Airbnb partners with Thailand Boutique Accommodation Trade Association

PHOTO: Mike Orgill, Airbnb Country Manager for Southeast Asia (left) and Suparerk Soorangura, President of TBAA and Advisor to the Thai Travel Agents Association (right) signing the MoU.

Airbnb, the world’s leading community-driven hospitality company has announced its 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 onto 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. This closely follows the company’s recent partnership with the Ministry of Interior’s Department of Local Administration to upskill and onboard local homestays across all 76 provinces.

Mike Orgill, Airbnb Country Manager for Southeast Asia, and Suparerk Soorangura, President of TBAA and Advisor to the Thai Travel Agents Association, 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 such as Bangkok, Chantaburi, Chiang Mai, Kanchanaburi, Krabi, Nakhon Ratchasima, Phuket, Prachuab Kiri Khan, Ratchaburi and Sukhothai, all providing authentic Thai hospitality.

In today’s MoU, both parties agree 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 own listings
• Empower Thai boutique hospitality entrepreneurs with global hospitality standards
• Amplify Thailand’s unique boutique hotels and creative design on a global stage
• Revitalise local neighbourhoods by driving tourist footfall outside of traditional tourist districts

During the launch, Airbnb and the TBAA also announced the inaugural Airbnb x 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 4 billion baht (US$119 million) in income for local Thais. Earlier this September, 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 the Sufficiency Economy Philosophy to Sustainable Development Goals, he shared how Airbnb is promoting local homestays and distribute wealth across rural provinces.
Quotes

“Thailand is one of Airbnb’s largest markets in Southeast Asia, and our partnership with the TBAA marks a significant step forward for our business and community here. Boutique hotels play an increasingly key role in driving the tourism ecosystem through their authentic host-led hospitality and distinctive local design.” – Mike Orgill, Airbnb Country Manager for Southeast Asia