When people think about “Thai Hospitality”, they may think: lots of cheap, luxury hotels, and a thriving tourist culture. There is a wide-spread perception that the luxury experience—i.e. good service, fine dining, fine accommodations—can be bought and experienced during a traveler’s stay at an affordable price. This serves as a strong attraction for many middle-class travelers.
Another frequent reputation of the industry is that of the prostitution activity, and its link to hospitality. Because of the high activity of prostitution in Thailand, it is often a topic in hospitality, whether hotels allow for “women of the night” to accompany men back to their rooms. This in turn has some effect on the reputation of the hotel industry in general, as well as each and every hotel with its individual policies. Whether these policies have a positive effect or negative effect on the hotel’s reputation is debatable: for example, many businessmen and travelers may see some hotels as unattractive because of their strict policies against putting up prostitutes; and on the other hand, conservative travelers may be put off by hotels that allow for prostitutes, seeing it as a “dirty” business practice.