Help for small-scale hotels

JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association (IHRA) said yesterday it will soon set up a working committee to help small non-rated hotels get funds.

"The development of star-rated hotels is very rapid. But we must also pay attention to the development of small hotels," IHRA's chairman Pontjo Sutowo said after closing the association's second national assembly.

He said many small-scale businesses face financial difficulties when developing or renovating non-rated hotels known as hotel melati.

"We will conduct a study which may help them get collateral- free loans at a maximum of Rp 50 million," he said.

He said IHRA will also encourage star-rated hotel owners to get financing through stock markets, private placements, leasing and other related instruments.

He said delegates from Sumatra, Sulawesi, Maluku, Irian and Kalimantan, complained that many companies faced financial problems.

Currently there are more than 630 star-rated hotels for a total of over 58,000 rooms in Indonesia. There are 7,541 non- rated hotels with some 120,000 rooms. (icn)