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Notes -
I'm a bit confused by this post; you open by stating that
but your evidence just appears to be that mid range hotels are better than low cost hotels, and national carriers are better than low cost carriers.
You do realise that Thailand also has low-cost airlines that nickel and dime you for everything and provide a very basic service? And high income countries all have airlines providing similar service to Thai airlines at similar prices?
It's the same with hotels. Your $20 a night hotel in Thailand is mid range but you can easily find much more basic hotels with similar service to the low end hotels you use in the US. The US is just a more expensive country, and prices reflect that.
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