Koh Samui hotel rates surge 40% after The White Lotus airs
Luxury hotel room rates on Koh Samui have increased by up to 50% following the airing of season three of The White Lotus two weeks ago. Despite this, rates have not yet matched the peak levels seen in Phuket and Bangkok.
Rathawat Kuvijitrsuwan, Senior Vice-President of Advisory and Asset Management for Asia at JLL Hotels & Hospitality Group, noted that the average daily rate (ADR) for luxury hotels on Koh Samui has surpassed 10,000 baht per night over the past fortnight.
The rate saw a 40% rise once filming locations were disclosed, primarily affecting newly opened hotels, while older establishments recorded rates between 8,000 to 9,000 baht per night, which remains a strong performance considering their age.
Rathawat drew parallels with Chiang Mai’s situation in 2013 when Chinese tourism surged following the release of the film Lost in Thailand in December 2012, which was shot in Chiang Mai. However, he highlighted differences between the tourism markets in Chiang Mai and Koh Samui.
While Chiang Mai can handle large numbers of visitors, Koh Samui’s capacity is limited by flight availability and its airport, operated by Bangkok Airways, thus catering mostly to the upper-end market.
Rathawat stated that the long-term impacts of the series have to be assessed, noting that hotels near the TV settings are likely to benefit.
Still the underdogs
Last year, Koh Samui’s hotels had an average occupancy rate of 75%, with Thailand welcoming 35.5 million foreign visitors. However, Rathawat opined that the Samui hotel market will not reach the same heights as Bangkok and Phuket, which have performed exceptionally well for over two years and attracted investors seeking to acquire existing hotels.
In Bangkok, the ADR for luxury hotels last year increased by 49% over pre-pandemic levels, with many hotels surpassing 10,000 baht per night, and new properties reaching rates as high as 15,000 baht. Phuket’s hotel performance was even stronger, with ADR soaring nearly 120% from the end of 2019 to the end of 2024.
While mid- to upper-scale hotels also saw good performance, their growth was not as pronounced as the luxury segment. Conversely, budget hotels remained sluggish, mainly due to the slow recovery of tour groups, their primary market, reported Bangkok.
However, Rathawat maintains a hint of pessimism when projecting the growth rate of the island’s hotel sector.
“In 2025 to 2026, we may not see the same surge in ADR as we did over the past two years as the current ADR is already quite high and may not be affordable for consumers.”
Rathawat projected the growth rate for this year to be around 2% to 3% on average.
The surge in the hotel sector and tourism market two years ago spurred demand from investors keen on acquiring hotels. Last year, hotel transactions in Thailand reached a record 22.3 billion baht, surpassing the 21 billion recorded in 2018. JLL anticipates hotel transactions to reach 13 billion baht this year.
According to a sentiment survey, hotel operators and owners in Thailand are facing workforce challenges, particularly in rehiring staff. Rathawat noted that recruiting staff for front office positions has been especially difficult.
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