Star hotels provide more incentives to local residents<\/p>\n
Rikza Abdullah, Contributor, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Idul Fitri, Christmas and New Year holidays will offer
\nexecutives and other business people an opportunity to leave
\ntheir usual hectic and busy life away by staying at star-rated
\nhotels and enjoying various festivities and sensational food.<\/p>\n
By staying at hotels, they will also allow their families to
\nescape the inconvenience caused by the departure of their maids,
\ngardeners and other servants, who mostly return to their villages
\nduring Idul Fitri.<\/p>\n
People can also enjoy the discounts offered by hotels that are
\ntrying to boost their occupancy rates from local residents amid
\nthe drop in foreign tourists' arrivals following the recent Bali
\nbombing.<\/p>\n
Miriam Roy, public relations manager of Hotel Indonesia, said
\nThursday that offering special packages and incentives was
\nessential for the country's hotels in bid to increase the their
\nfalling occupancies.<\/p>\n
\"With such incentives, we hope our occupancy rate will
\nincrease to about 80 percent during the holiday season,\" she
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
According to Roy, the occupancy rate at Hotel Indonesia, which
\noperates 570 rooms, has declined to around 40 percent during this
\nMuslim fasting month from 60 percent in the previous months.<\/p>\n
Grace Manurung, public relations officer for the President
\nHotel, shared Roy's view, saying that incentives were needed to
\nhelp sustain her hotel's occupancy rate at about 70 percent at
\nthe yearend.<\/p>\n
The hotel is now operating only 180 of its 315 rooms, which
\nare now under renovation. It is now also constructing 110 new
\nrooms.<\/p>\n
Tania Walla, assistant communications manager of the Shangri-
\nLa Hotel in Jakarta, said her hotel was targeting local people
\nfor its New Year celebrations and expecting its occupancy rates
\nto reach, at least, 80 percent by the New Year's eve.<\/p>\n
\"However, we are competing with hotels in Bali, which are
\noffering low rates and ticket fares after the Oct. 12 bombing
\ntragedy there. A lot of local people tend to travel to Bali
\nnowadays, but we also have majority of people who will stay in
\nJakarta and spend their New Year's eve in the hotels with
\nfamilies and friends,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Taufik Rachman, director of sales for the Alila Hotels &
\nResorts, acknowledged that as tourist arrivals were declining
\nafter the bombing tragedy in Bali, incentives were now more
\nimportant to lure domestic tourists.<\/p>\n
\"We, therefore, offer rupiah room packages with some
\nincentives for our hotels both in Jakarta and Bali,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Gina Desmeralda, assistant public relations manager at the
\nGrand Hyatt Jakarta, said that during the Dec. 1 - Dec. 30
\nperiod, the hotel would offer a Pesona rupiah-rated room package
\nat Rp 988,000 per night to Indonesians and expatriates holding
\nresidential permits.<\/p>\n
For stays on New Year's Eve, guests would be subject to a
\ncharge of Rp 1.38 million (instead of the published rate of $200)
\nat its Grand rooms, Rp 1.68 million (instead of $240) at its
\nGrand Club rooms and Rp 3.68 million (instead of $550) at its
\nExecutive suits, she said.<\/p>\n
She added that a surcharge of Rp 200,000 per night would be
\napplied for rooms facing the Hotel Indonesia square.<\/p>\n
Sri Ayuningsih, public relations manager at Hotel Sahid Jaya
\nJakarta, said that during the Idul Fitri holiday from Dec. 2 to
\nDec. 10, room rates would be discounted by up to 70 percent.<\/p>\n
A discount of up to 52 percent was offered for overnight room
\nrates in the period between Dec. 31, 2002 and Jan. 2, 2003, and a
\nbigger discount for additional overnight stays, she said.<\/p>\n
Roy said room rates for year-end stays at Hotel Indonesia
\nwould be discounted by up to 70 percent.<\/p>\n
Discounts on rates for year-end stay at the President Hotel
\nwould even reach 85 percent, according to Manurung.<\/p>\n
Taufik said the Alila Jakarta offered a discounted rate of Rp
\n468,000 (US$52) per night at each of its deluxe rooms, as
\ncompared to its published rate of $160. The discounted rate for
\nthe deluxe rooms at the Alila Ubud in Bali was set at Rp 1.1
\nmillion a night (as compared to the published rate of $240) and
\nfor the superior rooms at the Alila Manggis in Bali at Rp 680,000
\n(as compared to the published rate of $180).<\/p>\n
\"Besides the discounts, we are also offering other incentives,
\nincluding free breakfast for two people, airport transfer and
\ndaily transportation to the offices of the guests,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Gran Melia offers a discount of 12.5 percent on rates for
\nstaying between Dec. 4 and Dec. 10 and a reduction of up to 38
\npercent on those for staying at the year-end.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the Jakarta Hilton International offers a bonus of
\na free third-night stay at any of the Hilton International's
\nhotels in Indonesia to guests staying for two consecutive nights
\nin its Superior rooms in the period between Dec. 1 and Jan. 31,
\nexcluding Dec. 30 and Dec. 31.<\/p>\n
Hana Hoed, Gran Melia's public relations manager, said the
\nhotel's year-end guests would be admitted free-of-charge to a
\nSpanish opera, presenting Indonesian popular singer Titi DJ and
\nviolinist Mayla Fayza, at its lobby.<\/p>\n
\"Tickets for the opera are actually offered to the public at a
\nrange between Rp 550,000 and Rp 90,000 each,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Roy said that Hotel Indonesia, in entertaining its year-end
\nguests, would organize a folk dance and offer lucky draws.<\/p>\n
The Alila Jakarta, according to Taufik, will also entertain
\nits year-end guests after their getting dinner at its Buzz Cafe.<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Hilton's director of public relations and
\ncommunications, Uraini Umarjadi, said that on Dec 30 and Dec. 31,
\nrestaurants at the hotel would provide guests with selections of
\ncuisine to suit the occasion with live Latin music by renown
\nIndonesian bands, including the Los Morenitos, the Viento Del
\nArena and the Forte Latino.<\/p>\n
At Shangri-La's Lobby Lounge, singer Lusy Rahmawati and the
\nLiquid Band would entertain the hotel's guests with legendary old
\ntunes and today's hits, said Walla.<\/p>\n
At Hotel Sahid Jaya, Tina's Group entertains hotel guests with
\ntraditional Javanese gamelan music throughout the month of
\nDecember.<\/p>",
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