luxurious Emporium Suites Hotel on Sukhumvit Road, where the smallest room usually starts at around USD 150, can now be had for USD 119 at Agoda.com.

The recent closure of both Bangkok airports has scared away a lot of tourists in what is supposed to be the high season. This has caused a lot of hotels to be virtually empty, with one 5 star, 15 storey hotel in Chiang Mai reportedly haveing onlu 2 guests last Thursday evening.

Now is an EXCELLENT time to get fantastic rates on all hotels in Thailand if you are prepared to do a little searching online. Or if you are in Thailand now, you are in a great position to negotiate great rates as a “walk in” guest. All guests to Thailand now are sure to be greeted with open arms and more warmly than usual.

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Join the “Thai Experience” is a post from: Thai Hotels

Do you have an experience or story about Thailand that you would like to share? Are you fairly knowledgeable about a particular area of Thailand?

Perhaps you would be interested in checking out the new Thailand Experience site just launched over on Wetpaint. This is where people who share a love of Thailand and all that it can offer can all get together and share their experiences, photos and stories about the country.

Please feel free to go over there and join the community and start adding your thoughts and experiences on Thailand.

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Thai hotels slash prices for stranded tourists is a post from: Thai Hotels

From theage.com.au December 5, 2008

With thousands of tourists awaiting seats on coveted flights from Thailand after a crippling airport blockade, hotels are slashing prices to attract stranded passengers and make up lost income.

More than 100 flights were due to leave Bangkok’s main airport on Thursday after anti-government protesters ended an eight-day siege, but it will take days to clear the backlog of 350,000 passengers.

The five-star Amari Watergate Hotel in Bangkok had dropped its room rate from 8000 baht to 4500 baht (A$348 to $195) for stranded travellers.

“The offer is only available to those who are supposed to depart but cannot catch their flight,” front office supervisor Yongyan Mankhamsri told said.

At Thailand’s tallest hotel, the towering 88-storey Baiyoke Sky Hotel in downtown Bangkok, room rates have been slashed from 5500 baht to 3300 baht.

It said it was at full occupancy since dropping its prices.

Other hotels had already found extra bookings from among the stranded tourists, with the five-star Four Seasons in Bangkok reporting increased sales.

“Today we have additional bookings from people waiting for the airport,” said duty manager Sermsak Khampitoon.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) told Thai media Thursday that the numbers of international tourists was now expected to be half the previously projected 15 million next year.

It will be a big blow to the Thai economy, which relies principally on tourism and exports.

The TAT said it would be launching an advertising campaign called “Apologies Thailand” in an attempt to woo disgruntled tourists back to the kingdom.

Meanwhile, other hotels were attempting to lure in more domestic bookings to make up for cancellations by international tourists.

The Mandarin Oriental Hotel on the banks of Bangkok’s scenic Chao Phraya River has nearly halved the price of an A$603 room in its river wing — but only to those with Thai citizenship, staff said.

Other hotels are keeping prices steady, instead relying on the normally lucrative Christmas and New Year period to bring in seasonal bookings — assuming flights are back to normal.

The Thai Hotels Association said businesses were pursuing different strategies to sell rooms during the downturn.

“It depends on the hotel, it depends on location, it depends on which part of the hotel it is,” associate manager Sakkarin Chorsawai said.

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