Marriott set to expand business in Indonesia

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Marriott International's hotel division is looking at several properties outside of Jakarta as part of its expansion plan in Indonesia, president director Edwin Fuller said on Wednesday.

While declining to name the cities where Marriott is hoping to expand, the Washington-based Fuller said he remained confident about the long-term business prospects in Indonesia.

The 333-room JW Marriott Hotel Jakarta, located in the Mega Kuningan area, opened in September when the political and economic situation in Indonesia remained uncertain.

The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and the global economic recession have further compounded the troubles of the tourism and hotel industry worldwide, Indonesia included.

"We are here for the long term," Fuller told a press luncheon at the JW Marriott Hotel Jakarta.

"We build hotels for 20 to 30 years," he added.

A team from the hotel group was currently scouting out properties outside of Jakarta, he said.

The Marriot group, whose hotel properties also go by the names of the Ritz-Carlton, Renaissance, New World and Courtyard, shelved four of its five on-going Jakarta projects in the wake of the Asian financial crisis in 1997.

Other Indonesian properties currently managed by the group include the Ramada and the Ritz-Carlton, both in Bali.

JW Marriott Hotel Jakarta General Manager John Jaskula said that under the difficult circumstances, the hotel had done quite well since the September opening, highlighting the popularity of its restaurants and meeting room facilities, as well as the waiting list for the use of its ballroom for wedding ceremonies on weekends.

Jaskula said the hotel's occupancy rate was "average" for similar luxury hotels in Jakarta.

"We're ahead of our expectation," Fuller chimed in.

Fuller, whose career with Marriott goes back to 1972, said he was hopeful that the global hotel business, including Indonesia, would soon pick up.

"I've seen it happen before," he said, recalling the days when he was renting hotel rooms in New York for $16.