The Yard Hostel Amid the COVID-19 Outbreak

Authors

  • Charoenchai Agmapisarn Graduate School of Tourism Management (GSTM)National Institute of Development Administration

Keywords:

Hotel, Sufficiency Economy, Hotel, Sufficiency Economy, COVID-19, Pandemic, Pandemic, Resilience

Abstract

In the middle of the coronavirus pandemic, The Yard Hostel, a 600-square-meter area of land in the Ari neighborhood in Thailand, faces the challenge of an ongoing economic crisis because of a dramatic drop in the number of customers due to travel restrictions and border closures. The Yard was founded by two former female engineers, Ms. Amornrat Amornsirichairat (Som Yai) and Ms. Atiporn Sancharoen (Som Lek), based on the philosophy of the sufficiency economy. “Resilience” is one of the key principles essential to guiding the proprietors’ decision-making when The Yard is confronted with a complex problem, in this case economic uncertainty due to the coronavirus pandemic. Given the lack of foreign customers that have been a major source of income, The Yard has opened another business line—The Yard Grocery. With the spread of this infectious disease, causing economic hardship, the concepts of the sufficiency economy, in particular “resilience,” allow The Yard’s owners to make rational decisions in order to cope with many tough problems amid the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Author Biography

Charoenchai Agmapisarn, Graduate School of Tourism Management (GSTM)National Institute of Development Administration

Assistant Prof. Dr. Agmapisarn completed his degrees through the School of Development Economics at National Institute of Development Administration (NIDA) followed by Department of Applied Economics; Department of Economics at University of Minnesota at Twin Cities; and Department of Career Science at Kasetsart University in Tourism (with a second-class honors). In 2009 his Ph.D. paper was awarded the best graduate-level paper from Bank of Thailand. He also obtained a post graduate certificate in International Hospitality Operations (with Distinction) from the Les Roches International School of Hotel Management, Bluche, Switzerland under a NIDA scholarship. He has 16 years experience lecturing in microeconomics, labor economics, and tourism economics.

Since December 2014, he has served as a consultant and provided practical on-site trainings at various companies in Thailand, such as EAT ME: one of Asia’s 50 best restaurants, Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI), and Thai Airways International (THAI). His focus includes areas such as service leadership, consistency in service excellency, service entrepreneurship, and personality development for work competencies and performances.

 

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Published

2023-11-15

How to Cite

Agmapisarn, C. (2023). The Yard Hostel Amid the COVID-19 Outbreak. NIDA Case Research Journal, 13(1), 67–85. Retrieved from https://so04.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/NCRJ/article/view/247133