Considering that he is coming out of the trenches, flak is the perfect word.
The offers from the hotels seem reasonable to me. I do think that the insurance is wasted money because I assume we all have our own insurances and don't need anything extra.
Most of us seem to be waiting for some positive feedback from people who are or will be in Thailand. The problem is that it's a difficult time of year. Am I going to wait until December to decide if Thailand is a go or not? I opted to book one of the other 195 countries. it will be far easier to make a last-minute decision for a trip in April.