Five-star hotels increase their security system

Rizky KD Ntoma and Sari P. Setiogi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Following the bombing at JW Marriott Hotel in the Mega Kuningan business district in South Jakarta on Tuesday, which claimed at least 10 lives according to police reports, five-star hotels in the capital started to beef up security.

The action also fulfilled a call from Coordinating Minister of Political and Security Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono moments after the explosion for restaurants, hotel chains, malls and other public places to tighten security.

A similar call was conveyed by Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso after a meeting on Wednesday evening with the top management of hotels, restaurants and malls across the city.

The meeting at City Hall was also attended by Susilo and Minister of Tourism and Culture I Gede Ardika.

The Shangri-La hotel, located on Kota BNI, Jl. Jend. Sudirman, Central Jakarta, started to deploy more security guards in cooperation with police personnel. The hotel management also have more security devices installed including bomb detectors, metal detectors, handheld metal detectors for searching individuals and monitoring cameras.

"We definitely must increase our security internally and also externally," said hotel public relations manager Ratna Sjamsiar Idris on Wednesday.

The consequence of tightening security meant more time was needed to check every person going in and out of the hotel.

"Previously, it only took only a minute to screen each guest but now our security personnel need up to three minutes," she said.

The deployment of more security guards and police backup was also done by the Jakarta Hilton International Hotel in Central Jakarta, located near the Semanggi cloverleaf.

"We have around 200 security guards at the hotel with back up from police officers and also the K9 squad. There is always a security guard and several policemen at each entrance," said Hilton marketing communication officer Dita.

"We conduct a body search and have metal detectors for employees and guests before and after entering the lobby. We also carefully check their bags and luggage," she added.

Like the Shangri-La and the Hilton, Hotel Borobudur on Jl. Lapangan Banteng Selatan, Central Jakarta, also deployed more security guards at the entrance gate and maximized the use of detectors.

"We are doubling our security guards from 30 to 60 people divided into two shifts," Grace Alviar, the hotel's director of communications, said.

"We also have plainclothes police officers. In total, the hotel has around 100 security officers at present," she said.

To limit the possibility of unmonitored guests, the hotel management has reduced the entry points from three to only one.

The management also decided to move the taxi pool from the side of the hotel to the rear, close to the parking lot. Temporarily, the hotel has also stopped their valet parking service.

Several foreigners were still spotted inside and at the hotel's foyer on Wednesday.

Grace added that Borobudur Hotel received several guests from the JW Marriott Hotel checking in on Tuesday but so far there has been no confirmation on booking cancellations from overseas guests.

Meanwhile, police were still guarding the Marriott and have closed the area to the public for a radius of 150 meters. Debris and broken glasses have started to be cleared.

Most guests at the hotel were evacuated and transferred to Gran Melia Hotel on Jl. H.R. Rasuna Said, South Jakarta.