Last-Minute Room Bookings Affect Hotel Occupancy Rates

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association (PHRI) has disclosed that last-minute room bookings by tourists can affect hotel occupancy rates at certain periods.

“In today’s era, it is somewhat complicated to predict from the reservation side, because surges in room occupancy can occur at the last minute,” said PHRI Secretary General Maulana Yusran when contacted by ANTARA in Jakarta on Friday.

Yusran said that many people nowadays choose to travel overland using private vehicles. This phenomenon has become one of the factors contributing to travel congestion.

The congestion caused by surges in visitors generally occurs across provinces, meaning tourists typically only make their plans at the last minute whilst comparing various prices and facilities on digital reservation platforms.

“This differs from those using air transport, who must make their travel plans in advance. Because they have already purchased tickets, their destinations are more planned,” he said.

Regarding the possibility of booking cancellations, Yusran acknowledged that hotels already have schemes or regulations governing room reservation cancellations.

“Nowadays, tourists simply open various platforms and compare — they look at facilities including prices and can make decisions quickly within just a few minutes. So this is not a hindrance; in fact, hotels can also use these digital platforms to play with their promotions,” he added.

He noted that various attractive packages offered by hotels can change tourists’ perspectives and encourage them to make reservations.

On the other hand, he considered advance room bookings to be beneficial for anticipating sudden surges in both room demand and the prices offered by hotels during those periods.