MPR session brings mixed luck to hotels<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Annual
\nSession, which is slated for Aug. 7 through Aug. 18, will bring
\nmixed luck to hotel operators in the capital.<\/p>\n
Interviewed separately, hotel operators gave varied answers
\nand expectations over their hotels' occupancy rate during the 12-
\nday session.<\/p>\n
The Assembly secretariat has set aside nearly half of the
\nsession's budget for members' accommodation, Rp 10.6 billion
\n(US$1.17 million), about 42 percent of the total Rp 25.7 billion
\nbudget.<\/p>\n
Two hotels near the MPR compound -- Jakarta Hilton
\nInternational Hotel and Mulia Senayan Hotel -- have been booked
\nto accommodate 695 Assembly members.<\/p>\n
Lugiman, a concierge at Hilton Hotel said his hotel was almost
\nfully booked, with 90 percent of its 600 rooms booked for
\nAssembly members who will come from all over the country.<\/p>\n
\"So far, 60 percent of them have checked in at our hotel. We
\nexpect more to check in over the next few days,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"It's a sharp increase compared to our usual occupancy rates
\nfor June and July, which reach about 35 percent,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He said that the hotel was also accommodating another large
\ngroup of participants, of the Asia Pacific Consultative Finance
\nMeeting, organized by Economic and Social Commission for Asia and
\nthe Pacific.<\/p>\n
\"The conference is ongoing,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"We'll also host the Asian Parliament Union meeting in
\nSeptember. It must be our harvest time.\"<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Mulia Hotel was still busy recording its guests.<\/p>\n
\"I'm sorry sir, I can't give the number of our visitors nor
\nour occupancy rate now, because we are still working on our
\nrecords,\" a female staffer said.<\/p>\n
Other hotels, however, are not enjoying the boom, stating
\nvarious occupancy rates.<\/p>\n
Kempinski Hotel's public relations director, Uraini Umarjadi,
\nsaid her hotel's occupancy rate was slightly lower due to the
\nsession.<\/p>\n
\"The average occupancy rate in town was above 40 percent for
\nthe past few months. But I think it will drop to 30 to 35 percent
\nduring the MPR session,\" she said.<\/p>\n
\"There are fewer reservations during the annual session. But
\nthere are more reservations after the session, starting from the
\nend of August. We have a good figure until the end of the year,\"
\nadded Uraini, while refusing to state the exact figure.<\/p>\n
She hinted that there would be an international conference
\nhere during the MPR session.<\/p>\n
\"This shows guests believe that our country is actually quite
\nsafe,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Uraini said hotels also used another benchmark to assess their
\nperformance, especially due to the economic crisis.<\/p>\n
\"We've been using room night sales instead of percentages to
\nassess our performance. And our room night sales are better than
\nother hotels in town for the last four months,\" she said.<\/p>\n
She said the Kempinski, which is located on Jl. Sudirman, also
\noperated 241 apartments.<\/p>\n
\"But the apartments are leased on a long-term basis so the
\noccupancy rate is not affected by the session,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Similar expectations were aired by Henny Puspitasari, public
\nrelations manager of Sheraton Media Hotel on Jl. Gunung Sahari,
\nCentral Jakarta.<\/p>\n
\"We only expect a maximum 35 percent occupancy rate during the
\nannual session.<\/p>\n
\"It's lower than our average of 46 percent in July, which
\ncoincided with school vacation,\" she said, adding that guests to
\nthe hotel's restaurants were decreasing at the end of July.<\/p>\n
Henny said most of the guests came from Japan, Malaysia,
\nSingapore, Taiwan and European countries.<\/p>\n
\"Most of them are in automotive and garment businesses, which
\nare sensitive to security issues,\" she said.<\/p>\n
\"A recent bombing incident also added pressure to our hotel's
\noccupancy rates,\" she added.<\/p>\n
Henny, however, expected that the condition would be better
\nafter the annual session.<\/p>\n
The 586-room Hotel Indonesia (HI), located at the tip of Jl.
\nSudirman, Central Jakarta, boasted a stable occupancy rate of 50
\npercent to 60 percent despite the political uncertainty.<\/p>\n
A Hotel Indonesia public relation officer, Kosim, said, \"Our
\noccupancy rate is not affected at all by the annual session.
\nPerhaps because most of our guests are local residents. Only 20
\npercent are foreigners.\"<\/p>\n
\"The guests aren't afraid of student demonstrations in front
\nof the HI traffic circle. They even consider it as an attraction
\nto Indonesian democracy fiesta,\" he added.<\/p>\n
Kosim also said that the students did not pose any threat to
\nthe hotel.<\/p>\n
\"I'm sure the students understand that the hotel has a
\nhistorical background, as it was president Sukarno who
\ncommissioned its construction,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Similarly, assistant front-office manager of Sahid Jaya Hotel
\non Jl. Sudirman, Heryadi, said the hotel had an increase in
\noccupancy over the past three months.<\/p>\n
\"I can't give you the exact figure as I don't have it. I have
\nto check it first,\" he said. (nvn)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/mpr-session-brings-mixed-luck-to-hotels-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}