Apparently not.
Short term rentals of less than 30 days are illegal in Thailand unless the owner has a license to operate a hotel. Airbnb owners in Thailand do not have licenses to operate hotels. Many large condominium developments have notices posted in the building as a reminder. The notices say people who violate this law will be prosecuted.

Owners of homes and villas may register with the Ministry of Tourism for this exception. If the unit or units pass inspection, the owner can offer them as short-term rentals via Airbnb and through other means. This exception does not apply to condominiums or other multi-unit dwellings. Under the law, a villa is defined as having four units or less.
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One Airbnb host, who owns a three-bedroom house in Bangkok and rents it out for B4,600/night, said renters do not need to worry because they rent a house, not a condo. “I’m renting out an entire home, not a single room,” he said. “I’m the owner of the property and I’m not doing anything to cause trouble to society or anyone around me. But if there’s an actual law enforced, then I’m happy to abide by the law.”

Booked online via Airbnb and other websites, large groups make weekends unbearable for locals

With the easing of domestic travel restrictions in Thailand, popular beach and country resorts are experiencing a sudden boom in business after the lockdown lasting several months.

Hotels welcome this surge in visitors after the lockdown - but they’re not alone. So-called Pool Villas are also seeing a huge increase in bookings, especially at weekends.

Often advertised as ‘party houses’ or ‘homestays’, these villas have grown massively in number in recent years thanks to online booking forums like Airbnb and Facebook. Their owners see them as a good return on investment.

Thailand’s creepy crawly delicacies go upmarket.

Crispy roasted mini crickets and silkworms with different flavors are now being stocked   in the country’s supermarkets.

​Nutritious, crunchy and tasty, at least for some, edible insects may be the answer to feeding the world’s growing population with protein.

By Maxmilian Wechsler

American entrepreneur Greg Lange, owner of the Sunrise Tacos chain of Mexican restaurants and a number of Subway outlets in Bangkok, is a volunteer providing hot meals, bags of rice and other supplies to hundreds of needy families during the current Coronavirus lockdown. He volunteers with the group “Dinner From the Sky” and shares the experience on a personal Facebook blog called “ Bangkok Community Help “ where he also reaches out to those on a individual basis who may need help. 

It’s an experience that has filled Greg with a range of emotions. One moment he’s talking of the “heartbreaking” visit to the slums in Klong Toey and other lesser known but equally deprived areas of Bangkok, and the next he’s relating how he’s moved by the kindness of his fellow volunteers and the genuine gratitude expressed by the people who wait in line quietly and patiently for these vital supplies. “They are so desperate, but so thankful,” he says. “People are always extremely polite, even when we run out of food to give them,” says Greg, adding that he tries to keep a few ‘extras’ on the side so as not to disappoint the last few in the queue.
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Sadly, there’s no sign of the current situation easing in the near future, which will require Greg and others to continue their good work. “One meal doesn’t solve the problem,” he says.

Mrs Karen Wainwright, a long-time resident of Thailand and a horse owner, is understandably deeply concerned about the outbreak of a deadly African horse sickness in Thailand. In an effort to spread awareness of the disease, she recently spoke with.
Maxmilian Wechsler.

Please briefly describe your background.
I’ve lived in Bangkok for 28 years, having arrived here in 1992 from Northern Ireland (although lived most of my life overseas in Sudan, Australia, Papua New Guinea and Australia). My husband was employed here by a UK-based company, from which he has since retired.

What is your involvement with horses?
I’ve been horse riding in Thailand since 1992, and at one point had three horses. Two have sadly died, but lived long lives and died of old age/illness. My current horse, Tango, is a dressage horse imported from Denmark. He has won me trophies and many rosettes during the years we competed in dressage competitions but more importantly he is a very sweet natured and friendly horse with lot of character. He is now retired, aged 23 years, and leading a quieter life.

Where are you keeping your horse now and how are you protecting him from the AHS virus?
Tango is stabled at Horselover’s Club in Bangkok. So far the stable buildings have had to be enclosed in fine netting (32 eyes per inch) to protect the horses from the midges that carry AHS which are as small as 1mm. Because the net is so fine it restricts air flow and makes the stables very hot when we are already in hot season and experiencing soaring temperatures. Heat stress is a real concern for horses behind nets for all the horse owners around the country that have horses behind nets.

Fortunately our stables has an overhead cooling system installed, and a lot of extra fans have been put to use to try to keep the horses as cool as possible. The stables also have to be sprayed regularly with insecticide inside and outside. Currently, for us, our horses can be outside the stables between 9am and 4pm as the midges are at their most active within two hours of dawn and dusk.

The riding arena is in the process of being enclosed with netting to protect the horses when being exercised. Visitors to the stables have to be restricted e.g. feed and hay deliveries from the outbreak zones cannot be allowed, and essential visitors such as vets which may have been near an outbreak zone must have their cars and themselves thoroughly disinfected before entering the premises.

Thai media first reported the mysterious deaths of 42 horses in Pak Chong district of Nakhon Ratchasima province on March 27. The deaths were soon attributed to the African horse sickness (AHS) virus. News of the outbreak spread quickly around the world, causing grave concern in several countries.
 
In fact, it was back in February 24 when the first horse died from this viral disease. The death toll in 12 Thai provinces now stands at 550 and counting.
 
Coming as it does in the midst of the global COVID-19 pandemic, the appearance of AHS is yet another source of public concern. Fortunately, unlike COVID-19 it poses no danger to humans. While the rate of new AHS infections and deaths has gone down significantly, experts caution that for now emergency measures put in place to halt the spread of the virus in Thailand must remain in place.
 
The World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), with headquarters in Paris, France, was notified of the emergence of the AHS virus in Thailand on March 27 by Dr Sorravis Thaneto, Director General of the Department of Livestock Development (DLD), Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives.
 
Dr Sorravis, who supplied the OIE with vital information, has since been sending regular weekly updates to the organization.
 
Dr Sorravis told reporters on May 15 that the first horse death occurred on February 24, but horse owners and veterinarians did not report it to the livestock department. “Once informed, we immediately sent the team to investigate the incident and collect samples on March 26. Then we enforced restrictions on the movement of equine species and introduced biosecurity measures, including vaccination,” he said.
 
He also mentioned that his department acquired 4,000 doses of AHS vaccine from Maxwin, an animal feed company, and has recently imported the next batch.
 
“There are around 13,000 horses nationwide. We have vaccinated nearly 4,000 horses and we inoculate another 4,000 in the epicenter of the disease and its 50-km radius,” added Dr Sorravis.

He assured that the investigation must be thorough and the department needs more information to determine the cause of the AHS outbreak.

The 5G rollout in Thailand is rapidly gaining momentum, with thousands of towers and transmitter masts suddenly popping up right across the country in all kinds of unlikely locations where they’re changing the skyline.
 
The visual impact and lack of consultation about their installation has caught many citizens by surprise.
 
Promoted under the slogan ‘5G The Future. is Coming for You’ in a nationwide campaign featuring Thai superstar Lisa Blackpink, these countless randomly designed antennae have appeared atop shopping malls, houses, offices, factories and warehouses, on empty plots of land and hillsides, along motorways and in the middle of rice paddies.
 
Some buildings have transmitters placed on all four corners, though it is not always clear which may be for 5G transmission.
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The 5G rollout in Thailand is rapidly gaining momentum, with thousands of towers and transmitter masts suddenly popping up right across the country in all kinds of unlikely locations where they’re changing the skyline.
 
The visual impact and lack of consultation about their installation has caught many citizens by surprise.
 
Promoted under the slogan ‘5G The Future. is Coming for You’ in a nationwide campaign featuring Thai superstar Lisa Blackpink, these countless randomly designed antennae have appeared atop shopping malls, houses, offices, factories and warehouses, on empty plots of land and hillsides, along motorways and in the middle of rice paddies.
 
Some buildings have transmitters placed on all four corners, though it is not always clear which may be for 5G transmission.
 
You can also come across these giant structures, bristling with a startling array of electronic components that wouldn’t look out of place on the latest aircraft carrier, in the grounds of a hotel or in a temple compound.

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By Maxmilian Wechsler

Since the early days of his reign, His Majesty King Bhumipol has visited numerous rural areas to see how people live. These visits inspired him to launch the Royal Development Projects (RDPs) to improve the lives of the people and promote the sustainable use of natural resources.
 
The first RDP was initiated in 1951, when Tilapia mosambica fish were raised in the pond at the Ambhorn Villa. In 1953, the King distributed Tilapia fingerlings to villagers and district leaders throughout the country to provide an alternative source of protein for rural people.

The first rural infrastructure development project began in 1952, when His Majesty donated bulldozers to the Naresuan Border Patrol Police unit to build a road from Hua Hin District to Huay Mongkol Village in Prachuap Khiri Khan province. The road has provided the villagers with easy access to the city and allows them to bring their farm produce to provincial markets.