Hotel operators want next govt to help offset cost of planned wage hike
More than one-third of hotel operators will lay off workers if a Move Forward-led government increases the daily minimum wage to the rate the party said it would during the election campaign, a nationwide survey of 120 hotel operators found.
The survey was conducted by the Thai Hotels Association and the Bank of Thailand from June 9 to June 23.
Hotel association president Marisa Sukosol Nunbhakdi said 35% of the survey’s respondents said they would have to lay off staff to keep their businesses viable if the daily wage was increased.
The two largest members of the eight-party coalition vying to form the next government both promised substantial increases in the daily minimum wage during their election campaigns.
The Move Forward Party said it would raise the daily minimum wage to 450 baht nationwide within 100 days of taking office, while the Pheu Thai Party said it would raise the rate to 600 baht nationwide by 2027.
The daily minimum wage in Thailand currently ranges from 328 to 354 baht, depending on the region. Wages are highest in top tourism destinations like Phuket and Chonburi provinces.
Move Forward leads the coalition and its leader, Pita Limjaroenrat, is its top candidate for prime minister. A joint session of Parliament will vote on his candidacy on July 13. If he is elected premier, the coalition will form the next government.
The survey asked 120 hotel operators what they would do in response to a wage increase. Respondents were allowed to give more than one answer. They said:
- 60%: Increase the skills and responsibilities of staff.
- 58%: Try to reduce non-labour costs.
- 49%: Increase room rates.
- 40%: Change the structure of employment, by, for example, outsourcing jobs.
- 39%: Increase the use of technology to replace workers.
Most hotel operators want the government to help them reduce costs if the minimum wage is increased, Marissa said. The next government can reduce the cost of water, power and corporate taxes, as well as reduce hotels’ contributions to the Social Security Fund, the survey’s respondents said.
An increase in the minimum wage for unskilled workers should vary depending on the cost of living in each region or province, the survey found. Respondents also proposed that the next government gradually increase the minimum wage while encouraging workers to acquire new skills.
The survey also found that labour shortages in the hotel industry were not as acute as they had been, Marissa said, explaining that 55% of hotel operators reported no labour shortage in June compared to 46% in May.
Hotel operators also called on the government to approve a sixth phase of the "Rao Thiew Duay Kan" ("We Travel Together") programme which subsidises room rates and other expenses for domestic tourists.
The next government should also make it easier to legally hire workers from neighbouring countries to reduce labour shortages, survey respondents said.
The occupancy rate in June dropped to 45.5% from 51.4% in May and it is forecast to be 45.8% in July, Marissa said. She said most hotel operators expected that their occupancy rates in the third quarter would be similar to those in the second quarter.
The survey found that most five-star hotels, which comprise 68% of the association’s members, said their room rates were now higher than they were before the pandemic.
