Thailand – Luxury in 2009 on a Backpacker’s Budget?

The Thailand hotel industry sees some luxury hotel properties drop to “single-digit occupancy rate” following recent turmoil in Bangkok, Thailand. The country’s primary international airport, BKK, was shut down for a week by protestors.   Tourism could be impacted by a decline in tourism due to negative perception of Thailand as a 2009 vacation destination.  Projections are as high as 2.3 million foreign tourists staying away.

Story: http://www.hotelsmag.com/articleXML/LN897557488.html

Travel tourism indicators like the Bangkok Airport event stranding thousands of American tourists in Thailand could be another sign for big discounts on resort travel through resort packages and online outlets like SkyAuction.com.  A website I have used in the past for Asia travel bargains is www.zuji.com with sites in Hong Kong, Singapore, and several other Asia Pacific countries. 

I expect hotel loyalty promotional bonuses to market and attract visitors to Thailand’s big chain hotels will be likely in 2009.

My quick survey of rates indicated hotel deals are to be found in Bangkok with good availability of rooms using points.  The beach hotels are more hit and miss depending on dates.  I did see much more availability of rooms for points and lower prices in February 2009 than for January 2009.  The recent airport troubles and political turmoil may see better deals for the traveler for late winter, early spring after the tourists who booked trips before the troubles finish their vacations and the lull in reservations hits the system.

Bangkok, The Peninsula Hotel, pool

Westin Trianon Palace, located in Versailles near Paris is leaving Starwood Hotels and Starwood Preferred Guest on January 15, 2009.  The hotel will be branded the Waldorf=Astoria Paris in the luxury segment of Hilton Hotels and HHonors.  This is the second Waldorf=Astoria rebranding for 2009 in Europe. The Hilton Rome Cavalieri was rebranded in September 2008 as the Waldorf=Astoria Collection, The Cavalieri Rome.  I wrote a post about cashing in points before February 28, 2009 for the Cavalieri.  Beginning in March 2009 the Rome property will cost 50% more for a free night using points with a jump from Hilton HHonors Category 6 redemption for 40,000 points per night to 60,000 points for a high season Waldorf=Astoria Collection nightly rate using HHonors points.  I await the HHonors redemption rate and peak season schedule for the rebranded Trianon Palace.

News Story: http://www.hotelinteractive.com/article.aspx?articleid=12317

This property is a loss for Starwood Preferred Guest members visiting Paris where the Category 5 SPG property offered some occasional great deals with Cash & Points rates and the 5^th night free redemption discount.  This leaves the SPG member with just the two Le Meridien properties for Category 4 redemption at Le Meridien Montparnasse and the Category 5 Le Meridien Etoile.  The Westin Paris and Hotel Prince de Galles are both Category 6 properties, at times requiring more than double the points of Category 5 SPG redemption.  There is still the Sheraton CDG Airport hotel at Category 5. 

Paris has been the strongest hotel economy in Europe for 2008 and I wouldn’t be at all surprised to the Le Meridien Montparnasse go up a category in 2009 SPG hotel redemption category shifts.

A word of advice.  Paris is too beautiful to spend the night at the airport.