Hotel occupancy rates up due to deluge

Fitri Wulandari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

February is not the peak season for tourism, yet many hotels in Jakarta have reported an increase in their occupancy rates for the past few days.

It's certainly not because Indonesia's economy is getting better. The fact is, many people are seeking refuge from floods in the comfort of hotel rooms.

Rosana Rotani, director of sales at Santika Hotel in Slipi, West Jakarta, said that the hotel had to turn away would-be guests on Saturday because there were no vacancies.

She said that most of the guests were local Jakartans from areas such as Tomang, Grogol and Tanjung Duren in West Jakarta and Pluit in North Jakarta, who began to arrive on Thursday.

On Sunday, however, 10 rooms were available at the hotel, which has 270 rooms.

"Our guests from flooded areas are still here. Only those from outside Jakarta have left," Braddy Attaka Tamba, the assistant front office manager said.

The Sheraton Bandara, near Soekarno-Hatta International Airport had also been full for the past few days.

Prima Soemarsono, Public Relations manager said that in addition to housing airline crews, the hotel had to accommodate guests who could not enter Jakarta because the road from the airport was cut off. Part of the toll road was still inundated.

Price is often not a question when it comes to comfort for some people. Five-star hotels can become heavenly evacuation shelters.

Yusuf Supandi, front office manager at the five-star Mandarin Hotel at Jl. Sudirman said that the hotel experienced a twenty percent increase from normal days.

"Normally, our occupancy rate is around 35 percent, but it has increased for the past few days. That's good," Yusuf said.

Most of our recent guests were local Jakartans and expatriate residents whose areas had been affected by flooding, he said.

"And more guests are still coming," he said on Sunday afternoon.

Strategically located near the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle, the Mandarin has 429 rooms.

A group of young executives, along with a cat, shared a room at the hotel because their house in Cikini was flooded.

"There is no electricity and no (drinking) water... It's stressful," said one of the "evacuees".

They left the room on Sunday after spending two nights at the hotel.

Ratna Sjamsiar Lubis, Public Relations Manager of the five- star Mulia Senayan Hotel, also confirmed an increase in occupancy.

"It's better for them to stay in hotels. They don't have to worry about how to commute to work, get good food, do the laundry, etc. They get full services here," Ratna said.

The increased occupancy has made it difficult for some visitors to find a place to stay in Jakarta.

Ginanjar Satyanegara, a 29 year-old-musician from Bandung, said that he could not find a hotel room when he arrived in Jakarta on Saturday night.

"I drove along Jl. Wahid Hasyim and Cipete, South Jakarta but all the hotels were full," Ginanjar said. He eventually found a place to stay at a friend's house.

The water receded in many areas on Sunday, but actually got worse in certain areas. The Regent Hotel on Jl. Rasuna Said, South Jakarta, for example was still severely inundated.