Hotel industry prepares for LPG price hike
Hotel industry prepares for LPG price hike
Suherdjoko, The Jakarta Post, Semarang
The government's plan to raise the price of liquid petroleum gas (LPG) by up to 44 percent in January next year comes as a severe blow, hotel industry figures say.
To cushion the impact of the LPG price increase, hotels are putting into place cost-saving measures.
Hotel Ciputra public relations manager Julia SKB explained here on Monday the hotel used gas for cooking, laundry and heating water continuously.
She said hot water was not something a hotel could cut back on as guests expected it.
The same goes for kitchen and laundry activities, she added.
The hotel kitchen has turned to electric rice cookers, ovens and microwave ovens, said Julia.
The 200-room hotel, with tariffs ranging from Rp 400,000 (US$40.00) to Rp 2 million, uses up to 6,333 kilograms of LPG per month.
Public relations manager of the Grand Candi Hotel in Semarang Yosie Indra Susilo said the five-star hotel required 6,500 kg of LPG per month.
"We have been economizing in the laundry division. That's all we can do. We have formed an energy saving team since October, the task of which is to reduce costs," said Yosie.
To save electricity, hotel employees are asked to take the stairs rather than the elevator if they are only going up one floor or down two.
Prior to the price of LPG going up, hotels have been burdened since October with a 400 percent increase in peak load electricity tariffs from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. called the Max Plus electricity service.
Yosie hopes the 209-room hotel, which charges from Rp 880,000 to Rp 5 million a night, can reduce its costs by up to 20 percent due to the energy conservation measures.
"Like it or not, we have to save in every field," said Yosie.
Hotel Ciputra employees are required to turn off all lights in vacant rooms and can only use the elevator to go to floors above the first floor.
People in the middle- to high-income bracket are also rethinking their energy usage because of the planned LPG price increase. "We designed our kitchen around a gas stove. So we're a bit confused," said Saraswati from Jatingaleh, here.
The wholesale price of a 12-kilogram tank of LPG is Rp 51,000 and the retail price between Rp 55,000 to Rp 58,000.
However, the price could surge to between Rp 75,000 to Rp 80,000 per tank.
"We have used a gas stove since we were newlyweds because its cheaper and more convenient. I still remember when gas was Rp 9,000 per tank, then it increased to Rp 18,000, then Rp 26,000.
"It later surged to Rp 35,000, and now the price stands at Rp 55,000," she said.
Saraswati said she would still use LPG to cook, even though she would aim to reduce her total household expenditure.