Is Airbnb Legal in Thailand?

Short answer, yes. But mostly no.

What is the law for short-term accommodation in Thailand?

Thai law states that rentals of less than 30 days are only allowed at properties that have a hotel licence. This means that if you plan on staying at an Airbnb for less than 30 days, that's illegal, right?

Well yes and no.

The first thing to consider is the way that the law is written and the way that the law is enforced in Thailand, don't always align. This is one of those laws that the authorities rarely pay any mind to, and if you are going to have any issues staying somewhere short-term, it's far more likely to come from the building's management/security than it is the authorities.

When I used to live in a condo in Sathorn, there were signs everywhere saying that short-term renters weren't welcome and they were there illegally. Each year when I signed a new lease agreement with the landlord, the building's management scrutinized it excessively, almost hoping to find me falling foul of their regulations.

In terms of illegal behaviour, you the tenant aren't actually doing anything wrong. It is the landlord who is renting to you illegally, so apart from being kicked-out and made homeless at a moment's notice, you aren't liable to be arrested.

The second thing to consider, is that a small number of licenced hotels do use Airbnb to get customers, so just because it's listed there, doesn't mean they don't have a licence.

From the building that I lived in from 2015 to 2018, this is the not very welcoming warning sign that greeted any tourists who tried to stay there short-term.

How do I know which properties have a hotel licence?

This is a question to which I've never found a satisfactory answer. To my knowledge, there is no publicly-accessible database of properties that have a hotel licence, and certainly none in English, so if you're coming to Thailand as a foreign tourist, how do you know at which places you can legally stay?

A good general rule that I follow, is to avoid Airbnb and use hotel-booking sites like booking.com and Agoda. This is by no means a fool-proof plan as these sites also allow private rentals to be advertised as hotels, so at that point, consider the size of the property and the number of reviews.

If a property has many different rooms on offer, it almost certainly is a hotel, as private landlords are typically going to be advertising an individual condo. And if a listing has dozens of reviews, that's also a sign that it's actually a hotel, especially with a high aggregate score. Getting kicked-out of a property or having to jump through hoops to enter it is a surefire way of getting some bad reviews.

You can also simply Google the property name. If the results indicate it's a residential building, then it's likely you're looking at a private landlord trying to illegally let their condo. Most hotels will have their own website that makes it clear they're a hotel. Google Maps can also be useful, because if you look at the property on street-view and there's no mention from the outside that it's a hotel, then there's a high chance that it's a property for long-term residents only. Hotels typically want to advertise the fact they're hotels.

Can I extend my visa while staying in an unlicenced property?

Technically no, but actually yes.

The key rule for extending your visa in Thailand is that you can only do so at the immigration office of the province in which you're staying. For example, if you're staying in Chiang Mai, you have to extend your visa at the Chiang Mai immigration office; you can't go to a different province because you think it'll be easier.

Most visa extensions require a TM30 form, which is a form to be completed by the property in which you are staying. My experience tells me that this is a requirement at most immigration offices, but not all. When I did a visa extension in Huahin, I wasn't asked for one, so if you are staying somewhere illegally and as such cannot get a TM30 form, then you may be lucky enough to go to immigration and not be asked.

The other trick is to book a night at a dirt-cheap hostel, go there to check-in and get a TM30, then go to immigration and get your extension, then go back to your illegal room to spend the night.

Why does Airbnb still offer so many short-term rentals?

I can't speak for them, but I'd assume it comes down to profit. Most visitors to Thailand don't know the accommodation laws, because why would they? If they're used to searching for accommodation on Airbnb, it'll probably be the first place they check, and if they find a nice room, they'll book it. In the vast majority of cases, the authorities won't check and the building management/security won't care, meaning the guest has a wonderful stay unaware that they were there illegally, and Airbnb gets to charge its usual fees.

One thing I can say, is that Airbnb certainly know that short-term rentals are illegal in Thailand, because I've seen many posts online from people who've been caught and complained to them about it (such as this one). Yet they continue to offer short-term listings with no mention that it might be illegal.

Should I take the risk?

Personally, I don't. My feeling is it isn't worth it. I like to know that I have a roof over my head each night, and Thailand has a lot of registered hotels. Particularly as tourist-numbers are yet to return to pre-covid levels, you just aren't going to have many issues finding accommodation in decent hotels here. There are loads available, so why deal with the stress of potentially getting kicked-out of your room at a moment's notice? To me it's not worth it.

That being said, if you're here as a digital nomad and having things like a fully-equipped kitchen are important to you, then you will struggle to find that in a hotel, so in that case, perhaps it's worth the risk. So long as you're aware that you're taking a chance, go with what's best for you.