Apartment business on the rise

Apartment business on the rise

Golo Riwu
Contributor
Jakarta

The worst effects of the country's economic crisis are
gradually receding. In Jakarta's business sector and in other
major Indonesian cities, apartment construction and sale is in
full force after a deep lull. An abundance of apartments is
advertised, both those existing and those under construction.
Almost everyday five-star apartments and their not as luxurious
counterparts are splashed across the media.

Each developer offers their product with a cleverly designed
promotional theme. Menteng Apartments, for example, offers "A New
Concept of Five-Star Living" by depicting an array of world-class
deluxe facilities in its advertisements. Likewise, the Garden
Wing apartments, belonging to the established Hotel Borobudur,
have been heavily promoting their "excellent service."

Nowadays more and more city dwellers are becoming interested
in living in apartments. Some of the reasons behind this growing
interest are strategic locations -- right in the heart of the
city -- and modern facilities, similar to those available at
five-star hotels. Executives and those on the move prefer
apartments to luxurious houses, mainly due to the accessibility
offered by apartments. Energy and time is not wasted by driving
to work, they say.

The apartment business is growing faster than ever before in
this country and throughout the world the trend is even stronger.
Surveys conducted by the European Hotel Association indicate that
the growth between 1994 and 2002 is 30 percent annually.

In Indonesia, growth in this sector has been hampered by
economic factors that other countries may not have had to battle
with. Development of apartments in most major cities in the world
is phenomenal.

According to Jasmina Janik, director of sales and marketing at
Hotel Borobudur Jakarta, similar growth is also starting to take
place in Indonesia. With the country's economy gradually
recovering, the number of residents choosing to live in
apartments will certainly increase as they embrace a lifestyle
that is both convenient and pleasurable. Foreign investors are
pouring money into the lucrative business of apartments, hence
increasing the country's revenue.

The huge population of Indonesia's major cities is one of the
reasons behind the construction of sky-high apartments. Hotel
Hilton, Kempinsky hotel and Setiabudi International Apartments,
for example, are well established in the apartment business and
spreading their wings further to construct apartments in other
large cities in Indonesia.

For expatriate managers and top-ranking executives staying in
Indonesia for a short period -- between three and six months or
even a year -- the rates offered by apartments are much more
economical than paying for a room in star-rated hotels.

Compared to Singapore, Kuala Lumpur or even Shanghai, the
development of the apartment business in Indonesia is relatively
slow. Some observers say that the country has a negative image
about its security, which is one of the main contributors to the
slow growth rate.

Janik said that security is of the utmost importance to
apartment tenants and apartments in Singapore and Malaysia have
some of the world's best security systems. This contributes to
the comparatively high growth of apartments in the two countries.

Other important aspects of apartment management are high
professionalism, efficient management, quality service, beautiful
design and, of no less importance, smart advertising and creative
PR concepts.

To achieve international standards of service, Janik added, it
is not just customer service staff that need to be trained. Each
employee in every division should be given extensive training.
This enables staff to cater to the high demands of expatriates
and locals.

Ultra-modern facilities combined with excellent service are
the name of the game. Apartments should be the ultimate home for
tenants. "Pamper them and give them more than they expect," one
marketer of apartments commented on how to win customers in the
heat of competition.

Advertisements do make impressive promises, but the experience
of tenants, right from the very first second, is the only "sales
pitch" that counts. The ensuing word-of-mouth is better than any
other form of advertising. The sales success of major developers
who rely on this formula shows that the apartment business in
Indonesia really is on a sharp rise.