Bandung hotels enjoy bustling business

Yuli Tri Suwarni, The Jakarta Post, Bandung

Prior to the celebration of the Asia-Africa Conference's golden jubilee in Bandung on April 24, most of hotels in the city are already fully booked with orders coming from members of delegations, businesspeople and foreigners.

Preanger Hotel's Executive Assistant Manager Geraldine Christine, said the hotel could no longer receive new reservations for people wanting to stay this week.

"Everything is booked," she told The Jakarta Post in Bandung.

The hotel, and its more than 180 rooms, is just 200 meters away from the Gedung Merdeka, where the golden jubilee celebration will be held.

Panghegar Hotel's Front Office Manager Erna S. Djamalun said the hotel, located on Jl. Merdeka -- a kilometer away from Gedung Merdeka, was already reserved by the Asian-African Summit's committee in West Java province.

"The hotel is under renovation, so we don't many rooms, only about 80," she said, adding the rooms were booked up a month ago.

At the Savoy Homann Hotel, where heads of state and members of the delegations will gather before taking part in the celebration, the situation was no different.

The hotel's Executive Assistant Manager, Bambang Sasongko, said that all 147 rooms in the historical hotel, which was set up in 1880 during the Dutch era, had been reserved by the State Secretariat.

"The hotel is the closest to Gedung Merdeka (about 50 meters) and it was part of the history since it was where many of the heads of state taking part in the conference stayed back in 1955," Bambang said.

Delegations from four countries, China, Japan, Korea and Yemen, have made their reservations at the hotel.

Apart from hotels in the main city center, star-rated hotels in northern part of Bandung also could benefit.

The Hyatt Bandung on Jl. Sumatera, for instance, was specially booked by Brunei delegation.

The hotel's Public Relations Manager, Donna Indrawati, said over the weekend that 80 percent of the hotel's 255 rooms had been booked.

"People still can make reservations, but I'm not sure about this (upcoming) weekend," she said.

At the Sheraton Hotel on Jl. Juanda in Dago area, just a handful of rooms were available. "The hotel is almost fully booked, mostly by delegations from Argentina, Brazil and Yemen," an employee said.

Head of West Java's tourism and culture agency, I Budhiyana, said his office hoped the jubilee celebration would bring in plenty of revenue for the city.

Every year, Bandung -- West Java's main shopping destination -- attracts at least nine million local and foreign visitors.

Apart from staying at Bandung's star-rated hotels, guests also spend money at the city's popular factory outlets.