Journey Legislation Updates: Australia, Saudi Arabia, Thailand and US

Key takeaways:

• this is among the first key laws launched by the ETDA; and
• while that is restricted to ridesharing, the ETDA is prone to examine regulating different on-line platforms and marketplaces and their dealings with Thai shoppers and customers.

Thailand plans overhaul to Hotel Act

Thailand’s Office of the Council of State (“OCS”) lately held a public listening to on a brand new Accommodation Bill to exchange the Hotel Act which got here into pressure in 2004.

The proposed Accommodation Bill seeks to handle varied points current within the present Hotel Act and to modernise the legislation in step with evolving developments in tourism and the journey trade. A key change focusses on regulating new types of lodging which at present fall outdoors the scope of the present Hotel Act. These embody short-term leases in residential buildings, homestays and tenting suppliers.

Unlike the present one-size-fits-all licensing requirement, the brand new invoice proposes differentiated entry necessities for varied forms of lodging. Specifically, smaller and fewer formal lodging suppliers can be topic to notification or registration necessities, somewhat than being required to acquire a full resort licence.

The Accommodation Bill additionally contemplates regulating middleman reserving platforms by introducing sure client protections measures for each visitors and lodging suppliers and mechanisms to advertise and assist accountable tourism and native communities.

In parallel to the OCS’ invoice, two different proposed amendments to the Hotel Act tabled by members of the House of the Representatives are additionally beneath the consideration of the Thai Parliament. Accommodation suppliers in Thailand are suggested to observe the developments intently.