Singapore hotels filling fast with evacuees from Indonesia
Singapore hotels filling fast with evacuees from Indonesia
SINGAPORE (AP): It may be all woe in Indonesia, but Singapore seems to be profiting in part from the chaos of its riot-torn neighbor.
The small city-state's previously low hotel occupancy have been receiving a boost from an unexpected source in recent days as people fleeing the bedlam of Indonesia are swiftly filling service apartments and hotels, according to industry officials contacted yesterday.
Indonesians and foreigners have been leaving in droves from the troubled Southeast Asian nation -- in the grip of its most dramatic upheaval of three decades -- for the safety of nearby Singapore.
Hotels and service apartments are nearing full capacity, according to owners and representatives of the numerous lodges in tourist-oriented Singapore.
"We are extremely full at the moment, obviously because of the crisis in Indonesia" guest relations officer Merlin Chelliah of Westin Hotel, the country's largest five-star establishment, told The Associated Press.
She said the hotel, which has 2,046 rooms and a capacity for well over 4,000 people, expects to be fully occupied by the end of Saturday. Most of those staying at their hotel who fled Indonesia are foreigners, though about 30 percent are Indonesian nationals, and many are families.
In the two months before the Indonesian crisis intensified, the Westin was suffering from low occupancy of about 60 percent due to the tourist slump affecting the region.
Those fleeing Indonesia are typically booking their rooms for about a week, allowing them to observe the situation from a safe distance before deciding whether to return, according to a Four Seasons Hotel manager.
Service apartments, which offer a long-term alternative to pricy hotels while still offering some amenities and choices of room size, are also quickly filling.
Singapore's Far East Organization, which operates a number of service apartments in addition to several hotels, said they have seen a huge jump in bookings from people escaping Indonesia. Some of their business is coming from companies which have evacuated their staff from the country.
Since the turmoil worsened recently, over 100 service apartments run by Far East have been occupied, and requests for rooms are coming in everyday, according to public relations officer Chia Boon Pin.