Accor postpone plan to build five new hotels in Indonesia

JAKARTA (JP): International hotel chain Accor Asia-Pacific Corporation has put on hold the construction of its five new hotels in Indonesia due to the economic crisis.

Company Director and Group General Manager in Indonesia Marc A. Steinmeyer said on Wednesday that the country's economic slowdown had adversely affected his company's business here in terms of revenue and forced it to postpone some of its projects due to difficulties in the financing.

Steinmeyer said the five hotels were supposed to open in 1999, but considering the country's current situation, it was impossible to continue their construction.

"We will carry on the construction of the projects in the next two or three years, as soon as the situation improves," he told The Jakarta Post after a news conference.

Steinmeyer said the projects being postponed were the five- star Sofitel Jakarta, the four-star Novotel Aceh and Novotel Semarang, Central Java, three-star Ibis Airport Jakarta, and Ibis Cilegon, West Java.

Accor, partly owned by Paris-based hotel management giant Accor SA, operates hotels under several brand names, including Sofitel, Novotel, Mercure and Ibis.

The company currently operates 24 star-rated hotels with 4,053 rooms and five apartments with 476 units throughout Indonesia.

Steinmeyer said that his company was still bullish on Indonesia as the tourist industry had huge prospects.

"We're not here just for five years, we're here for a long time and we want to become a part of life to Indonesians.

"Although for one or two years Accor will not continue its development in Indonesia, we will continue with our investment here when the situation allows."

He said Accor would maintain its network here and continue to promote Indonesia abroad.

"That's why we will have a Miss Novotel contest next month and the Cuisine contest next year," he added.

Accor announced on Wednesday its Miss Novotel, tourism ambassador 1998 contest, jointly organized with the Let's Go Indonesia program marketing and promotion campaign to further promote Indonesian tourism overseas in order to enhance the awareness and revitalization of the tourist and travel industry in Indonesia.

The Miss Novotel contest has been run in the 11 provinces where Novotel manages properties since July. The grand final will be held at Novotel Bogor, West Java, on Dec. 5.

The winner will help Accor promote Indonesian tourism abroad.

The Cuisine contest next year will select the best cook to promote Indonesian traditional and modern cuisine in European countries.

Accor currently runs 13 Novotels in Indonesia, eight properties under the Ibis banner and five under Mercure. The company's first hotel in Indonesia was the Ibis Kemayoran which opened in 1994.

Accor has become one of the largest hotel chains in the Asia- Pacific region, with it biggest growth coming in Indonesia, China and India.

Besides Accor, leading overseas hotel management chains in Indonesia include Sheraton which manages some 3,500 rooms, Hyatt and Shangri-La with some 2,500 rooms each. (gis)