Differences in Short-time Rooms
Just So You Know

It's Time
Feeling a little inebriated and enjoying yourself in the bar with the friendly and fun bar staff, but now looking to take things somewhere a little more private? Have a quick look in your wallet. Taking the bar staff from the bar and back to your hotel requires that you pay the bar fine, short-time or long-time price, and the short-time room price (below).

Hollywood Inn Promo Board
Advertisement on Sukhumvit Soi 4

First things First
Short-time room prices are completely at the discretion of the hotel staff and bar manager. Short-time room prices vary from bar to bar, hotel to hotel,  and season to season. below we have taken each of these points and have gone into more detail how short-time room prices are calculated based on these criteria.

Although Short-time rooms are common in most countries popular for sex-tourism, this guide is mostly based on our experience of short-time rooms in Thailand. Although we feel the information below is a "complete short-time room guide" this information is subject to change at anytime. It's also important to note, as the sex-tourism industry is often not legal or regulated in most of the countries where bar fines and short-time rooms are customary, a lot of the information here is not set in stone.

There may be several reasons why someone would want to bar fine a member of staff from a bar. For this guide, we will be focusing on how short-time room prices will affect overall cost and short-time experience.

Bar By Bar
There are a wide variety of bars in Thailand. These bars also have a variety of targeted customers. From the low cost beer bar to the high-so night clubs. Some of these bars will have short-time rooms owned by the bar and some of these won't. Whether or not the bar itself also rents out short-time rooms, there will almost always be some short-time rooms nearby where bar fined bar staff can be taken. The cost of the short-time room depends on the bar and the room itself. High quality rooms with more amenities such as jacuzzis, harnesses and all-around mirrors will naturally cost more than a cheap, damp room with a bed on the floor. Of course there are many types of rooms in between those two extremes.

Some bars in Thailand also have hotel rooms for rent. These rooms can double as short-time rooms when the rooms are not occupied by paying customers. Often these rooms will have jacuzzies and large king size beds. Naturally, as the quality of the room is much better than dirt cheap short-time rooms, customers may be asked to pay higher short-time room prices than a short-time hotel. Customers may be asked to pay as much as 800 baht for 30 minutes, sometimes with the offer to stay to the next morning.

Continuing on this thought, if a bar specializes in being a short-time bar with several short-time rooms attached to the bar. The rooms are usually very minimalist with a bed and a bathroom with a toilet and shower. These rooms are not expensive usually costing only a couple hundred baht, depending on the bar and the season (below)

Hotel By Hotel
As with the prices differences between bars, hotel short-time room prices will also vary. The only difference being that, unlike bars, high end hotels will rarely have short-time rooms available. When taking bar fined staff from a bar to a short-time hotel, more often that not, the short-time room will have minimum facilities. The cost of a minimum facility short-time room is usually around 400 baht for 30 mins.

Location, Location
When bar taking bar fined staff to a short-time room, another factor that comes into consideration is location of the short-time room itself. The price of a short-time room in a very busy nightlife area are able to charge more than short-time hotels with less demand. Hotels in very busy nightlife areas can charge more without worrying of scaring off customers. In fact, it is not uncommon when taking bar staff to short-time hotels in busy nightlife areas to find a queue of customers waiting for a room to become free. In some of the hotels, once the current room holders finish up and leave, a small team of cleaners will quickly rush into the room, clean the sheets and wipe off the surfaces. It's not uncommon for the price of short-time rooms in busy nightlife areas to be as much as 600 baht.

Toy Box Short-time Rooms
Short-time Bar on Soi 6, Pattaya

Season By Season
Continuing this line of thought, Short-time room prices vary depending on the season. During high season when there are more tourists and more demand, bars and hotels will more often than not, put the prices up short-time rooms.

Happy Hours and Discounts
For a bit of fun and to encourage more bar fines, some bars offer happy hour discounts and promotions from time to time. Also, When taking more than one member of staff, sometimes, bars will do promotions where they reduce the short-time room prices or completely remove them.

Closing Time
A little known tip known by many expats who live and work around the popular sex-tourism cities around the world is to wait until the bar closes and the bar staff are getting ready to go home. If you are still in the bar at closing time, if you are looking reluctant or unsure whether to bar fine the bar staff sitting on your lap or next to you,  Bar managers and mamasans may offer "flash discounts", offering discounted prices on short-time rooms and bar fines to encourage you to go short-time or long-time with your chosen bar staff rather than going home alone.

For information on alternatives to short-time rooms, please check out our Alternatives to Short-Time Rooms blog.

Wrap Up
Short-time rooms have been part of the sex-tourism culture for decades and will probably continue to be so for many decades to come. Some bars will have higher or lower short-time room prices than others and some bars may not have any short-time rooms at all. Make sure to keep in mind when taking bar staff from bars for short-times, that you will also need to pay for the short-time room fee as well as the short-time.