In a globalized world of increasing uniformity, travellers are constantly searching for that truly unique experience. That’s something they struggle to find at even the most boutique of hotels. And it’s leading more and more people to explore alternative options when it comes to choosing a place to stay.
HOME SWEET HOME
When Wirakarn Wangsuekul, a freelance translator, visited Ang Thong, in Pakkran Province, she didn’t look for a room on Agoda.com. Instead, she chose a home stay in Bang Chao Cha. “Being born in Bangkok and having lived there all my life, I wanted to experience how people really live in the countryside,” she says.
Home stays have been around for over a decade, mostly ignored until the OTOP campaign picked up on them and pushed to standardize and promote them as a means of increasing income to rural communities. Even today, they remain insignificant in the big picture. Surapon Vutivakinsakul, product manager at Asian Trails, a leading tour operator, says home stays represent less than 0.01% of total stays in the Kingdom and are hardly growing. “It’s still something of a novelty to first-time travelers [to Thailand]. But returning guests, who account for 30% of all our customers, are usually the ones who want something new... People are fed up with hotel stays and window sightseeing.”
It’s not just the novelty that’s attracting more and more people to home stays. The feeling of connection to the community is a huge draw. “It was so much fun and also educational,” Wirakarn says. “The locals were very welcoming. They told me that they were really proud of their community and were glad to play host. Home stays are the most direct way to support the community. You actually buy an experience rather than just a place to sleep.”
There are signs that home stays are on the cusp of growth. The Office of Tourism Development enforced a nationwide home stay quality assessment in 2003. Up until 2008, just over 80 homes were approved. In 2009, 95 new home stay projects signed up to undergo the assessment—not quite the zero growth described by Supaporn. These home stays are inspected for their integration into the community, safety and cleanliness. Owners are given 11-hour of training, including management tips and some English phrases. So far, over 60 home stays across 40 different provinces have undergone these inspections.
In some parts of Thailand, there’s even something of a home stay boom. Amphawa has a thriving home stay scene, to the point where both Worakarn and Supaporn feel it defeats the purpose of foregoing a hotel there. In a home stay, one is meant to be surrounded by the local community, not fellow Bangkokians.
Elsewhere, home stays do still offer a glimpse of real country life. In Nakhonratchasima, Ban Prasat has served as the prototype for other home stays. The little village lets you partake in local handicrafts, like weaving and cooking Thai sweets for only B300/night. Get in touch with the village headman, Thiam Laongklang, for details and bookings at 044-367-075.
On Koh Chang in Baan Salak Petch, you can lead the life of a fisherman at My House Stay (48/5 Moo 2, Koh Chang Tai, Trad. 08-1036-5030. www.myhousestay.com). As for the community Wirakarn mentioned, at Bang Chao Cha, they can be reached at 035-644-091.
We also recommend Ban Mae Kam Pong. Located in the Teen Tok Royal Project Development Center in Chiangmai, it is one of the very first communities to offer home stays in the North. For reservations, contact Mae Kam Pong Home Stay (Tambon Huaykaew, Mae On Subdistrict, Chiangmai, 053-229-526).
“Look for home stays approved by the Tourism Authority of Thailand,” suggests Surapon. “That will at least give you the peace of mind and confidence to follow through with the booking.” Of course, you could also just book through his company, at www.asiantrails.net. To find more home stays in Thailand, see Where to (Home) Stay.
COUCH CLASS TRAVEL
Wantipa’s recent trips have taken her to China, Australia, Singapore and Pattaya. Her total budget for accommodation, all destinations combined: zero baht. Wantipa “Fang” Patumanon, a 33-year-old product management executive, is a couch surfer, part of a global community of over a million people who stay at strangers’ homes for free, and in return host strangers visting their own town.
The site www.couchsurfing.org opened to the public in 2004. The story goes that one of the American founders, Casey Fenton, had found a cheap air ticket to Iceland. To further save on accommodation, he emailed some 1,500 students from the University of Iceland asking if anyone could put him up. He got over fifty responses and decided the world was ready for this free accommodation option for travelers.
Couchsurfing.org’s system is quite simple. You sign up and go through a number of steps to verify your identity. You detail what kind of accommodation you offer, and can then search for accommodation at your preferred destination. Then, just like a dating website, you get in touch with people that match your criteria and make your travel arrangements.
Of course, there are still safety issues. And even Fang, who has now hosted some 50 strangers, admits she was reluctant when she was first offered to couch surf, while researching a trip to Switzerland.
“All you have is a profile and some photos. That’s it. So when you sign up, make sure you state your expectations in your profile. Say what you want to get out of it and what others can expect from you,” she explains. “There are some people who abuse the system and use the website to find a date or hook up, so make sure to look for references, written by their former hosts and guests.”
Despite these concerns, meeting complete strangers is the whole point. The couch surfing community is just that, a community. Sure, Wantipa saved a lot of money when she couch surfed her way through a ten-day vacation in Sydney, Hobart and Melbourne, but couch surfers believe the experience goes way beyond saving on accommodation.
“It’s a great way to meet new people from all around the world. I love to travel and it’s fun to share the same passion and interests as others. Many of the 50 guests that I hosted have become my good friends afterwards,” says Wantipa.
To start surfing, visit www.couchsurfing.net. You can also try www.hospitalityclub.org, which offers a similar service.
A VILLA TO CALL HOME
When planning a trip to Phuket, most tourists think Dusit, Marriott or Sheraton. But the emerging players aren’t hoteliers. Their names are Phuket Villa Rentals, Knight Frank, Shibumi, Phuket Marbella, Phuket.net, Moveandstay.com or Phuket Villas and Homes. Clearly, the hottest way to get privacy and space without breaking the bank is to rent a privately-owned villa.
“I think it really started in Phuket,” says Gael Ovide-Etienne, CEO of Moveandstay.com. “But the past four to five years have seen the trend really explode. Now there are a lot of villa rentals in Hua Hin and even up in Chiang Mai.”
Ovide-Etienne is based in Bangkok, where his company’s website acts as an agent for serviced apartments and offices. Around 2005, they started renting holiday villas. “We deal with a lot of expats. And they were looking for this kind of thing. They go to Krabi and Phuket a lot; it’s our client base, so we decided to add holiday villa rentals to our portfolio.”
Holiday villas might be old news in the USA or Europe, but Pak Tanchotikul, property manager at The Black Pearl Villa (163/7 Moo 4, Tambol Mai Khao, Phuket, 08-1890-1238. www.blackpearlphuket.com), agrees that it’s a relatively new trend here. “You could count on two hands the number of rental villas in Phuket a few years ago. Our property has only been properly marketed since the beginning of last year, but we’re already seeing constant growth.”
“In Bali, it’s already a mature market, but here’s it’s quite new and small. I’m guessing it’s 5% of our total business. But it is showing strong growth, definitely,” Ovide-Etienne confirms. He’s obviously convinced of the relevance of villa rentals. When we called him, he was by a pool, in a rented villa on a little island just off the coast of Phuket.
Tawn Chatchavalvong, a senior accountant manager at Hill & Knowlton, stayed at the aforementioned Black Pearl Villa. “A vacation, to me, is all about personalization. People want to stay in a unique environment and break free from a humdrum hotel stay. Renting a villa lets you take your lifestyle with you and enjoy it in a relaxed setting.” And he means it. Tawn brought his own collection of CDs, his yoga mat and five like-minded friends when he went to Phuket.
“I don’t really like hotels. I like to feel at home. Where I’m staying now, you can have breakfast in the clubhouse and you get a maid, so it’s actually just like a hotel. But you have that option of staying at home, even cooking. It’s great when you have kids,” says Ovide-Etienne.
Privacy has been the number one trend driving many resorts in the past couple of years. Pool villas became a standard in resorts, perhaps an indication of the pressure from villa rentals. When we spoke to Tawn and Ovide-Etienne, they both independently ventured a comparison with serviced apartments, which compete with hotels without having to meet the same stringent regulations. Finally, they were brought under the same Hotel Act, but it still changed the industry forever. Now, many hotel chains, from Marriott to Ritz Carlton, also have serviced apartment brands. We also know of at least one holiday villa in Thailand that’s been included in a global hotel label, the Villa Beige, in Samui (70/1 Moo 3, Tambol Taling Ngam, 077-960-709. www.villabeige.com) which is part of the Design Hotels Group (www.designhotels.com).
“You can’t compare the amount of space and privacy in a villa rental to a hotel pool villa,” Ovide-Etienne says. “I have 800 square meters here. Most hotels ‘villas’ are tiny.” There’s space. And then there’s price. Most villas come with several bedrooms which means you can either split the bill with friends, or save considerably if you have a large family. Once you do the math, it’s almost always a bargain compared to hotels.
Ovide-Etienne stayed at The Village (www.thevillage-coconutisland.com), on Koh Maprao, for B22,000 a night. It’s 50 meters from the beach, can comfortably house three couples and comes with plenty of extras: maids, a 24/7 speed boat shuttle to Phuket and breakfast. A five-star pool villa in a resort would probably cost as much or more, for only one bedroom and a lot less space.
The Black Pearl Villa is even cheaper and also has three bedrooms. The high season rate for a three-bedroom villa at The Black Pearl Villa is B7,500 pder night, or B42,000 if you stay for a week. It also comes with live-in caretakers.
The main issue with villa rentals is risk. There are plenty of horror stories as most bookings are made over the internet. “We’ve seen cases of fraud where visitors put up the deposit for a villa that didn’t actually exist,” Pak says.
“Once you’ve chosen the property, don’t be hasty and make any transactions before you’ve talked to the owner or the manager,” says Tawn. “This will help you get a better sense of the place and how professional they are. When I knew I was going to rent a villa, I called up the owner and basically picked his brains about where to eat, what to see and do in the neighborhood and even what equipment the kitchen has. It really helps boosts your confidence in a place.”
Alternatively, send a scout, Pak suggests: “Some of our prospective renters send a friend who lives in Phuket to check out the villa first.”
Ovide-Etienne makes the case for agents, of course. “We make a profit, but we also buy in bulk so we get discounted rates, just like Agoda, Diethelm or Asian Trails,” he says. “Sometimes, we can get up to 50% off the rack rate. You could get a better price through us than by going straight to the owner. We also vouch for the property. We deal either directly with the owner, if we know the property, or through scouts who have actually been to the properties we offer.”
Where to (Home) Stay?
A full list of TAT-certified home stay projects can be found at www.tatnews.org/emagazine/2640.asp
Still it looks like it’s been there (and untouched) for a while so make sure you double check. For a more complete and up-to-date list of home stays in Thailand, check out the Thai Home Stay blog at http://thaihomestay.ning.com. This is where you’ll get reviews and up-to-date information on home stays from all over Thailand.
Get Yer Own Villa
Here are some good websites to find your next dream villa rental:
- www.moveandstay.com
- phuketvillarentals.com
- www.thailand-villas.com
Alternatively, these Thai websites also have a decent collection of rental properties (it does take some digging around as some don’t list villas in their search menus):
- www.thairoomonline.com
- www.thaihomeguide.com
- www.rentdd.com.
Classic Camping
The age-old alternative to hotels? Sleeping beneath the stars. Here’s our roundup of the best national parks in the kingdom.
Kaeng Krachan National Park, Petchaburi
The largest national park in Thailand, Keang Krachan is home to a reservoir, waterfalls, caves, hot springs and mountains. Relax by the lake near to the park HQ, tour the waterfalls or hike the trails. Wild elephants, deer, gibbons and wild pigs can all be spotted if you are lucky.
Campsite facilities: basic restrooms, restaurant and grocery shop
Tent: rental from B120-300/night
Campsite fee: B30/person/night
Park entrance fee: B200 for foreigner, B40 for Thai
Contact: 032-459-293
Erawan National Park, Kanchanaburi
The highlight of the park is obviously the Erawan waterfall. Hike up to the 7th level to see how the cascading water resembles the well-known mythological figure, Erawan, the three-headed elephant. The park is also home to gibbons, flying squirrels and wild boar.
Campsite facilities: basic restrooms, restaurant
Tent: rental from B50/night
Campsite fee: B30/person/night
Park entrance fee: B200 for foreigner, B40 for Thai
Contact: 034-574-222, 034-574-234
Khao Sok National Park, Surat Thaini
One of the most beautiful national parks in Thailand, Khao Sok is a Southern gem filled with stunning streams, waterfalls, caves and limestone cliffs. Trekking, canoeing and visiting the raft houses on the Cheow Lan Lake are just some of the available activities within the park.
Campsite facilities: basic restrooms and restaurant
Tent: rental from B225/night
Campsite fee: B30/person
Park entrance fee: B200 for foreigner, B40 for Thai
Contact: 077-395-139, 077-395-154-5
Tarutao National Park, Satun
Part of a group of 51 islands in the Andaman Sea, the park is full of sandy beaches, bays and forest trails. Back in the late 1930s, Tarutao was once a prison and you can still visit the eerie grounds. Animals that can be spotted include deer, wild pigs, otters, bats and sea turtles. Campsites are available at Phante Malaka Bay, Son Bay and Molae Bay on Tarutao Island and at Son Beach on Adang Island
Campsite facilities: restaurants and restrooms available for tourists on Tarutao and Adang Islands.
Tent: rental from B225/night
Campsite fee: B30/person/night
Park entrance fee: B200 for foreigner, B40 for Thai
Contact: 074-783-485, 074-728-027-8, 074-729-002-3
Thap Lan National Park, Pranchinburi
Journey up to the North-East and discover the second largest park in Thailand covering an area of 2,235 sq.km. Its isolated location means it is also one of the last places in Thailand that you can see tigers in the wild along with elephants, bears, mountain goats and hornbills.
Campsite facilities: three camp sites but no restrooms or restaurant.
Tent: rental from B250/night
Campsite fee: B30/night
Park entrance fee: B100 for foreigner, B20 for Thai.
Contact: 037-219-408
For more information about Thailand’s national parks, visit www.dnp.go.th or call 02-562-0760.
