A condo located in Sukhumvit 11 continues to receive a steady stream of daily guests.

Despite authorities' efforts to crack down on illegal daily rentals in condos, major tourism cities are continuing to see the practice persist, including a condo building in Bangkok's Sukhumvit 11 developed by a SET-listed company which has avoided an investigation by just changing its name.

According to a source, who is a foreign resident and owned a condo unit in Sukhumvit 11, the situation has not yet been resolved, despite already having been recognised by the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA).

Wattana district office submitted a letter to the condo's juristic person in January, urging this person to report information regarding the owners who were renting out their units for daily usage in order to continue the legal process.

The source said over half of the building's 450 units are still being rented out illegally on a daily basis via online platforms.

The juristic person, operated by a new management firm which has assumed the role since February, has already received complaints from residents but no serious action has been taken.

The source said the guests would receive a key card to use the elevator and to access the room, not including the building's common facilities such as the swimming pool and gym, meaning that the juristic person and condo development must have recognised the issue.

Moreover, the condo name presented on the online booking platforms was recently changed by an agent to another name in order to avoid inspections, said the source.

He said the situation in Bangkok was different from Pattaya, where he also owns two units in Jomtien, as daily rentals in condos had largely fallen following a change in the building management company -- the key factor in cracking down on this form of illicit activity.

Morrakot Kuldilok, president of the eastern chapter of the Thai Hotels Association, said there are still many condo rooms sold via online travel platforms in Pattaya and other major cities.

In many cases, she said officers could only catch guests who booked the unit, not the actual owner or agent who ran the business, who tend to mainly be foreigners.

Ms Morrakot said it was worrying for hotel businesses if the problem persists, as hotels face higher expenses than condo rentals, such as the tax burden.

Structural requirements for hotels are also different from condos to ensure safety for tourists.

She said some real estate management companies had been set up specifically for the purpose of operating daily rentals in condos.

However, in some cases the developer builds a separate building for a condo and hotel within the same mixed-use project, which is acceptable.

Ms Morrakot said the number of registered hotel rooms in Pattaya and Chonburi is sufficient to cater to tourist demand.