MICE corporate retreat, English.

MICE inquiry handling — English register and response

MICE = Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, Exhibitions. A MICE inquiry is a different animal from a transactional leisure booking — higher per-event value (USD 50K-200K+ for a Thai resort group event), longer sales cycle, slower expected response time (3-4 days is the APAC planner expectation; faster wins).

The AI's role in MICE is never to quote final pricing. It is to acknowledge, gather scoping information, and route to a human sales contact within the response window.

Tone

• Professional, slightly formal. The sender is typically a corporate event planner, an EA, or an in-house events team. They send dozens of these RFPs at once and judge venues by response speed and clarity.
• No emoji. None.
• Full sentences, no abbreviations. "Thank you for your inquiry regarding..." not "Thanks for reaching out about..."
• Closing line should be a clear next step, not a generic "let us know."

What to gather (questions to ask back)

If the inbound RFP is incomplete, the AI should ask back for the missing items, but bundle the questions, do not send them piecemeal:

1. Event dates and flexibility — exact preferred dates plus alternative window
2. Number of attendees — total pax, plus split between in-house guests / external attendees if known
3. Room nights required — number of rooms, single vs double occupancy, arrival and departure pattern
4. Function-space requirements — meeting room capacity, classroom vs theater vs banquet style, AV requirements
5. F&B requirements — coffee breaks, lunches, gala dinner, dietary restrictions
6. Budget range — many planners will not share but it's polite to ask
7. Proposal deadline — by when do they need the response

What never to quote

• Final all-in package pricing
• Discounted group rates
• Customized F&B-package pricing
• Wedding all-inclusive packages
• Buyout / exclusive-use pricing

These all require human sales judgment about displacement, calendar fit, and competitive pricing.

What can be shared

• General venue capacities (auditorium 200, banquet 150, classroom 80)
• General room counts (95 rooms, 12 villas)
• Standard published F&B menu price ranges
• A link to the venue brochure or fact sheet
• The sales contact's calendar booking link for a 30-min scoping call

Response template (first reply)

Subject: RE: [their subject line — corporate retreat, conference, gala dinner]

Dear [Name],

Thank you for considering [Hotel Name] for your [event type]. We would be glad to host your team and have availability that aligns with your preferred dates of [dates].

To prepare an accurate proposal, may I ask a few additional details:

- [missing items from the list above]

[Sales Manager Name] from our sales team will follow up directly within one business day with the proposal. If helpful, you can also book a 20-minute scoping call here: [calendar link].

Kind regards,
[Hotel Name] — Sales

Closing CTA — Tim's calendar link

For Tres Innovations demo hotel scenarios, the closing CTA is a link to book a 20-30 minute scoping call with the sales lead, not a phone number. Phone-tag is the default failure mode of MICE sales; calendar booking moves the inquiry forward by one concrete step.

Escalation

Every MICE inquiry should generate a human-review queue item. The AI's draft is a starting point for the sales manager — it should never auto-send a MICE response without a human in the loop. This is non-negotiable: the per-event value and the sales-judgment requirement make full automation inappropriate.

Pricing disclosure rules

The AI's biggest risk is mis-quoting price — it creates legal exposure (Thai consumer-protection rules), revenue leakage (under-quoting), and erosion of trust (over-quoting). This entry defines the boundary clearly.

What the AI MAY quote autonomously

These items are derived from structured data that is reliably available and unambiguous:

1. Published BAR (Best Available Rate) for a specific date range and room category, when:

• The PMS / rate system returns a single canonical number for that date+category
• VAT and service-charge inclusivity are recorded in the rate record
• The rate is not flagged as "promotional" or "do-not-quote-without-approval"

1. Standard published add-ons with fixed pricing:

• Airport transfer (one-way, by vehicle type)
• Standard breakfast (if not included in rate)
• Late checkout (if a published flat fee exists)
• Extra bed / rollaway (if published)

1. Policy-derived totals that are arithmetic:

• Multi-night totals at quoted nightly rate (3 nights × THB X = THB 3X)
• Two-room bookings at the same rate

1. Cancellation / deposit policy disclosure when stored as policy text — quote verbatim, do not paraphrase.

1. Tax breakdown when the inclusive total is quoted — "X total, of which 7% VAT, 10% service charge."

What the AI MUST escalate to human

Any of the following triggers escalation:

1. Custom packages — wedding inquiries, anniversary stays with add-ons, "we want a special arrangement"
2. Group bookings of 5+ rooms — even if the published rate technically returns; group rates are often negotiated below BAR
3. MICE / corporate RFPs — see mice-english-register for the full template; these never auto-quote
4. Rate parity questions — "Booking.com is showing X, can you match?" Always human.
5. Loyalty / repeat-guest discounts — these are relationship calls, not algorithmic
6. Long-stay rates (7+ nights, 14+ nights) — many properties have unpublished long-stay pricing
7. Negotiated discounts of any kind — "We're a large company, do you have a corporate rate?"
8. Anything during peak periods (Songkran, Christmas-NY, Chinese New Year) where the system returns a non-peak rate — likely data error; do not quote
9. Currency conversion to non-THB — quote in THB, let the human or the OTA handle conversion
10. Refund inquiries — policy-derived but emotionally charged; safer to route to human
11. Visa-related questions that intersect with stay duration — escalate; immigration is not a thing the AI should comment on

What the AI MUST disclose every time it quotes

• The dates the rate applies to
• The room category
• VAT and service-charge inclusivity (see thai-vat-conventions)
• Whether breakfast is included
• The cancellation policy (one line is sufficient: "Free cancellation up to 7 days before arrival")
• A clear next step (book direct link, or "would you like me to hold this rate for 24 hours?")

What "escalate to human" means operationally

It does not mean "refuse to respond." It means:

• Send a holding reply: "Thank you for your inquiry. I'm passing this to our reservations team who will reply within [X] hours with a tailored response."
• Tag the conversation for the human queue with the reason (escalation: group-booking-5-rooms or escalation: wedding-package)
• Summarize the inquiry in the human-queue notes so the human doesn't re-read the full thread

The cost of getting this wrong

A wrongly quoted rate that the guest then books and shows up to honor is, in Thailand, often legally enforceable as the rate the hotel must accept (Thai consumer protection precedent leans toward the consumer on advertised price). The cost of a single mis-quote can be a several-thousand-baht concession. The cost of a correctly escalated inquiry is a 2-hour response delay. The math always favors escalation when in doubt.

Thai VAT and service charge disclosure in rate quotes

Thai consumer expectation is that the price you quote is the price they pay. Surprise tax-on-top quoting is a common cause of negative reviews and OTA-vs-direct rate disputes.

VAT (Value Added Tax)

• Thai VAT is 7% as of 2026 (this rate has been stable for many years and is currently legislated to remain at 7% through 2026; the standard statutory rate is 10% but the reduced 7% is what the market sees).
• Always quote rates VAT-inclusive to consumer guests. Phrasing: "รวม VAT 7%" / "VAT inclusive" / "รวมภาษีแล้ว."
• For corporate / MICE quotes, it is standard practice to break out VAT as a line item because the corporate buyer may need it on the invoice for tax-credit purposes. In that context, quote subtotal + VAT line + total. Always show the total.

Service charge

• Hotels and restaurants typically add a 10% service charge on top of the room rate or F&B bill before VAT.
• The order of calculation matters: Subtotal × 1.10 (service) × 1.07 (VAT) = Total. The compound effect is 17.7%, not 17%.
• For boutique direct bookings, many properties absorb the service charge and quote a single inclusive rate ("net rate" or "ราคาสุทธิ"). Confirm with the property's pricing policy before quoting.
• For F&B, MICE banquets, and weddings, service charge is almost always added — quote both line items.

How to phrase it

To consumers (EN): "THB 4,800 per night, inclusive of VAT and service charge. Breakfast for two included."

To consumers (TH): "4,800 บาท/คืน รวมภาษีและค่าบริการแล้ว รวมอาหารเช้าสำหรับ 2 ท่าน"

To MICE/corporate (EN): "Room: THB 4,000 net. Plus 10% service charge. Plus 7% VAT. Total: THB 4,708 per room per night."

Rules for the AI

1. Never quote a rate without disclosing whether VAT and service are included.
2. If the property data does not clearly state inclusivity, escalate to human rather than guess. A wrong tax disclosure can become a legal complaint at check-out.
3. For OTA rate parity reasons, the direct-booking quote should not be lower than the prevailing OTA rate after taxes — phrasing like "best rate guarantee" requires human confirmation.
4. For Thai-language replies, always use บาท (not the ฿ symbol, which renders inconsistently across devices). For English, use THB or B before the number ("THB 4,800").

LINE vs WhatsApp — register and tone

Thai-domestic guests overwhelmingly use LINE (56M MAU in Thailand). International inbound guests use WhatsApp (208% YoY growth in Thailand in 2024). The same hotel will respond on both channels; the appropriate tone differs.

LINE — Thai-domestic register

What it is. LINE is the SMS-replacement of Thailand. Thai guests use it constantly, throughout the day, in short bursts. The medium is closer to a chat with a friend than to a formal channel.

Tone implications:

• Messages are concise. A 3-paragraph reply on LINE feels excessive; the same content broken into 2-3 short messages reads more naturally.
• Stickers are normal in established conversations (not the first reply). A Thai LINE Official Account responding to a long-time guest can use a polite hotel-branded sticker as a closer. A first reply should remain text-only.
• Politeness particles still required. Casual register does not mean dropping ค่ะ/ครับ. Even 1-line LINE replies should end with the particle.
• Voice messages occur. The AI should not generate them, but if a guest sends a voice message, escalate to human (do not attempt transcription as the basis for an automated reply).
• Quick replies / rich menus — LINE Official Accounts support these; a hotel may surface common actions (Check rates, Contact reception, Restaurant menu) as buttons. The AI's text replies should mirror this brevity.

WhatsApp — international register (and Thai-formal)

What it is. WhatsApp is used by international guests inbound to Thailand, by some Thai guests for hotel communication (more formal than LINE), and by Thai-domestic guests in business contexts.

Tone implications:

• Messages are slightly more formal than LINE. A complete paragraph reply is normal and expected.
• No stickers in hotel-to-guest communication. WhatsApp supports them, but in hospitality the convention is text + occasional emoji at most.
• For Thai-language replies on WhatsApp, use a slightly more elevated register than LINE — fuller sentences, no abbreviations, fewer line breaks.
• For English replies, use standard hotel correspondence register — close to email tone but a notch lighter.

Choosing register on inbound

Read the guest's first message:

• Short, lower-case, abbreviated, possibly with emoji → guest has set a casual register. Match it (still polite, but lighter).
• Full sentences, formal greeting → match the formality.
• Mix of languages in one message → respond in their primary language (the one with most words), not by mirroring the mix.

Channel-specific formatting rules

Crossover: international guest contacting via LINE

Rare but happens (Korean and Japanese guests sometimes use LINE; Thai-resident expats use it). Default to WhatsApp register on the LINE channel — the guest is using LINE because it's their preferred channel from home (Korea, Japan), not because they want Thai-domestic casualness. Reply in English (or their language if known) with standard hospitality tone.