Key points
- Send this the day before check-in. Adjust every line to your own building.
- The juristic office is the host's most important relationship in the building.
- Tokay is an AI front desk for short-term rental hosts. com and Vrbo from the facts you gave it, in the guest's own language, at any hour.
On this page
Most short-term rentals in Bangkok, Pattaya, Phuket and Chiang Mai are units inside condominium buildings. Each building has a juristic office (the management), a set of rules, a guard at the gate and neighbours who live there full time. A guest who does not know the rules will break one by accident in the first hour, and the complaint lands with the juristic office, then with you.
One sentence before the practical part: the legal position on short stays varies by building and province, so check your own building's regulations with the juristic office and, where needed, a lawyer. This page is not legal advice. It is about the everyday rules every condo guest needs to hear before they walk in.
The rules guests actually run into
Key cards. Nearly every Thai condo uses a key card for the lobby door, the lift and the facilities. Without it the guest cannot get in, choose a floor or reach the pool. Tell them where the card is, how many there are, and that losing one usually means a replacement fee from the juristic office.
Lift access by floor. In many buildings the key card only unlocks the guest's own floor and the common floors. Guests who expect to visit a friend on another floor cannot. Say so.
Visitor registration. Guards often ask visitors to leave an ID at the gate and sign a book. Some buildings do not allow visitors after a certain hour. Describe your building's practice before the guest invites someone over.
Pool and gym hours. Pools in Thai condos commonly close in the evening, and gyms have their own hours. Rules on swimwear, food and glass by the pool are enforced more than guests expect.
Quiet hours. Neighbours are mostly long-term residents. Noise in the corridor, on the balcony or from a speaker after 10 PM is the fastest way to a complaint.
Rubbish. Each floor usually has a rubbish room or chute. Bags left outside the unit door are a common complaint. Tell guests where the room is.
Smoking. Most buildings ban smoking in units and on balconies. Guests from countries where balcony smoking is normal do not expect this.
Parking. Guest parking is usually limited and needs registration. Say so before anyone drives in.
Maximum occupancy. Buildings notice when six people go in and out of a one bedroom unit. Say the limit in the listing.
The pre-arrival message
Send this the day before check-in. Adjust every line to your own building. It is long on purpose; a guest who skims it still catches the bold parts.
Hi Tom, here is everything you need for tomorrow.
Building: the Sukhumvit 24 tower (full address in English and Thai in the next message).
Key card: two cards are in the lockbox by the door, code sent on arrival day. The card opens the lobby, the lift (tap it, then press your floor) and the pool gate. Please keep one with you whenever you go out. A lost card costs a replacement fee from the building.
Visitors: the building asks visitors to register at the guard house with ID. Visitors are not allowed to stay overnight. If a friend is joining you, let me know in advance.
Pool and gym: open 7 AM to 9 PM. Swimwear only in the pool, no glass or food on the deck.
Quiet hours: from 10 PM please keep noise down on the balcony and in the corridor. The neighbours live here year round.
Rubbish: the rubbish room is at the end of the corridor, next to the fire exit. Please do not leave bags outside the door.
Smoking: not allowed in the unit or on the balcony.
Parking: one space is available on request, please send me the car's plate number so the guard can register it.
Message me with any question, any time.
Replies for the moments that come up anyway
Thanks for asking first. The building does not allow overnight visitors who are not on the booking. If your friend would like to stay, I can check whether I can add them to the reservation, and the building will need their ID at the gate.
Hi Mei, the building management has mentioned noise from the balcony after 11 PM. I know it is a holiday, but the neighbours are residents and the building is strict about this. Could you please keep it to the living room with the door closed from 10 PM? Thank you for understanding.
Why this matters more than it looks
The juristic office is the host's most important relationship in the building. A guest who leaves rubbish in the corridor or plays music on the balcony is the reason some buildings turn against short stays altogether. Hosts who brief guests properly have fewer complaints and keep the neighbours on side.
Sending the message is easy. The hard part is the follow-up questions at 11 PM: "where is the rubbish room again?", "can my cousin come up?", "the card does not work on the pool gate". The same questions, every booking, in Korean, Chinese, German or Russian.
What an AI front desk changes
Tokay is an AI front desk for short-term rental hosts. It answers guests on Airbnb, Booking.com and Vrbo from the facts you gave it, in the guest's own language, at any hour. It was built in Bangkok by a host who runs condo units and has written the message above more times than he would like to count.
The piece that fits condo hosting is the three-level knowledge: general, building and apartment. The building rules (key card, pool hours, visitors, rubbish room, quiet hours) are written once for the Sukhumvit 24 tower and apply to every unit you have in it. Unit facts (which lockbox, which floor, the aircon remote) sit at the apartment level. Change the pool hours once and every guest in that building gets the new answer.
The host stays in charge. For the first two weeks every reply comes to you to approve, edit or deny. Then you switch on what it may send alone, one kind of question at a time. Anything upset, unusual or uncertain comes to you first, and if a fact is not on file Tokay asks rather than guessing. On our own apartments this meant every guest answered 24/7 and about two taps a day left for the host.
Questions hosts ask
What should I tell guests about a Thai condo before they arrive?
Where the key card is and what it opens, visitor rules, pool and gym hours, quiet hours, where the rubbish room is, the smoking rule and parking. Send it the day before arrival in one message with bold headings.
Can I legally host short-term guests in my condo in Thailand?
It depends on the building's regulations, the province and the length of stay. Check with your juristic office and, if in doubt, a lawyer. Whatever your position, briefing guests on the building rules keeps you on good terms with management.
How do I handle a noise complaint from the juristic office?
Reply to the office quickly and politely, message the guest at once with a specific, friendly request, and follow up the next day. See noise complaints for the full approach.