Jakarta hotels occupancy rate on the rise

Jakarta hotels occupancy rate on the rise

By Mehru Jaffer

JAKARTA (JP): The season of fun and games may be upon everyone
else, but for the city's hotels the holiday is over. There is
plenty to do as corridors crowd up once again and the business is
brisk.

As the sun sets more and more lights are switched on in rooms
occupied by guests, making the city's Central Business District
twinkle as if studded with a thousand stars. The tall towers that
dot the city's skyline and are home to numerous hotels are indeed
trying to outdo each other to please guests, who are visiting
again not only from abroad but also from different parts of the
country.

"Our guests are mostly business travelers equally divided
between those from here and abroad," says Fathia Syarif of the
Jakarta Hilton International.

Situated in between the hubbub of the center of the city
and its more quiet southern environs, the Hilton is a familiar and an
extremely popular stopover for guests from Japan, the U.S. and
many European Union countries.

Fathia is delighted that after months of an uncomfortable
lull, occupancy levels have increased in recent months by up to
25 percent. Apart from an improvement in the country's economic
and political situation, the holiday season is also upon us. This
means the business community from around the world is using
hotels to meet with each other and wrap up last minute business
deals before going underground, often at the same hotel for a bit
of rest and recreation.

Despite the fact that the rupiah is weak at the moment, Luis
Fernandes, managing director The Dharmawangsa, which is part of
the exclusive Rosewood hotels and resorts chain, feels his guests
are not intimidated by current events in the country, as they
definitely have long-term business interests on their minds.

The economic atmosphere may not be perfect today, but the
whole world knows how rich Indonesia's natural resources are and
how efficiently the country runs its manufacturing sector.

He said that meetings, conferences and seminars were organized
regularly by the business community, and here foreign investors
probably made plans far into the future without being put off by
the present social turmoil that is so natural in times of
transition.

It is the smaller hotels, however, that are harder hit and
have to face up to much more competition in these uncertain
economic and political times. For it is these hotels who have
lost their regular customers to the bigger hotels, that today are
offering some of the cheapest rates in the world. All five-star
hotels here offer services at almost throw-away prices.

Some of these hotels are charging three-star prices in return
for five-star luxury, something the business community continues
to take advantage of despite the fact that Jakarta has been
declared a dangerous destination by many a government.

It is little wonder then that the mood is upbeat at hotels
like the Mulia Senayan. At the moment the hotel is busy polishing
up seven of its outlets and the Grand Ballroom, readying to play
host to guests for its New Year's Eve celebrations.

If the news from the Gran Mahakam is to be believed, business
is now better than ever. Before the economic crisis, the
occupancy rate hovered at about 30 percent. Last year it went up
to 48 percent, but these days it is 52 percent.

Benny Huliselan, director of sales and marketing, says there
is a definite increase in international leisure and business
travelers. He answers with an emphatic "yes" when asked if both
foreign businesspeople and tourists have returned, and vows to
continue spoiling his guests not just in the new year, but in all
the years to come.

As far as the Regent is concerned, October and November have
historically been busy months.

"This is the peak time for travel to Jakarta by people from
abroad, and a bullish outlook is forecast by most hoteliers for
the coming year, too," says Hanny Wahyuni, the hotel's public
relations director. She expects all those who postponed their
travel plans to Jakarta in the past year to come to the country
in the coming year.

Jasmina Janik, director of sales and marketing at Hotel
Borobudur, is upbeat as well. "Indonesia has so much to offer
both to the world's business community and to tourists," she
says, dismissing the present situation in the country as the
expected "ups and downs" for a country trying to settle down
after experiencing such momentous changes.

Presiding over a hotel located in a 23 acre garden full of
century-old mahogany trees and renovated over a period of 22
months, Jasmina cannot imagine guests being able to stay away
from the luxury, comfort and work environment provided by the
hotel, which has nearly three decades of tradition behind it.

Mirna Basalamah, public relations manager at Hotel Mercure
Rekso Hayam Wuruk in downtown Kota, laughed merrily when asked
about the four-star hotel's current occupancy rate.

"It has been over 60 percent since September," she says. And
she says the rate is continuing to rise. In November, it was 70
percent and she is upbeat the trend will continue.