A FIERCE struggle for guests has resorts in Phuket and the Andaman offering huge discounts as ''voucher websites'' make an enticing bid for a slice of the highly-valued Australian market.

With late bookings online now the norm and Songkran's passing marking the start of the so-called low season for Greater Phuket, it's Game On for resorts . . . especially those in need of a quick boost to numbers.

Patong resorts are most comfortable about always being relatively certain of gaining their share of the Phuket visitor market. But the game is constantly changing, and not all Patong resorts are equally popular.

With Japanese visitors to Phuket and Thailand falling by the wayside and the Australian dollar now soaring to a value of 105 US cents, Phuket resorts more than ever have their eyes on Aussies.

Deals are being done left, right and centre. Most resort managements concede that what's important is to keep the cash flowing, so for nearly all of them, filling the beds is more important than maintaining a year-round rack price.

Australia's largest media outlet, news.com.au, reports that Australian travellers are snapping up deals in sought-after destinations such as Thailand and Australia's Whitsunday islands for as little as a quarter of their usual price.

''The massive discounts are due to the expansion of voucher websites to include travel deals,'' says the article.

''Since launching in Australia last year selling such products as discounted vouchers to local restaurants and beauty treatments, sites such as OurDeal and Cudo have recently begun offering domestic and international holiday packages.''

It's explained that the offers, which usually must be used within a year, are emailed to subscribers each day and become valid once a certain number of people buy them.

OurDeal CEO Julian Holeman explained that the deals only become active when it reaches a ''tipping point'' of buyers.

"A restaurant deal might be 20 people but a big resort might be only five people,'' he said. "If I find a good deal I can send it to my friend and we can both buy it and do it together.''

Earlier this year, says news.com.au, Cudo offered a package staying at Outrigger Koh Samui Resort and Spa in Thailand and sold more than 2000 packages - or around $1.6 million in accommodation - in less than two days.

The voucher system, though, does leave it to the buyer to make sure the deal is legitimate.

Most Greater Phuket resorts would be delighted to have accommodation prices return to the levels of April last year, before the Bangkok political street rallies drove prices south.

While this low season - April to December - is shaping as better than 2010, the bookings rationale is constantly changing. Voucher websites pose a fresh challenge to how the game is played.

For those looking at good value, here's a selection of Phuket and Andaman discounts available when we looked on Agoda today:

The Old Phuket, 60 percent off; Merlin Beach, 57 percent off for five nights or more; The Lantern patong, 65 percent off for three nights or more; Patong Merlin, 60 percent off for five nights or more; Piraya resort and Spa, Mai Khao, 70 percent off; South Sea karon Phuket, 55 percent off for three nights or more; CC Bloom's Hotel, Patak Road, 55 percent; Kata Beach Centre Hotel, 53 percent; the Andamania Beach Resort, 55 percent; Khao Lak Merlin Beach, 73 percent off for two nights or more.

Usually Malaysians, Singaporeans, Chinese and visitors from the Middle East are prominent mid-year but Aussies, because of the strength of the $A, have now become a year-round favorite.