BANGKOK, 27 September 2018: Airbnb announced Wednesday an industry-first partnership with the Thailand Boutique Accommodation Trade Association (TBAA) to “promote creative, people-powered Thai hospitality.”
Through the partnership, Airbnb and the TBAA will bring boutique hotels to Airbnb’s global people-to-people platform and connect them to its international network of travellers, which has seen more than 300 million guest arrivals since it was founded 10 years ago.
Airbnb is the first travel platform in Thailand to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the TBAA.
It follows the company’s recent partnership with the Ministry of Interior’s Department of Local Administration to up-skill and enrol local homestays across all 76 provinces.
Airbnb country manager for Southeast Asia, Mike Orgill and TBAA president and advisor to the Thai Travel Agents Association, Suparerk Soorangura, jointly launched the partnership.
With Thailand as one of the world’s top global destinations, this partnership will provide travellers with easy access to more than 50 boutique hotels across 15 provinces in Bangkok, Chantaburi, Chiang Mai, Kanchanaburi, Krabi, Nakhon Ratchasima, Phuket, Prachuab Khiri Khan, Ratchaburi and Sukhothai.
According to the MoU, both parties agreed to conduct training workshops for TBAA members to equip them with Airbnb platform know-how, and the digital skills to create, manage and promote their listings.
The collaboration will empower Thai boutique hospitality entrepreneurs with global hospitality standards. It will also amplify Thailand’s boutique hotels and creative design on a global stage. Finally the MoU stated it would seek to revitalise local neighbourhoods by driving tourist footfall beyond popular tourist districts
During the launch, Airbnb and the TBAA also announced the inaugural Airbnb and TBAA Thailand Neighbourhood Guide.
The 17-page insider’s guide spotlights five under-the-radar neighbourhoods in Thailand, each with its distinct blend of traditional heritage and new creative spaces.
In the past year alone, Airbnb’s host community in Thailand has welcomed close to 1.7 million guests into their homes, creating a combined THB4 billion (USD119 million) in income for local Thais.
Earlier this September, Thailand’s Prime Minister, Prayut Chan-o-cha, highlighted Airbnb’s recent partnership with the Department of Local Administration during his weekly national broadcast.
In his statement on “Sufficiency Economy Philosophy to Sustainable Development Goals”, he shared how Airbnb was promoting local homestays and distribute wealth across rural provinces.
