Hotels fully booked ahead of long weekend<\/p>\n
Sri Wahyuni, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta<\/p>\n
A week before the long weekend of May 15 to May 18, most
\nhotels in Yogyakarta are fully booked although many of them,
\nespecially the unrated ones, are not offering special packages.<\/p>\n
Like Bali, Yogyakarta is a major tourist destination in
\nIndonesia.<\/p>\n
The Yogyakarta Hyatt Regency Hotel, a five-star hotel with 269
\nrooms on the northern outskirts of Yogyakarta stopped taking
\nreservations for May 15 and May 16 two weeks ago.<\/p>\n
\"For May 17 and 18, only 10 percent of the rooms are
\navailable,\" the hotel's public relations manager Wishnu Handoyo
\ntold The Jakarta Post on Thursday.<\/p>\n
The same goes for the Plaza Hotel, a four-star hotel on Jl.
\nColombo, which has also been rejecting reservations as all its
\n129 rooms have been booked.<\/p>\n
Even an unrated hotel like the Shafira on Jl. Suprapto, which
\nhas only 29 rooms and rates from Rp 60,000 to Rp 120,000 per
\nnight, has been fully booked since two weeks ago.<\/p>\n
\"I'm sorry, we have no vacancies from May 14 to May 18,\"
\nWiharyoko, a receptionist from the hotel, told a customer on the
\nphone.<\/p>\n
The government has decided to move the Prophet Muhammad's
\nbirthday from its original date on May 14, so it would be next to
\nthe Buddhist Enlightment Day to allow for a four-day weekend next
\nweek.<\/p>\n
It will be the second of eight holidays this year the
\ngovernment has decided to adjust in a bid to boost tourism, which
\nhas been in a slump since the terror attacks in Bali in October
\nlast year.<\/p>\n
The first practice of the holiday shifting this year took
\nplace in March when the celebration of the Islamic New Year was
\nmoved forward from Tuesday, March 4 to Monday, March 3.<\/p>\n
The government said that so far the policy had managed to
\nincrease people's awareness to visit tourist attractions across
\nthe country.<\/p>\n
Speaking to the Post, Risnasari of the Plaza Hotel said that
\nher hotel had also referred callers to other hotels, but most of
\nthe others were full too.<\/p>\n
\"I think it has become a trend here,\" she said.<\/p>\n
The hotel has offered a 30 percent discount from its normal
\nrate of Rp 420,000 per night for its deluxe rooms to attract more
\nvisitors for the long weekend.<\/p>\n
It also is offering a 50 percent discount from 5 p.m. to 7
\np.m. at Pierre's Bar, a 20 percent discount for food and
\nbeverage, and free-of-charge for all the facilities at its Kirana
\nHealth Club.<\/p>\n
Similarly, the Hyatt is also offering a similar special long
\nweekend package of Rp 439,000++ per night, compared to the normal
\nrate of Rp 599,000++. The hotel also has scrapped a Rp 72,000
\nsurcharge, added a free shuttle bus trip from the hotel to the
\npopular shopping areas on Jl. Malioboro and a free 20-minute ride
\non andong traditional horse carts.<\/p>\n
Wishnu hailed the government policy, as he deduced that it
\nwould contribute significantly to hotels' efforts to increase
\ntheir occupancy rates.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/hotels-fully-booked-ahead-of-long-weekend-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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