Low Season?

Post by **BaaBaa.** » Sun Jul 27, 2008 6:56 am

johnnyk wrote: Lots of people find someone reliable with a car/pickup and use that for round trips in quiet aircon comfort at a far cheaper price e.g 150 into town from elephant village/the heights etc.

Post by **Guess** » Sun Jul 27, 2008 7:56 am

Paderborn wrote: Lots of europeans are sick of the rip off pricing!!

The rip off pricing is not done by bar and restaurant owners. I am surprised that many have remained in business while keeping prices down.

The price of beer in bars around Hua Hin has gone more or less unchanged for 5 years. In that time everything else has gone up so cost of sale is far greater than it used to be.

Someone in another thread mentioned price increases in eating out in Thai restaurants. Not surprising really. Their margins are low and again, everything, including the ingredients have gone up.

Rental on bars has doubled or more in 5 years and other costs (except beer) have gone up proportionally or, in the case of energy, even more.

Customers expect cold beers, hot coffee and lighting, music and TV. The electricity bill in a small bar can be around 6,000 Baht per month for that.

Europeans complaining about rip off prices is a joke. They should check out prices in their own countries first. Prices in Northern Europe are the highest in the world. Some brave merchants have proved that the high charges are unnecessary.

Post by **BaaBaa.** » Sun Jul 27, 2008 8:01 am

I think it was aimed at the Tuk Tuks Guess and I'd have to agree.

Post by **margaretcarnes** » Sun Jul 27, 2008 8:04 am

BG's comment on renewed lease rental prices is really scary. Theres no way bars and small eateries can survive with outgoings like that, so maybe even more tailors and jewellers will move in. Its all very well having tourists in the big hotels but as we all know they are often reluctant to wander far, so overall it's not looking too good is it?

Post by **Randy Cornhole** » Sun Jul 27, 2008 8:12 am

Those tailor shops are a real mystery. There are tons of the buggers but I have never seen anyone in any one of them? How on earth do they survive. Are they a front for money laundering? Beats me...

Post by **ste860** » Sun Jul 27, 2008 9:41 am

Randy Cornhole wrote:Those tailor shops are a real mystery. There are tons of the buggers but I have never seen anyone in any one of them? How on earth do they survive. Are they a front for money laundering? Beats me...

they seem to open up everytime someplace closes down,does anyone know a single person who has bought anything from one,or maybe they are like mr bean (old childrens tv from england)

Post by **Randy Cornhole** » Sun Jul 27, 2008 10:16 am

Think you'll find that was 'Mr Ben' ste860...

sargeant · Post by **sargeant** » Sun Jul 27, 2008 10:41 am

Mrs Sarges business has lost three thai for thai resteraunt customers in two weeks closed down for good due to not making money i deduce from that that either
1. the bangkokians arent coming in such numbers as previous or
2 when they come they are not spending

Post by **buksida** » Sun Jul 27, 2008 10:51 am

The price hikes in Hua Hin are inevitable, they have been going on for the last ten years but have rapidly accelerated in the last two.

Tourists won't notice as its still a lot cheaper than where they come from. The expats will notice as they're often on a fixed income (which hasn't increased) so the cost of living goes up. The alternative is to find somewhere cheaper to live - and there are plenty of them. Its the price you pay for living in a tourist town - the Thais don't know the difference between a tourist and an expat - we're all 'farang'!

sarge, I'd say your number 2 is closer to the truth, you only have to look at the traffic on any weekend - they're still coming!

Anyway

Post by **Guess** » Sun Jul 27, 2008 11:52 am

BaaBaa. wrote:I think it was aimed at the Tuk Tuks Guess and I'd have to agree.

I guess your right. I didn't read it properly.

The local Tuk Tuks and taxis have an answer for that as well but I believe the real reason is that there are far too many of them that want the easy life of Hua Hin which means a couple of jobs a day. They seem to run a cartel in Hua Hin. No open competition.

Post by **Guess** » Sun Jul 27, 2008 12:01 pm

Randy Cornhole wrote:Those tailor shops are a real mystery. There are tons of the buggers but I have never seen anyone in any one of them? How on earth do they survive. Are they a front for money laundering? Beats me...

I have heard many explanations. Their existence obviously does not rely on selling clothes.

Explanations are mostly relating to fronts for money laundering, immigration (the Nepal vs India Story), property investments and tax evasion services for westerners, rich Thais and Chinese. Maybe all those are true. You could actually operate all those businesses from one property.

The fact that they are mostly not Thai citizens but do not have the same immigration hassles that we have implies a very high level sanction. I would guess that many of the restaurants in Pattaya and Bangkok may be running on a similar basis.

Super Joe · Post by **Super Joe** » Sun Jul 27, 2008 12:51 pm

Do they own the freehold of the builldings ? One shop unit (not a Tailor's) my wife looked at was Indian owned.
If so they have no rent, may live upstairs so no house rental in which case they can get by with little custom.

If they're paying the sort of rents I've seen in town to a.n.other then god knows how they survive. I've often wondered about it.

There is 3 Tailor shops that I've seen which are closed down and now up for rent.

SJ

Post by **lomuamart** » Sun Jul 27, 2008 1:33 pm

There's also the issue of visas/Work Permits.
A farang is taxed on a 50k minimum a month I believe. Those from India, Pakistan and Nepal on much less. I did have a government paper on this bookmarked, but seem to have lost it. I think the taxable minimum is about 25K a month.
With rates of tax, that probably dosn't make a huge difference, but it's still a saving.

Super Joe · Post by **Super Joe** » Sun Jul 27, 2008 2:32 pm

I think the taxable minimum is about 25K a month.
With rates of tax, that probably dosn't make a huge difference, but it's still a saving

Good point Lomu, it's half the salary but a quarter of the tax of us farangs, due tax rates, they don't make it into the 20% bracket.
50k/m salary = 5,000/m tax approx.
25k/m salary = 1,250/m tax approx.

SJ

Post by **Bamboo Grove** » Sun Jul 27, 2008 2:54 pm

The taylor shops´s profit margin is so big that they only need to make an average of one or two deals a day to survive. In high season most of them get more than this.
What I find worrying is, that what used to make the charm of "old Hua Hin"; the small restaurants, the beautiful wooden houses and small lanes where it´s fun to stroll are all now dissappearing. Will people who used to come for that athmosphere, come any more when this all has gone and changed into concrete blocks (as is now happening in Soi Bintabaht and in th surrounding areas?)