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)