The Implementation of Licensing for Non-Hotel Accommodation Businesses Chiang Mai Province

Abstract

          This study entitled “A Study of the Authorization Process for Non-Hotel Accommodation Businesses in Chiang Mai Province” aimed to examine the guidelines and procedures for authorizing non-hotel accommodation businesses in Chiang Mai Province, investigate the problems, obstacles, and impacts arising from the enforcement of relevant laws, and propose recommendations for improving the regulatory system to ensure greater efficiency and consistency with the current context of the tourism industry.

          The results revealed that the process of obtaining a notification certificate for non-hotel accommodations is more flexible than the process of obtaining a hotel business license under the Hotel Act B.E. 2547 (2004) in terms of required documentation, consideration procedures, processing time, and operational costs. This flexibility enables small-scale entrepreneurs to enter the legal system more easily and has contributed to the rapid expansion of non-hotel accommodations in Chiang Mai Province. However, several problems and obstacles were identified, including unclear legal criteria, inconsistent interpretations and practices among officials in different areas, issues related to land ownership documentation, building safety standards, and unfair competition between licensed hotel operators and non-hotel accommodation operators. Furthermore, the findings revealed that the current regulatory system for non-hotel accommodations still contains legal loopholes and limitations in enforcement, which may affect tourist safety, consumer protection, and fairness in business competition. Therefore, relevant laws and regulations should be revised to provide greater clarity, appropriateness, and consistency with the context of emerging accommodation business models. In addition, regulatory mechanisms should be developed to create a balance between promoting the tourism economy, supporting small-scale entrepreneurs, and protecting public interests in order to ensure sustainable and effective management of accommodation businesses in Chiang Mai Province and Thailand in the future.