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Hotels see flat, drop in occupancy rates amid campaign season
Candidates vying for House of Representatives seats and presidential hopefuls from the 12 participating political parties are traveling throughout the archipelago to garner support, requiring accommodations for them and their campaign teams
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Candidates vying for House of Representatives seats and presidential hopefuls from the 12 participating political parties are traveling throughout the archipelago to garner support, requiring accommodations for them and their campaign teams.
However, several hotel chains are claiming that their occupancy rates as well as meeting room and function space usage have not seen any significant increases as the country is set to host its legislative election on April 9.
Some hotels have said that they have recorded occupancy rate drops, attributed to possible security concerns related to the campaign season.
Guido Andriano, sales and marketing general manager of Santika Indonesia Hotels & Resorts, said occupancy rates at its hotels across the country had remained flat compared to previous months.
Santika owns a number of four- and five-star hotels in many cities, namely in Jakarta, Surabaya in East Java, Yogyakarta, Semarang in Central Java, Bogor and Bandung in West Java, as well as Medan in North Sumatra.
'In 2009, we did see an increase in meeting room usage,' Guido told The Jakarta Post recently.
'These rooms were usually booked by political parties in several cities for campaign events with their middle- and upper-class supporters,' he continued.
'But until now, there have been no significant increases.'
Meanwhile, Hotel Borobudur, a five-star hotel located in Central Jakarta managed by Discovery Hotels & Resorts, has seen a drop ahead of the elections.
'Usually occupancy rates in five-star hotels is around 60 to 68 percent,' said Discovery communications and media relations manager Fransiska Kamil.
'We have experienced a slight drop to about 55 percent,' she said.
'I'm not sure why [there has been a hotel occupancy rate drop]. It might be because there have been security concerns ahead of the campaign season so people choosing to avoid staying in big cities.'
Discovery's other hotels ' Palace Hotel in Cipanas, West Java, and Kartika Plaza Hotel in Bali ' are experiencing flat occupancy rates, according to Fransiska.
Hotel management chain Archipelago International, formerly known as Aston International, has recorded dull occupancy rates and meeting room usage, according to the management's corporate sales and marketing director, Yanuar Dedy Setiawan,
Archipelago International manages several hotel brands, including the five-star Aston hotel and budget hotels such as Fave and Neo in many cities throughout the country.
Hotel Mulia Senayan, according to spokeswoman Romy Herlambang, has also yet to see increases in its occupancy rate or function room usage despite its strategic location near Bung Karno Stadium, Central Jakarta.
The stadium is often used by political parties to campaign.
Several parties, such as the Gerindra Party, the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) and the Nasdem Party have all separately used the stadium to campaign, attracting several high-ranking officials from outside the city.
'We have had several party members stay at the hotel every now and then, but not for the purpose of campaigning,' Romy said.
The Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association's (PHRI) director, Carla Parengkuan, said that she could not identify the reasons behind the drop or stagnation in hotel occupancy rates and meeting room usage.
'We don't know yet. The hotels in our association have yet to report to us,' she said.
The official campaign period for the legislative election started on March 15 and will enter a cooling-off period on April 6-8 before election day on April 9.
Parties are given the chance to campaign to gather support throughout the archipelago in accordance with a schedule determined by the General Elections Commission (KPU).
Meanwhile, the first round of the presidential election will take place on July 9, with a campaign period from June 14 until July 5.
If needed, the second round will take place on Sept. 9 with a campaign period running from Aug. 15 until Aug. 24.
The president and vice president elect will be inaugurated on Oct. 20. (dwa)
