PHUKET, THAILAND – A suspected five-star hotel in Patong was exposed as a completely unlicensed accommodation business after just three months of operation during a covert raid, highlighting what officials described as serious enforcement gaps with fewer than 1,000 of more than 6,000 island properties officially registered.
Raid triggered by citizen complaint
On 24 February, Phuket Governor Nirut Pongsitthithaworn received a report from his deputy Rungrueng Thimabut, who had launched an inspection in Patong following a complaint from the public. The tip-off stated that a hotel in Kathu District with more than 200 rooms was operating without any official authorization.
Authorities treated the information as a potential large-scale violation of the Hotel Act and related regulations. The report described a property marketing itself at a high standard while allegedly bypassing the entire licensing framework.
Undercover operation in alleged five-star property
Using the DOPA e-Service system, officials first checked the property’s status and found that it held neither a license under the Hotel Act B.E. 2547 (2004) nor any pending application at the Kathu District Office. This confirmed that the hotel was operating entirely outside the formal registration process.
Investigators posing as tourists then booked a deluxe room at a nightly rate of 5,000 baht. Their check-in was used as the trigger for the enforcement team to move in.
Manager detained after undercover check-in
Staff registered the undercover guests, collected the room payment and handed over two black key cards marked QK25-0223. They escorted the guests to their room, unaware that an intervention had already been planned.
The enforcement team then entered the building, identified themselves and arrested the on-site manager, named Sanyadej, at the scene. He was detained for questioning regarding the operation and ownership of the business.
Suspected shadow economy operation
During questioning, Sanyadej stated that the hotel belonged to a company, had been in operation for around three months and offered 219 rooms with daily rates between 2,000 and 8,000 baht. However, he was unable to present a valid operating license for the hotel business.
Authorities announced that he and other, so far unidentified, individuals would face charges for jointly operating a hotel business without a license under Sections 4, 15 paragraph 1, 48 and 59 of the Hotel Act. The case was framed as a suspected part of a broader shadow economy in the accommodation sector.
Wide-ranging violations and structural risk
According to Rungrueng Thimabut, the property lacked not only a hotel license but also a building permit, company registration documents, a license to sell alcohol, staff registrations and any evidence of tax registration. Officials viewed this combination of missing permits as a serious structural risk.
Rungrueng submitted a detailed report on the raid, along with an assessment of the overall strained regulatory situation in the island’s accommodation sector, to Governor Nirut for further review and decision. The report underscored concerns about systemic non-compliance.
Thousands of accommodations outside official hotel registry
The newspaper Daily News reported that the province counted more than 6,000 hotels and accommodation facilities, including beach villas and hostels, concentrated in areas such as Patong, Kata, Karon and Mai Khao. These figures illustrated the scale of the tourism infrastructure on the island.
However, the provincial administration, as the competent registration authority, listed only 988 licensed hotels with a total of 72,815 rooms. Further legal measures and administrative reviews were therefore expected as authorities moved to address the gap between actual operations and official registration.