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Thursday, March 28, 2024

PAY ATTENTION – Some Hotels Mislead Travelers With Thailand Pass Packages

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Some hotels are misleading visitors from abroad, taking room reservations but omitting airport transfers and Covid testing, meaning they have to buy a new package on arrival or be rejected.

Apisamai Srirangson, the spokeswoman for the Administrative Center for Covid19 Control, the CCSA, said some hotels had misled visitors into booking them only for the room.

The reservation does not mention a limousine service from the airport to the hotel or the RT-PCR Covid-19 test on arrival, although both are mandatory as entry requirements for a Thailand Pass.

However, the affected hotels provide misleading details that were used by the applicant for QR approval for a Thailand Pass through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs web portal.

On arrival, they had to buy a new package or they would be refused entry to the country.

Some hotels do not give refunds to guests who subsequently cancelled their room reservation and purchased a package elsewhere, according to Dr Apisamai.

Thailand Pass replaced the Certificate of Entry (CoE) on November 1 when the kingdom reopened to visitors. It requires visitors to be fully vaccinated, has a clean RT-PCR test within 72 hours before boarding their flight, and have US$50,000 health insurance.

Visitors from 61 countries and two areas in the “Test and Go” program must have a limousine service from the airport directly to their hotel without a stopover, and at their hotel must be immediately tested for Covid19 by staff at certain hospitals, said Dr Apisamai.

“Some guests are not fully (intentionally or not) informed and booked hotel rooms through websites and did not purchase limousine service, RT-PCR Covid-19 tests and antigen test kits,” the spokeswoman said.

However, officials claim hotel booking websites were informed in advance of the terms and told them that air travellers who did not purchase limousine service and Covid-19 tests would be denied entry to a Thailand Pass, she said.

“Some hotels had the packages with limousine and Covid-19 tests, but also only let visitors book rooms and search for RT-PCR tests themselves. However, this DOES show that such hotels have deliberately misled visitors.

“Visitors who were unaware of the required and purchased incomplete packages, and later had to cancel their reservation and in some cases did not receive a refund,” said Dr Apisamai.

Travellers apply for Thailand Pass through the Ministry’s web portal, with documentation, and receive a QR access code or Thailand Pass ID by email, which is then used when entering Thailand.

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