Beverage tycoon Tan Passakornnatee says his Eastin Tan Hotel in Chiang Mai had no licence because of a change in city planning regulations, and that he wants to remedy the problem.
He made the comments in a message posted on his Facebook page early Saturday morning after local authorities charged the manager of the 128-room luxury hotel with running an unlicensed operation.
Mr Tan wrote that on June 29, 2012, his Tanboon Co received a licence for the construction of a nine-storey building, and on Dec 9, 2013, it requested a hotel licence.
Tan: "Ready to cooperate" with authorities
On July 29, 2014, the company obtained approval to change the type of building from a condominium to a hotel. On Aug 19, 2014, construction was completed and a licence to use the building was received.
Around the same time, however, new city planning regulations took effect with some changed requirements, he wrote.
On Sept 13 this year, the company's request for a hotel business licence was rejected because of new city planning regulations. It filed a petition against the rejection on Sept 28.
The problem resulted from the transition between the old and new city planning regulations and the company did not intend to violate any law, he wrote.
The company was ready to cooperate with government agencies, wrote Mr Tan, the 57-year-old chairman and chief executive of Ichitan Group, well-known for its bottled tea and other beverages.
Saranyu Meethongkham, the Muang Chiang Mai district chief, said on Friday that authorities had found some details in the hotel licence request did not match the original blueprints.
The hotel is located near the intersection of Nimmanhaemin and Huay Kaew roads and opened in November 2014. Its occupancy rate ia about 90%.
Those found guilty of operating an unlicensed hotel can face a jail term of up to one year and/or a one-time fine of up to 20,000 baht, plus a fine of up 10,000 baht for each day that the property remains in breach of the law.