Hotels dress up for Christmas, New Year

JAKARTA (JP): In welcoming Christmas and the New Year, hotels throughout the city are competing by offering special prices for entertainment and better services.

The competition between hotels is obvious by the discounts they are offering, such as a 20 percent to 30 percent reduction in room rates.

Hotels are going all-out with various programs, including food fiestas and entertainment, to attract guests during the festive season.

The Jakarta Hilton International Hotel is featuring several bands as part of its "Stroke of Midnight" celebrations. Guests are encouraged to start practicing the Macarena before staying.

The rates for events in the Hilton, excluding a room, range from Rp 38,000 (US$16) to Rp 250,000 per person.

Sari Pan Pacific has "New Year's Eve in Outer Space" and Shangri-La will perform "Rock to the 50's with the Grease Theme".

The Dai-Ichi Hotel will hold "Aloha 1996" package, which will include Hula-Hula and the Royal Hawaiian Band in its ballroom, and "Morgan's 1072 Classic Disco", which will offer live music from the 1970s and 1980s. The rates range from Rp 23,000 to Rp 300,000.

The city administration has set limits on ticket prices for New Year's Eve celebrations, with the highest allowed prices being Rp 750,000 (US$319) for four and five-star hotels and the Jakarta Convention Center, Rp 250,000 for discotheques, Rp 200,000 for restaurants and Rp 75,000 for movie theaters.

New Year's Eve function organizer's must pay a Rp 50,000 fee when applying for permits.

In addition to lively entertainment, hotels are also offering food fiestas.

The Grand Hyatt Jakarta is offering a traditional Christmas Eve roast for Rp 80,000, while Shangri-La will hold a gala dinner of Explosive Dimensions for Rp 200,000 and a traditional Yuletide dinner for Rp 90,000 per person.

Hotel occupancy rates are normally good in the first weeks of December.

However, hotels are announcing special room rates as people usually spend the festive season with families out of town.

"People's interest in spending holidays during Christmas and New Year tend to slow down, so we are offering a special rate," Harti Hadisoemo, Citraland Hotel's public relations manager, said over the weekend.

Citraland is offering a 30 percent discount, from US$140 to $98 a night, for guests who stay over the New Year period.

However, reservations on New Year's Eve are high as hotels are always fully booked weeks before the event.

Dai-Ichi Hotel has a policy for year-end reservations.

Soni Hendra Setiawan, a reservation officer of the hotel, said Saturday that guests must pay a deposit of at least double the room rate. "The deposit is nonrefundable," he said, adding that guests must stay at least two days.

By the end of December, the hotel's 368 rooms are always fully booked, he said. (ste)