Resort hotels booked up for long holiday

Resort hotels booked up for long holiday

JAKARTA (JP): Many hotels and cottages in popular resorts in
and around Jakarta say they are fully booked for the duration of
the coming holiday season.

Many affluent Jakartans not spending the holidays in their
hometowns or abroad will be heading either for Pulau Seribu
(Thousand Islands) off Jakarta, the beaches of Ancol in North
Jakarta or Carita west of Jakarta, or for the cooler climate of
Puncak south of Jakarta.

There are precious few rooms left in any of these four resort
areas from Christmas until after the New Year.

Luxury hotels in Jakarta also are cashing in on the holiday
season, offering special New Year packages. While they still have
rooms available for Christmas, most have reported that all of
their rooms are already spoken for on New Year's Eve.

This year, the holiday will be celebrated by both Muslims and
Christians because the Muslim holiday of Idul Fitri, marking the
end of the Ramadhan fasting month, falls on Dec. 27 and Dec. 28.

About a third of Jakarta's 11 million residents usually spend
Idul Fitri in their hometowns. Some of those who stay behind will
hit the islands, beaches or hills.

Sepa Island Resort in Pulau Seribu said all its rooms were
booked from Dec. 25 to Jan. 2.

"Many customers are on the waiting list," the head of
marketing, Herryanto, told The Jakarta Post.

Even with the heavy demand, Sepa resisted increasing its room
rates. But there will be an extra charge of Rp 100,000 per person
for the Christmas and Idul Fitri packages, and Rp 200,000 for the
New Year package, he said.

Business is even better at the nearby Pantara Island Resort,
with all of the rooms booked from Dec. 20 to Jan. 3.

At Pulau Ayer Resort, also in Pulau Seribu, where there are no
more vacant rooms for between Dec. 24 and Jan. 2, as many as 80
percent of the customers already have paid for their reserved
rooms.

"We charge the usual weekend rate for Christmas and Idul
Fitri. For New Year's Eve, there is a 50 percent surcharge on
room rates," executive manager Jonny Iteh said.

The situation is not much different in the resort hotels along
Carita beach in Anyer, some two hours drive from Jakarta if the
traffic situation is normal.

At Sol Elite Marbella Resort all the rooms are booked between
Dec. 23 and Jan. 2, and this after a 20 percent increase in
prices, director of sales and marketing A. Ferdy said.

Yani Heryani of Mutiara Carita Cottage said it was difficult
to find vacant rooms for the period between Dec. 26 and Jan. 1.
She said some rooms were available from Dec. 23 to Dec. 25.

Tanjung Lesung Beach Resort, south of Carita beach, still has
plenty of rooms for New Year's Eve, but not for the duration of
the Christmas and Idul Fitri holidays.

In Puncak, many hotels offering bungalows say they are already
fully booked for the holiday period.

Lembah Bukit Raya Hotel in Cipanas has no more rooms available
for between Dec. 24 and Jan. 2, even after it put up its rates by
15 percent, Lilik, a member of the marketing staff, said.

Green Hill Resort raised its rates by 10 percent and is still
booked for the holidays, marketing manager Dadang Suherman said.

At Indo Alam Hotel, all the rooms are booked from Dec. 27
until after the New Year.

Many Jakartans who want to get away but dread the holiday
traffic jams will head for Ancol, where the three major hotels
there are reporting brisk business.

Horison Hotel is fully booked for between Dec. 24 and Jan. 2,
while Putri Duyung Cottages has no vacancies from Dec. 26 to
Jan.1.

Raddin Ancol Jakarta says it still has vacancies for the
Christmas and Idul Fitri holidays, but not for New Year's Eve.

Five and four-star hotels in the capital also are vying for
the holiday business.

Many families will be left without their domestic helpers, who
will be joining the Idul Fitri exodus to their villages. Some of
these families retreat to the comfort and care of luxury hotels.

Hotel Indonesia says its rooms are already fully booked for
the year-end celebrations. Shangri-La Hotel, Borobudur Hotel and
the Jakarta Hilton also expect to sell all their rooms with New
Year's Eve dinner packages.

Henny Puspitasari, public relations manager at Sheraton Media
Hotels, said that based on last year's experience, she expects
the hotel to book all of its rooms from Dec. 23 until after the
New Year. (04)