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Shredded Wheat
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Can anybody tell me if a license is required from the Thai authorities in order to establish and operate a massage business (traditional & oil), and if so how easy or difficult is it to obtain the license? Is this something a farang would be able to get, or would the business need to be fronted by a thai in order to meet the licensing requirements? Thanks for any help you can offer.
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Bangkok Girls : Meet Attractive Thai Girls
Posted on: 6:17 pm on May 21, 2005
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expatchuck
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You must have a Thai owner and operator.
It is unlikely you will get a work permit to own or run a massage parlor so you will need to worry about visas. Why not just come to Pattaya, buy a bar and lose your money that way?
You will still have the visa problems but since you will obviously be drinking a lot, you really won't mind.
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Bangkok Women : Meet Sensual Bangkok Women
Posted on: 12:59 am on May 22, 2005
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Shredded Wheat
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Thanks Chuck. There is wisdom in your words. However:
I already have a thai owner and operator lined up - my wife - we both live in the UK at the moment but are planning a return to thailand sometime in the next couple of years. I will provide the finance as you have correctly guessed. I will not be working and will no doubt have the same visa issues as other expats who stay in the country long term, and will no doubt deal with them the same way as others do (visa runs) - but for me that is a separate issue.
Just wondering about the legalities of the massage business license, as I do not want to find us getting closed down because of the absence of the right paper trail.
Perhaps naively, I was also wondering if, even with the right bits of paper in place, it will be necessary to grease the palms of the local police from time to time. Our thinking is this will not be an issue if we stick to straight nuat thai with no monkey business and no alcohol on sale.
Can you or any others add anything to your earlier comment with this additional background info. please? Thanks
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Thai Girls : Meet Sexy Thai Girls
Posted on: 5:07 am on May 22, 2005
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harold444
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who wanna go to a straight massage parlor in bangkok....lol
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Bangkok Girls : Meet Sexy Bangkok Girls
Posted on: 6:30 am on May 22, 2005
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DrLove
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Give 'manuelbkk' a PM. He operates a spa (which I think is equal to a massage joint).
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Bangkok Girls : Meet Attractive Thai Girls
Posted on: 7:14 am on May 22, 2005
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Manuel bkk
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No, a spa is not equal to a 'massage joint'.... IMHO...
If it is a legitimate massage business there will be no trouble to get started. As any other businesses you follow the basic rules. Only important thing is that you need to be recognized by the ministry of health. If you are not you will be seen as an 'entertainment' venue with the different licenses needed as well.
For detailed information you could contact the 'Thai Spa Operators Association', the Thai Spa Association, or The Ministry of Public Health.
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Bangkok Women : Meet Beautiful Thai Girls
Posted on: 1:08 am on May 23, 2005
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Shredded Wheat
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What you say is re-assuring Manuel - thank you for that.
Separately my wife telephoned some contacts of hers in Thailand - a thai bar owner, a taxi driver, & a lady who works in a nuat thai massage parlour - and sought their informal views & asked what they could find out on the grapevine from others at the Thai end. Her contacts are based in Pattaya and told my wife that all she would need to do is arrange an interview with the government/authorities in Banglamung to get a license (presumably that would be the case if the business was to be based in Pattaya; if in Bangkok then some other Government offices). Something may have been lost in the translation but I take this as confirmation of what you say Manuel. No doubt there will be more detail to it than this quick overview, but I take ecouragement from the messages given on this site and from those my wife's friends gave over the telephone.
Incidentally, the massage lady was even able to tell my wife about a massage business that is for sale. As it happens we are not looking to buy a business, but this does show how useful networking can be. We want to start up from scratch in premises that belong to us - so no rent or mortgage to pay. It looks as if finding the right property/location at the right price is going to be the hard part - but we will take our time over that, there is no hurry and we can work on our business plan while we look. When we do make our move on this we want to target thai customers as well as (or instead of - still thinking about that one) holidaymakers & expats - as we do not want to be dependant on one sector of the economy.
Thanks everyone for all your help.
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Bangkok Girls : Meet Attractive Thai Girls
Posted on: 2:12 pm on May 24, 2005
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issanking
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quote from shredded wheat
separately my wife telephoned some contacts of hers in Thailand - a thai bar owner, a taxi driver, & a lady who works in a nuat thai massage parlour
Her contacts are based in Pattaya !!!
sorry bro read the above quote again and again,
these are al the ingedients of a recepie for disaster,
sorry to put the damper on this,
but if you go ahead with it well good luck.
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Thai Girls : Meet Active Thai Girls
Posted on: 7:31 pm on May 25, 2005
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Blattsucker
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Hi Wheat,
I have to agree with Issanking. Those people don't fill me with a warm feeling of trust. More with a healthy cold shudder of mistrust. Did the offer of the parlor for sale come from one of them by the way??? If so, I don't smell a fishy odor, I smell a boat full of rotting fish.
On the other hand I don't know how good you (or your wife) know these people. Maybe they can be trusted with your life. But I cann't shake the feeling that you are offered a chickencoop for a parlor or that the taxidriver will take half of your money as commission.
So I would advice you to watch a season of the X-FILES again to refresh your memory of the TRUST NO ONE line.
And stick to your original plan to take it slow. And only buy something when you know that they are not going to build a freeway on your property 2 months after the sale.
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Thai Women : Meet Matured Thai Women
Posted on: 9:38 pm on May 25, 2005
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Dr Coolbreeze
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Pardon me, but why would you want to risk considerable finances on opening a new massage business right in the middle of 500 other massage businesses? Sounds like a formula for frustration to me.
As they say, in a gold-rush, sell shovels.
In a town full of bars and massage places, open a business that supplies those businesses. Sell beer mugs and baby oil.
Among other things, I own a beauty salon. I opened it in an upscale area (in USA, not Thailand) a number of years ago, and made some good money on it; however, over the years more and more beauty salons have been opening all around mine. Each one tries to under-price all the others. Now none of us are making any money. I can still charge more than all the others because of a loyal core clientele, but I have gradually lost a trickle of customers, and now it's to the point where I'm considering closing or selling. There are now 7 other shops within 2 blocks of mine. This month another one opened. Shit.
Anyway, one thing Pattaya doesn't need is another massage place (unless it's like Eden, in Bkk!).
Sorry for sounding so negative - just my two-cents. Before you open a business in an area, you should do a little research to find out what types of businesses are under-represented. Or, what new service can you provide (or your wife) that the locals haven't thought of yet, that'll be a hit? Unless maybe you just want a tax write-off, then a massage place will be fine.
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Bangkok Girls : Meet Attractive Thai Girls
Posted on: 10:28 pm on May 25, 2005
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