No day passes without trade exhibition<\/p>\n
Satyasuryawan, Contributor, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Convention Center (JCC) in Senayan, Central
\nJakarta, has become a major trade exhibition venue in the
\ncapital.<\/p>\n
On almost any given day, especially during the weekend, you
\nare sure to find an exhibition of some kind or another being held
\nat this fully booked venue.<\/p>\n
The range of exhibitions is almost limitless, from the
\nautomotive industry, computers, audio-visual, Internet, books,
\nfurniture and the oil and gas industry, to clothes and bridal
\ngowns. The JCC also serves as a venue for other events, such as
\nconferences, seminars, product launches, weddings, music
\nconcerts, religious meetings, graduation ceremonies, alumni
\nreunion parties and so forth.<\/p>\n
The thousands of visitors who come to the JCC do not seem to
\nmind waiting in their cars in a long line to enter the venue,
\nstanding in line to enter the exhibition site, paying an extra
\nunofficial parking fee of Rp 3,000, and even paying an entrance
\nfee to the exhibition site from anywhere between Rp 5,000 and
\nhundreds of thousand rupiah.<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Convention Center is definitely a magnet. Besides
\nits huge exhibition space -- tens of thousands of square meters
\n-- and abundant parking spaces, it is strategically located in
\nthe heart of the capital and is easy to reach for both Jakartans
\nand those coming from other cities. The highly popular name
\n\"Senayan\" is a guarantee in itself that exhibition organizers
\nwill be able to sell events held here.<\/p>\n
From an organizer's point of view, these are some of the
\nfactors that contribute to the success of an exhibition or a
\nconference. The JCC's complete range of facilities also makes it
\neasy for organizers to be highly creative.<\/p>\n
\"The kind of facilities available or offered by the owner is
\none of the major considerations before we decide on a venue,\"
\nsaid Soehoed, the operational director at Dyandra Promosindo.<\/p>\n
As one of the leading players in the exhibition business,
\nDyandra fully understands the needs of exhibitors. Besides an
\nenormous venue, they also require additional facilities such as
\nextra telephone lines for instant business transactions and extra
\nelectricity for the installment of audio-video equipment. Most
\nhotels and other venues cannot meet such demands.<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Fairground at Kemayoran, in spite of the similar
\nfacilities it offers exhibitors, is less popular than the JCC.
\nIts huge exhibition venue and parking area do not add up to much,
\nbecause its location is considered less strategic and its
\ninterior is far less luxurious than the JCC's star-rated hotel-
\nlike ambience.<\/p>\n
The Bidakara Building in the Pancoran area of Jl. Gatot
\nSubroto was once briefly popular as an exhibition venue.
\nUnfortunately, driving to Bidakara, especially in the evenings,
\ngave many people a headache and made them think twice before
\ndeciding to go to this venue.<\/p>\n
Taman Mini Indonesia Indah also has ample space for
\nexhibitions and there was a plan to build an exhibition and
\nconference center here that would have been larger than the
\nJCC's. However, that plan has not been realized. This site is not
\nfrequently used by exhibition or event organizers, apparently due
\nto its unfavorable location and the frequent traffic jams around
\nthe toll gates. This place seems to be more suitable for cultural
\nevents.<\/p>\n
Star-rated hotels in Jakarta also have function rooms with
\nsufficient facilities. However, recently event organizers are not
\nmaking much use of them, except for weddings, seminars, press
\nconferences or business meetings, even though location-wise they
\nare usually very strategic and right in the heart of Jakarta,
\nsuch as the Hotel Hilton, which is next to the JCC, Le Meridien
\non Jl. Sudirman, the Grand Hyatt on Jl. Thamrin, the Gran Melia
\non Jl. Kuningan or the Hotel Borobudur near Lapangan Banteng.<\/p>\n
The major source of revenue for hotels is not their function
\nrooms, but rather their guest rooms. The contribution of their
\nfunction rooms becomes more significant when the occupancy rate
\nis low, for example on weekdays. A function room with a 3,000
\nperson capacity can easily bring in revenue of Rp 45 million
\n(about US$5,000), which is no small amount.<\/p>\n
The fee for holding an exhibition in a five-star hotel is
\nsimilar to that for the JCC. The JCC charges exhibitors US$4.20
\nper square meter for 12 hours, with the exchange rate fixed at Rp
\n5,000 per US dollar, as compared to the market rate of about Rp
\n9,000 per dollar.<\/p>\n
The interior and ambience of a five-star hotel is certainly
\nmore plush in comparison with that of the JCC, but still only
\nceremonial, exclusive events or activities of a smaller scale
\ntake place at these hotels, such as gold and jewelry exhibitions
\nor certain audio-video exhibitions that require better acoustics.<\/p>\n
\"Some people are still reluctant to come to a hotel even for
\nan exhibition,\" Soehoed added.<\/p>\n
Apart from the limited space for exhibitions and parking, plus
\nthe traffic congestion in their vicinity, hotels also cannot
\nfully provide a large number of extra telephone lines or the huge
\namount of extra power required for certain types of exhibitions.
\nAnd according to Soehoed, exhibitions at hotels should be held on
\nthe ground floor and not on the upper levels, to make loading and
\nunloading much easier.<\/p>\n
One Jakarta hotel that is still making money from its function
\nroom is the Hotel Sahid Jaya, which is strategically located in
\nthe capital's business center. Ayuningsih, the hotel's PR
\nmanager, said the Puri Agung ballroom was frequently booked by
\nexhibition and seminar organizers, and was also often used for
\nsocial activities such as weddings.<\/p>\n
For its function room business, the Hotel Sahid Jaya is quite
\nproactive. All 22 of its function rooms, with capacities ranging
\nfrom 10 to 3,000, are actively marketed by the hotel's
\ntelemarketers. The hotel also offers a two-in-one package that
\nconsists of a meeting-cum-leisure concept. In this offer a
\nseminar held at the hotel includes a recreation and shopping tour
\naround Jakarta for the families of attendees.<\/p>\n
\"We strive to meet our customers' needs,\" said Ayuningsih.<\/p>\n
The marketing of function rooms in some ways is very much like
\nthat for a restaurant. Managers must fully understand the needs
\nand desires of their customers. Ambience certainly plays an
\nimportant role in attracting more customers. Above all, the kind
\nof proactive marketing conducted by Hotel Sahid Jaya would put
\nany marketer of function rooms a step ahead of his competitors.
\n-- Satyasuryawan<\/p>",
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