Some hotels in major tourist destinations have separate meal rooms, floors for Chinese groups
HOTELS IN major tourist destinations have established separate floors and meal rooms for Chinese tourists in order to provide specialised services and prevent complaints from other guests.
The Emerald Hotel, Chao Phraya Park, Grand Fourwings Hotel, Rama Garden, A-One Hotel in Pattaya and Bangkok, Berkeley Hotel Pratunam, and some hotels in Phuket and Chiang Mai are offering separate breakfast rooms or have reserved specific floors for big groups of Chinese travelling with tour companies.
“We need to understand the culture and typical [needs] of Chinese tourists,” said Surat Kaewdee, general manager of The Emerald in Bangkok.
“I think separate rooms or floors and breakfast rooms are common at many hotels that serve big groups of Chinese tourists. This, in fact, can provide better services and also prevent possible complaints from other guests staying at the same hotel.”
A hotel-industry source said some luxury hotels such as Chatrium Hotel Riverside, Siam Kempinski, and Centara Grand at CentralWorld were accepting more groups of Chinese, offering attractive prices.
A video clip went viral last week as it shows a group of Chinese tourists fighting over prawns at a restaurant in Thailand. The clip is drawing wide attention not only in Thailand but also in China.
“The clip will remind hotels to be concerned about Chinese tourists and their typical ways,” he said.
A room-reservation staffer at A-One Hotel in Pattaya, which serves many guests from China, said the hotel began to provide separate floors and breakfast corners for Chinese guests coming with travel companies since last year. Individual Chinese guests, however, can stay and have meals wherever they like in the hotel.
Nongkhran Onkhamlueang, manager of Chiangkhong Teak Garden hotel in Chiang Rai province, said more Chinese tourists were crossing the border and staying at the hotel. The hotel has not given them separate rooms or floors as most of them are travelling with their families.
She said some travel companies taking big groups to Chiang Mai had asked hotels to provide separate breakfast rooms and specific floors for their guests for their convenience.
Surat noted that the China market has been the biggest source of international arrivals to Thailand for years. Many hotels are eyeing this huge market and adapting their strategies to cope with the growth.
