Hotel Mulia 'must keep commitments'
Hotel Mulia 'must keep commitments'
JAKARTA (JP): State Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Agung
Laksono has urged the management of Hotel Mulia Senayan to honor
their commitment to provide athletes with affordable
accommodation.
Commenting on a complaint made by the Badminton Association of
Indonesia over the hotel's expensive room rate, Agung asked the
management of the five-star hotel to offer reasonable prices and
to quote them in rupiah.
"Because we no longer have an athletes village, hotels in the
Senayan sports complex should offer cheap rates for athletes.
They must not forget their responsibility to help develop sports
in the country," Agung said on Thursday.
Hotel Mulia has offered the organizers of the Indonesia Open
badminton championship a nightly room rate of US$45, including
three meals a day. The nearby Atlet Century Park has offered a
rate of Rp 300,000 per night.
However, the association has opted for Hotel Indonesia in the
city center, which has quoted nightly rates ranging between Rp
192,000 and Rp 306,000.
The annual tournament will be held at the Senayan Indoor
Stadium from Oct. 28 to Nov. 1.
"The badminton association is a wealthy organization. If they
can't afford to cover the room rate, what about the other
organizations," said Agung, who is also deputy chairman of the
Senayan management board.
Hotel Mulia was built in 1996 to accommodate participants in
the 1997 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games.
The construction of the 40-story building sparked controversy.
It violated height restrictions in the area, lacks green areas,
obstructed public thoroughfares and caused traffic congestion
along nearby roads.
Speaking separately, the board's executive director, Yasidi
Hambali, said he shared Agung's view.
"The hotel must help to accommodate athletes. We will ask the
National Sports Council to select which sports events are given
lodging facilities at the hotel," he said.
He said the board was currently renegotiating the terms of its
contract with the hotel's operator, PT Jakarta Country Club
(JCC). PT JCC's is owned by the Mulia Group, of which Joko S.
Tjandra is chairman.
The hotel was developed on a build, operate and transfer
basis. When the operating period specified in the contract comes
to an end, ownership of the hotel will be transferred to the
management board.
Yasidi also said the management board must be given some
shares in the hotel.
Under the terms of the contract, the hotel operator must pay
royalties to the management board. JCC currently pays an annual
royalty of Rp 90 million (US$36,000), a sum calculated using the
pre-crisis exchange rate of Rp 2,500 against the U.S. dollar.
"The royalty payment is being renegotiated," Yasidi said.
He also said the hotel's management must pay compensation for
the ill effects the construction of the building has had on the
surrounding area. The adjacent shooting range has become prone to
flooding since the hotel was constructed.
"We won't allow sports venues to become of secondary
importance to business interests. On the contrary, we want the
hotel to renovate nearby sports venues, including the shooting
range, the badminton courts and the indoor volleyball courts," he
said.
JCC plans to build a second 56-story tower consisting of
apartments and a shopping mall adjacent to the existing hotel.
(yan)