Where can we find the list of Myanmar hotels that are on the US blacklist?

There is no list of hotels on a "US blacklist." ONly particular people, are on a "blacklist" including Tay Za.

There are actually very few government owned hotels left in Burma, only a few cheap guesthouses mostly used by locals. However, Tay Za and others close to the government do own many hotels. Avoid anything named "Aureum" or "Treasure" for this reason. The Lonely Planet Guide does pretty good research in this area, and they note places to avoid.

Your travel agent in Burma can also help you choose hotels.

Thanks, Kathie.

HI--thanks for the reply Kathie. Some hotels are indeed included on the US Treasury blacklist: AUREUEM PALACE HOTELS (BAGAN, NGAPALI, NGWE SAUNG), HOTEL CHAUNG THA BEACH RESORT (Hlaing Township), HOTEL MAX (Hlaing Township), ROYAL KUMUDRA HOTEL, MYANMAR TREASURE BEACH RESORT (Bahan). This is not a complete list--have to dig into the descriptions of the 98 Burma results: http://sdnsearchtest.ofac.treas.gov/ Air Bagan and Yangon Airways are also included in the US Treasury blacklist.

We have been requesting proposals from a few travel agencies in Myanmar. The above list of hotels that I was asking for opinions on are hotels that two of the agencies recommended as not having strong ties to the government.

Thanks for the info. Previously, only persons, not hotels were on the list.

They are not government-owned, but these are hotels owned by businessmen with close ties to the Junta, like Tay Za. As I mentioned above, avoid hotels that are named named "Aureum" or "Treasure." Bagan Air is also owned by Tay Za. I don't know what travel agencies you have corresponded with, but you may need to tell them you don't want hotels owned by Tay Za.

I don't know all of the hotels that you listed, but I did research Tharbar Gate and the ownership was ok at least in 2009. I also understand that Bagan Thande is ok. I can't help you with the others.

Thanks again Kathie. I ran across this website which may be helpful to others: http://www.tourismtransparency.org/

That is a good website, Contessa. I was saddened to see the photo of the KFC in Yangon. Things are changing rapidly.

If you are willing to pay a bit more for your hotels, the Inle Lake View is owned by a woman who is doing a wonderful job of investing in the community. We loved the hotel and very much enjoyed our conversations and correspondence with her. The Inle Princess is owned by a man who ran on the NLD ticket when ASSK first ran, so was imprisoned for years. When he got out he decided to devote his energies to economic development for his people. I like the idea of not only avoiding Tay Za's hotels, but actively choosing hotels whose owners invest in the community.

The difficulty in Myanmar is that most hotels that have websites or that work with travel agents (there's a reason you're finding the travel agencies have certain hotels they tend to recommend--those hotels pay them) also have ties to the government. If you want to stay in hotels that are truly independent of the government, you'll have to walk around and find them once you get there. I'm sure there are exceptions, but I didn't really see any when I was there (in 2011).

Hm... the way that travel agents are paid worldwide is via commission from hotels and airlines. In Burma, agents have contracts with hotels (for lower rates than what are offered elsewhere) and the hotel pays a commission to the agent. ALL hotels and guesthouses must pay tax to the government - whether you book through a travel agent or walk in off the street. No way to find a guesthouse that doesn't pay the tax it collects from you to the government.

Having a website or having contracts with travel agents is in no way an indicator of ownership ties to the government.