[Agoda charges 51-80 % commission]

21 minutes ago, Yellowtail said:

Right. 

 

What did you do, drag your bags from the airport and walk door to door? It's hard to imagine a situation where I would walk into a hotel and attempt to book a room. When I was single maybe....

Why on earth not?  It's what people used to do...still do.  Like the look of a place, walk in and ask how much.

[Agoda charges 51-80 % commission]

21 minutes ago, Yellowtail said:

Everyone scouring the internet for the lowest possible room-rates or whatnot and then moaning about the poor service.

 

Book direct with the hotel. They answer the phone and are generally helpful. 

If they all offered honest pricing I would.  I never needed Agoda in the past.  Since they do exist I have gone to hotel desks as a walk in customer and sometimes been shown prices 300% higher than I have just been looking at online.

If they offered the same price I can see online they could keep the 17% commission for themselves.

[Agoda charges 51-80 % commission]

8 hours ago, cracker1 said:

I have given up booking with Agoda after many years and regular bookings.

The reason I have stopped is they no longer provide an email address for assistance, help, or answers to questions.

Seems no way of contacting them now, so goodbye Agoda and Booking,com (Same company)

I have noticed this with so many organisations and customer 'care' has frequently  become something they seek to avoid.  They will no longer respond to an email and give a phone number which, if answered, will send you into a automatated process which may not offer the option you want anyway..

'Please hold on.  Your call is important to us.' Hahaha.

[U-Tapao Airport Eyes Direct Flights from India to Lure Tourists]

7 hours ago, worgeordie said:

to lure tourists .....pssst ,psst want to come to Pattaya for holiday ,don't bring any Gold with you.

'lure' it sounds sleazy , 

 

regards worgeordie 

Yes, for sure.  Smoeone is trying to trick someone into doing something unwise.  Who is it keeps bringing up this word?  They should be told.

[Experts say lowest ever PISA score is a wakeup call for Thailand’s failing education system]

On 12/15/2023 at 4:54 PM, brianthainess said:

My mate, walked right up to the stage in assembly and asked who taught his girl English, and in front of the whole school berated the teacher. To cut a long story short they asked HIM to correct their book, he said NO I pay 6k a term YOU sort it out. that was about 10yrs ago.

What a horrible way to behave.  I'd be surprised if any pupils would want to learn English if it meant having to associate more with people like him.

[Experts say lowest ever PISA score is a wakeup call for Thailand’s failing education system]

1 hour ago, keith101 said:

You can't blame the students the failure lies squarely with teachers and their obvious lack of skill and or knowledge in actual teaching

And the system that is actually funded very well, but manages to supply inadequate teaching to the pupils. And a curriculum which seeks to indoctrinate  rather than educate. 

[Thailand to move away from foreign tourism and rely more on home travellers in the latest TAT masterplan]

On 12/13/2023 at 10:34 AM, ikke1959 said:

No clue to solve the problem and to be attractive again for foreign tourists. So local tourist more public holidays more borrowing and loan  to show how wealthy the middle class is to go on holiday and more debts.. TAT why are they needed? they have no clue come with fake numbers and ideas that are stupid. And they call it a masterplan.. 

Yes, why are they needed.  One say they are setting up Middle East roadshows and the next they are focusing  on domestic tourists. Anyone remember when they were targeting millionaire cyclists?

The Ministry  of Sports and Tourism could take over and save the county a lot of money.

[Major e-cigarette gang leader captured by Thai police in 100 million baht operation]

If it was legal he would be just a businessman not a gang leader. And there are now as many Ganga shops as coffee shops in some places.

[Carabao-Red Sun hops into the ring to challenge Thai beer titans Singha and Chang]

Another wasted opportunity. They did all the promotion but forgot to taste check what the consumers would think.

Thailand does not need more average beer. Better quality ingredients and brewing and 10 baht more expensive could be a winner.

[Thai PM pledges support for a “People’s Constitution”]

1 hour ago, Sydebolle said:

If I'm correct, Thailand had 20 constitutions since 1932 or roughly one ever close to five years. People have not understood the purpose of a constitution and hence the 21st version will be no surprise either. But to please the rest of the "democratic" world, it serves as a swindle sheet for the goons in Thailand's steering house ;-) 

What does the old duffer who writes them think? Can he write one for the People or only for the 'good people.'

[Thailand and Myanmar form humanitarian taskforce]

3 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

 

Thailand and Myanmar have agreed to establish a task force to handle humanitarian assistance for both Thai’s and Burmese people living along the border, who are affected by the ongoing fighting in Myanmar.

 

Thailand has expressed hopes that Myanmar can resolve its ongoing internal conflicts peacefully, said Thai Foreign Minister Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara.

 

Parnpree emphasised that Thailand, as a neighbour of Myanmar, has been providing full support to facilitate the return of peace in the country.

 

Caption: Thai Foreign Minister Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara (L) shakes hands with Union Minister for Foreign Affairs of Myanmar, Than Swe in Beijing on December 7.

 

Full story: Thai PBS 2023-12-08

 

- Cigna offers a range of visa-compliant plans that meet the minimum requirement of medical treatment, including COVID-19, up to THB 3m. For more information on all expat health insurance plans click here.

 

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The words 'humanitarian' and 'Myanmar' should not appear in the same sentence.

[Carabao-Red Sun hops into the ring to challenge Thai beer titans Singha and Chang]

On 11/29/2023 at 9:20 PM, metisdead said:

A post with a photo of cans of beer and a reply has been removed as per the following forum rule:

 

42. You will not advertise, display, promote, review or endorse, directly or indirectly, the name or trademark of any alcoholic beverage. Such actions are potentially in contravention of Section 32 of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Act (2008).

Isn't saying which beers you prefer and why endorsing such beers?  Isn't talking about new products and saying where you can buy them promoting them?

A ridiculous law.

[Carabao-Red Sun hops into the ring to challenge Thai beer titans Singha and Chang]

1 hour ago, connda said:

I thought it would just be more Tiger Pee.  A beer with taste?  What a novel idea.  I'll give them a try.  Dark and IPA. 

Beer Laos IPA.

[Thailand military upgrade: Defense Ministry responds to emerging threats]

4 hours ago, Dave1954 said:

The Russians are coming Visa free

The main threat is demands for Democracy. And that's gone quiet.

 

[Noodle shocker: Young man stir-fries his emotions after being billed 300 baht in Don Mueang]

1 hour ago, Ralf001 said:

No prices displayed on the menu ?
 

All the prices are too expensive and the place is effectively a monopoly. AOT and King Power.

 

[Alcohol Sales Banned for End of Buddhist Lent This Upcoming Sunday]

On 10/25/2023 at 9:06 AM, Frankie baby said:

Don't know how they tie consumption of alcohol with religion. However it would be better to have a no-scams day instead, I think this would be more in-keeping with religion, although I'm not to sure why?

Not a scam, but it is a bit odd. I am surrounded by places  today selling Marijuana which used to open you up for big trouble. And also surrounded by closed bars unable to sell a legal product.

[Thai PM sees a role for Thaksin when he gets out of jail]

On 9/21/2023 at 5:15 PM, BenStark said:

I thought criminals convicted by a Thai court could not be part of the government?

Especially if they had actually served time inside.

 

[New Tourism minister gung ho that 2019 records can be smashed in 2024 despite falling spends]

Will she ever be held accountable  for making  irrational promises?

Altogether now.......NOOO!

[Business leader sees tourism as key to Thailand’s economic growth]

16 hours ago, shackleton said:

Well at last someone who reliases Tourism is the big money ???? earner in Thailand 

Should be looking at longer stays visa wise  60 days instead of 30 on arrival 

Noticed it's gone quite on the arrival tax for medical cover ????

It was a non starter in the first place  

Why not 90? Doesn't seem to harm Malaysia.

[29 state officials accused of involvement in precious wood trafficking]

2 hours ago, trainman34014 said:

The only way they are ever going to stop this and the multitude of other Corrupt practices carried out here on a daily basis is get tough....like bullets in the backs of heads, because until they do it will go on forever.   Just watch how many of these Corrupt 'Officials' get sent to Prison, lose Pension entitlement, have Assets seized etc etc.   Much more likely they will get transfered to an 'Inactive Post', spend a few months doing nothing on full pay and return to do it all over again !

The Highest Authority could take an interest.

 

[Pheu Thai Govt To Be Slammed If ‘Inmate’ Thaksin Allowed Out Of Jail For Long: Academic]

14 hours ago, Eric Loh said:

You may not like how the government is formed but equating that to a coup is ludicrous. There was no "government' that was taken over and the formation of the government was lawful in full accordance with the constitution. It may not be popular with the voters but no law was broken lest a coup. 

But was the Constitution  lawful? Can you fix a Constitution and tell everyone to stop thinking?

[All you can eat/drink hotel buffet recommendations.]

3 hours ago, steven100 said:

I use to go to the Marriot ....  haven't been for a while so I'm not sure on the prices etc ....

And the point of your post is............

[Doctor Reveals Concerning Symptoms in Thaksin's Condition]

8 minutes ago, keithkarmann said:

How do they get away with treating the Thai population as fools?

Practice. Lots of practice.

[What Songs Do You Rush to Switch the Sound Off?]

Hotel California

[I’m a victim of political persecution : Pita]

1 hour ago, SpaceKadet said:

I hate to say this, but it's his own fault. He knew what happened to his predecessor, and is educated and smart enough to know that he needed to be squeaky clean before stating his election pledges.

Come on, he was. The backward forces have been tying themselves in knots to keep him away from the power the electorate gave him. The country wants radical change.