BANGKOK, 31 July 2013 – The cabinet has given the green light to a 50 percent cut down in hotel business fees in order to help operators cope with the 300-baht-minimum wage.
According to PM’s Office deputy spokeswoman Sunisa Lertpakawat, the cabinet has given a nod to cut down the fees for hotel business operators. Operators will now pay only 40-baht-per-room fee to the government, 50 percent lower than the previous amount. This policy will run for 3 years until June 30th of 2016 and will have a retroactive effect from July 1st onwards. The move is aimed at helping hotel businesses cushion the impact of the 300-baht wage hike, which took effect nationwide at the beginning of this year.
The new policy will cost the government around 14 million baht a year. At present, there are more than 354,000 hotel rooms registered with the Department of Provincial Administration, under the supervision of the Interior Ministry.
