Hotel goes with the flow after flood woes<\/p>\n
Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
It was just past midnight on Saturday, Feb. 2, and most guests
\nat The Regent in Kuningan, South Jakarta, had settled down for
\nthe night, wary of going out on the town after a week of heavy
\nrain and with yet another downpour outside their windows.<\/p>\n
It was a prudent decision, for this was the big one.<\/p>\n
Incessant rain sparked massive flooding throughout the city,
\ndevastating many areas indiscriminately. And the five-star hotel,
\nlocated next to the Manggarai flood gate, was no exception.<\/p>\n
In the early morning hours, some 60,000 cubic meters of water
\nflooded the basement, and peaked at the first landing of the
\nRegent Ballroom staircase just below the lobby.<\/p>\n
Six elevators were affected, 13 vehicles plus 10 motorbikes
\nwere submerged, and so were the kitchen and storeroom, the health
\nclub and guest lockers, offices, laundry department, hair salon
\nand clinic.<\/p>\n
As many as 263 guests were then evacuated, and some 252 of
\nthem were assisted to find alternative accommodation or
\ntransportation to the airport, with photos of guests being
\ntransported in laundry crates splashed across newspapers.
\nThankfully, nobody was hurt.<\/p>\n
Now, fast forward to today, four months afterwards.<\/p>\n
There is no sign from outside the hotel of the devastation
\ncaused by the flood.<\/p>\n
Entering the lobby, however, a brown plastic sheet covers part
\nof the floor where a carpet used to be, a few steps from the
\nrevolving glass doors.<\/p>\n
Apart from that, everything looked the same as it used to,
\nexcept there were no guests. The black grand piano right after
\nthe staircase in the middle of the lobby stood still and quiet.<\/p>\n
\"But as you can hear, we put some music on so that it feels
\nmore lively,\" said the hotel's general manager Fazal Samad
\nrecently.<\/p>\n
The hotel is still closed, due to the extension of the clean-
\nup process.<\/p>\n
The hotel was to be reopened on May 16, but the plan was
\npostponed until early August.<\/p>\n
\"There are other things that we thought may take a month or
\ntwo that apparently take longer than that,\" Samad said.<\/p>\n
The major problem was electricity, as there are about 100
\nelectricity panels in the hotel and all of them were submerged.
\nThree power generators were also damaged.<\/p>\n
\"When we tried to reopen in May, there was a blackout. So, we
\ndecided to postpone it. We could still open, but we can't take
\nany risks,\" said Samad.<\/p>\n
Besides electricity, other things are also getting in order,
\nas there are a lot of things such as carpets, which are custom
\nmade.<\/p>\n
\"The crystal lamps must be removed. Every single pipe must be
\ncleaned. Everything must be removed, cleaned and decontaminated
\nusing chemicals. That takes time too,\" Samad said, as we took a
\ntrip downstairs from the lobby to see the ballroom.<\/p>\n
The area, which used to be so grand, was unpainted and a bit
\ndark. It was badly damaged when mud covered the whole area.<\/p>\n
According to Samad, the reopening will not include the area
\nbelow the lobby as it will still take a few months to complete
\nthe cleanup.<\/p>\n
\"The laundry, for example, will not be opened yet. We will
\nsend out laundry to other companies to do it.<\/p>\n
\"Right now, we're probably about 60 percent through. In July,
\nhowever, we will open main outlets on a trial basis, like
\nrestaurants.\"<\/p>\n
The repairs, he added, were costly, and more than initially
\nestimated.<\/p>\n
\"I had an idea of what it would be, but it's very difficult to
\nmention any figures because the hotel owners and the insurance
\ncompany are negotiating the final settlement. It's a very
\ncomplicated matter because it was not a simple accident, but
\nquite significant,\" Samad said.<\/p>\n
\"I wouldn't say that there's a problem with the claim. But
\nsince the damage was so extensive, it involves a lot of
\ndocuments, negotiations and the like.\"<\/p>\n
Samad said that he did not the find public relations task of
\ndealing with the closure and the evocative pictures of guests
\nbeing shipped out of the hotel too difficult.<\/p>\n
\"Because no matter what has happened, I always tell people the
\ntruth. Whatever progress is made, we always publish it.\"<\/p>\n
It is also funny and touching, Samad said, that former guests
\npopped in once in a while to say hello. Some of them even still
\ncall to ask for help, such as in booking flights.<\/p>\n
But the most amazing thing about the accident has been the
\nstaff.<\/p>\n
\"They're hanging in there, every one of them has stayed ... no
\none walked out to look for other jobs,\" he added.<\/p>\n
During the ongoing repairs, all of the employees -- some 725
\nof them, from gardeners to reception staff to management -- have
\nbeen working normal working hours.<\/p>\n
They work eight hours a day, five days a week and receive full
\nsalary.<\/p>\n
In June, however, they switched to four days on and three days
\noff until operations return to normal.<\/p>\n
While working, instead of wearing their usual uniforms, they
\nwear T-shirts (different colors for different departments), jeans
\nand sneakers.<\/p>\n
\"Approximately 60 of them have been transferred to sister
\nhotels of our group (Four Seasons) all over the world, like
\nDublin, London, Singapore, Bangkok and Sydney,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Those who remain are given a lot of activities, such as in-
\nhouse training, general English tests and sports activities.<\/p>\n
Despite the terrible material damage, training manager Imelda
\nPardede said that the incident was a blessing in disguise as
\ntraining could be done without interruption.<\/p>\n
\"But most of all, it shows that we are really one, the
\nmanagement does care about us. There are many cases where hotels
\nhave faced trouble and they have had to lay off the employees.
\nBut not ours,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Dian, a waitress, said she was content that there were no
\nlayoffs and that she still received a full salary. But she could
\nnot wait for the hotel to reopen.<\/p>\n
\"Well, I must admit that initially it did feel good as there
\nwere not many things to do. But, later on, it got boring. It's so
\nquiet here now ... I miss meeting our guests. I really miss
\nworking.\"<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/hotel-goes-with-the-flow-after-flood-woes-1447893297",
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