Mulia Senayan looking to shed shoddy image

By John Aglionby

JAKARTA (JP): It has gone up quicker than you can say "19th SEA Games athletes village", there have been two fires and only last week water was still dripping through the ceiling into the lobby. But does the Hotel Mulia Senayan really deserve the bad publicity it has received?

"Admittedly from the outside the impression you get is just of a huge bloody block, but it's when you come inside that you notice there's much more to it than that," says general manager Bruno Dedual.

What that "much more" is, and how the misfortunes of the last six months will be wiped from people's memories, is not yet apparent, and Dedual, a veteran of 46 years in the hotel industry is the first to admit it.

"In the last six months the emphasis has very much been on the construction and the administrative side ... was not the priority. The priority was to get the building up and fitted out.

"So I have had to pick up the pieces and try to find the philosophy for the hotel, where we go from here, what do we do after the SEA Games, what level do we come in at."

The philosophy seems simple enough; fill the 1,008 rooms and seven restaurants and provide a home away from home. Achieving it is the million dollar question.

Or perhaps that should be $89++ question, as that is the price for the regular rooms. And Dedual believes it will stand the hotel in good stead opening with the big bang of the Games.

"It's much better to get hit really hard because it then all falls into place much faster. People will have to make decisions, people will have to react to circumstances and carry on. And after that everything is just smooth sailing."

Part of the reacting to circumstances is that Dedual firmly believes in the 2.007 staff taking their fair share of responsibility.

"We should be a friend to the customer and not shy away from them. And more importantly if we make a commitment to do something for the customer we must see it through personally and not push it on to somebody else."

During the SEA Games, about 875 rooms will be filled and thereafter Dedual is looking for 67.5 percent occupancy. "We will hold our price for as long as possible," he said.

He believes that the location, not being right in the middle of the business district, will be an advantage in the long term.

"Yes we're not on Sudirman, which everyone considers as the main drag, but in Jakarta walking distance, per se, is not important as no one walks anywhere.

"Not only are we just as close to much of Sudirman as say the Grand Hyatt, our part of the city is not overly busy, there's a lot of greenery and it is mainly residential. It's nice to be in a place like that, rather than stuck between skyscrapers."

And, if the haze clears, guests staying on the top (40th) floor will have the best hotel-room view in the city. The question is, will 675 people want to see it every day ...?