A hotel licence for your villas or resort, handled from start to finish
Many villas on Samui were approved as private houses but are rented to guests. To operate legally, they need a change of use to hotel and a hotel licence. We take care of the whole process for you: drawings, engineers, construction alterations, the Tessaban and the Amphoe.
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A hotel licence usually means dealing with a lawyer, an architect, structural and electrical engineers, a contractor, the municipality and the district office, often in Thai. Most owners try to put this team together themselves, and it is easy to lose months.
We hand you one clear route instead. Nay Sirirat is a licensed architect based on Koh Samui who deals with the Koh Samui Tessaban regularly and knows how they work. She prepares and signs the drawings, brings in engineers and builders from her local network, and stays with you until the licence is issued. It follows the same careful permits and approvals process we use for every project.
- Full service, from the first document check to the hotel licence
- All construction alterations needed for compliance, designed and supervised
- Trusted local engineers and construction teams, at competitive rates
- A fixed fee for each stage, agreed before you commit
- Clear updates in English, and we deal with the authorities in Thai
Which route does your property need?
It depends mainly on the number of rooms and guests across all your buildings together.
Up to 8 rooms and 30 guests
Small properties can usually be notified to the district registrar as non-hotel accommodation, instead of applying for a full hotel licence. The building still needs to be safe and suitable.
More than 8 rooms or 30 guests
The property is a hotel under Thai law. It needs a hotel licence, and the buildings must be approved for hotel use. In most cases this means a change of use permit from the Tessaban first.
Not sure which applies to you? Send us your documents and we will tell you, free of charge.
Why a building permit is not enough
A house permit approves a building as a private home. A hotel has stricter rules, so the Tessaban checks every building again for hotel use. In practice, owners should expect to need the following. Our guide to turning rental villas into a licensed hotel explains the rules in more depth.
- A new set of drawings for each building, signed by a licensed architect and engineers
- A site plan for the whole property: access, fire route, parking, open and green space, wastewater
- A structural check by a licensed engineer, as the safety standards for hotel use differ from those for a house
- Fire safety: alarms and detectors, emergency lights, exit signs, extinguishers
- Safe escape routes, including stairs, landings, handrails and corridor widths
- Wastewater and sanitary systems that meet the standard for hotel use
- Signatures from every building owner, land owner and registered lessee
On Samui, location also matters. Land above 80 metres and steep slopes are limited to single houses under the 2025 environmental rules, and every plot has to be checked against its zone. Our Koh Samui overview explains these rules in more detail.
Four clear stages
Review
We check your permits, plans, title deeds and the buildings on site, and confirm the requirements with the Tessaban. You receive a clear answer for each building and a fixed quote for the work.
Drawings and engineers
New drawings and a site master plan, structural and fire safety certificates from licensed engineers, and the change of use applications filed and followed up.
Construction alterations
We design the works needed, price them with our local construction teams or yours, and inspect them on site so they pass the final check, as part of our site supervision service.
Certificates and licence
Building certificates for hotel use, and the technical documents and inspections for your hotel licence application.
What to send us
Send whatever you have. Even a few documents are enough for us to tell you which route applies and give you a quote.
- Building permits for each building
- Approved plans, AutoCAD files or any old drawings
- Title deeds (chanote) with all registration pages, including common areas
- The number of buildings, bedrooms and guests
- Who owns each building and the land, and any leases
Common questions
Do I need a lawyer as well?
For leases, company documents and owner agreements, yes. We handle everything technical and the applications to the Tessaban and Amphoe, and we work alongside your lawyer.
What if my building is different from the approved plans?
This is common. We check each building on site, and if part of it needs to be made legal first, we tell you clearly and quote it separately.
We have several owners on one site. Can you still help?
Yes. Multi-owner sites are common on Samui. We tell you exactly which owner, land owner and lessee needs to sign each document.
How long does it take?
It depends on the number of buildings, the works needed and the authorities. After the review stage we give you a realistic programme for your property.
Hand it over, and we will get it done properly
Send us your documents for a free review and quote. We reply with the route your property needs and the next steps.
Free document review architectsamui@gmail.com