A Phuket delegation earlier this week met with the Senate Subcommittee on Studying Approaches and Mechanisms to Promote SMEs at Parliament House in Bangkok.
The meeting reviewed progress on implementing the Ministerial Regulation on Other Building Types Used for Hotel Operations, first issued in 2016 and now in its fourth amendment, which expires later this month, explained an official report of the meeting.
The regulation allows operators with buildings providing accommodation before Aug 19, 2016, to apply for permits to modify or change their building’s use for hotel operations. Without registration, many small hotels risk operating illegally.
The Phuket delegation included senior provincial officials, officials from the Public Works and Town & Country Planning Office, the Kathu District Chief, Patong Mayor Lalita Maneesri and representatives from the Tourism Industry Council, the Phuket branch of the Boutique Accommodation Consortium (BAC Phuket) and several representatives from ASA Thaksin (Association of Siamese Architects Under Royal Patronage - Southern Region).
The meeting was chaired by Senator Nipon Ekwanich, who hails from Phuket.
The Phuket Public Works Office proposed that local authorities follow the relaxed criteria under the 2023 amendment, which allow eligible operators to apply for a change-of-use permit if their building has structural stability certification from a qualified engineer and a fire protection system in place. This would fast-track hotel licence applications.
Five recommendations were endorsed for national consideration:
- Extend the 2016 regulation’s enforcement period by at least two years to give operators more time to comply.
- Issue a specific regulation under the Building Control Act for small hotels, with a new permit application form.
- Establish provincial working groups to pre-screen applications and assist owners in meeting legal requirements.
- Develop and distribute a compliance manual, and train local officials to ensure consistent enforcement.
- Create an online system for submitting modification and change-of-use permit applications.
The Senate Committee on Commerce and Industry approved submitting these recommendations to the Ministry of Interior, which will forward them to all provincial governors.
The proposals aim to give informal hotels more time and tools to become legal, boosting Phuket’s tourism sector and strengthening SME development in line with government policy, noted the official report of the meeting.