Phasakorn Channgam
This month’s nearly 40 percent increase in Chonburi’s
minimum wage will hit hotels hard, with some larger resorts expected to
raise rates or surcharges, a former PBTA president said.
Thanes Supornsahatrangsi,
PBTA’s chief advisor.
Thanes Supornsahatrangsi, former PBTA president who is
now its chief advisor, said the April 1 increase from 196 baht to 273 baht
per day will “dramatically” affect profits at hotels by 5-7 percent.
Both small and large hotels will be hit, Thanes said, but
large resorts, with many more employees, may resort to higher rates or
surcharges in order to cover the 39.3 percent increase in wages.
“Business owners have been trying to figure out ways to
reduce their expenses,” Thanes said. “But in addition to having to deal with
the increase in the minimum wage, employers have also had to deal with the
scarcity of personnel in the services industry.”
As big of an impact as the new wages pose, things could
get worse next year if the government follows through on plans to raise
wages another 9 percent in Chonburi and other provinces to 300 baht per day,
as was done in Bangkok April 1.
