Hotels dress up for Christmas and New Year
Hotels dress up for Christmas and New Year
JAKARTA (JP): In welcoming Christmas and New Year, hotels
throughout the city are competing by offering special prices,
entertainment and improved services, including security.
The "war of the hotels" is obvious by their discounts. The
reduction in room rates range from 20 percent to 50 percent.
Hotels are going all-out with various offerings, including
food fiestas and painting exhibitions, to attract guests over the
Christmas and New Year period.
The Sahid Jaya Hotel is putting on a "Magical Cruise Music and
Dance festival" and "A Caribbean Salsa Spectacular", Arya Duta
has an Austrian Food Promotion and Jakarta Hilton is staging its
Front Line band and Orphans' Painting Exhibition -- just to
mention a few.
The CitraLand Hotel's Hullabaloo party with big screen TV and
live music will be on New Year's eve.
Occupancy is normally good in the first weeks of December.
However, hotels have started announcing special room rates as
people usually spend Christmas and New Year holidays with
families out of town.
"Experience teaches us that reservations slow down in the
middle of December, that's why we offer special room rates during
that time," Hanum Yahya, the public relations manager of Arya
Duta, said over the weekend.
"The rates are only for Indonesian citizens and foreigners
with KIMS stay permits since we know that most of the present
occupants are businessmen who will check out to celebrate
Christmas with their families," Hanum said.
She said, however, that reservations are high on New Year's
eve.
"By the end of December our hotel is always fully booked and
we have to turn down many reservations," she added.
President Hotel has another policy in facing year-end
reservations. Sudiro Hadi Kristanto, a reservation officer of the
hotel, said that guests must pay a deposit at least one week
before their check in date, otherwise the hotel turns down their
reservation.
He added that during New Year, 25 percent of its guests are
normally walk-in guests, 25 percent with reservations and 50
percent current guests.
Better security systems and convenient parking lots have also
become a selling point in the season's festivities.
President Hotel, for example, will extend its parking lot to
an area close to Wisma Nusantara building next door.
Most of the hotels have promised better security by having
their whole staff of security guards and employees of all
departments on duty during the year-end festivities.
"Not only should all the security officers be more alert and
work longer, but also the hotels' other staff," Glen Ranti, the
public relations officer of Hilton Hotel said. (03/32)