TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Hotels turn to artists' touch to lure guests
Stylish sleep: Artotel Indonesia hotel chain has decorated all its guest rooms and facilities at its Artotel Thamrin hotel on Jl
Change Size
S
span class="inline inline-center">Stylish sleep: Artotel Indonesia hotel chain has decorated all its guest rooms and facilities at its Artotel Thamrin hotel on Jl. Sunda, Central Jakarta with artistic designs to set the hotel apart from others. Courtesy of Artotel Indonesia
With escalating competition in the hospitality industry, hotel chains are going the extra mile to stand out among their rivals.
Artotel Indonesia, for example, has added unique and colorful decorations to every hotel it operates, and claims to be the one player in Indonesia that makes the best use of art in its hotels.
'We fully integrate art in our hotels since art can create an value added experience for our customers. By using art, we can create a new and different atmosphere that adds comfort and convenience,' Artotel Indonesia corporate general manager Eduard R. Pangkerego told The Jakarta Post.
Hotel numbers have continued to increase in the country's major cities. It is estimated that an additional 50,000 new rooms will open across the archipelago next year. According to the association of the Indonesian hotels (PHRI), there are currently about 285,000 star-rated hotel rooms available.
'This is very important because in the end, when supply in the market is high and people have a lot of choices, they will pick accommodations that are unique and provide good service.'
During the Post's site visit to Artotel Thamrin, the firm's second accommodation currently under construction, contemporary art could be seen in the building's rooms and lobby.
The hotel's exterior stood out along Jl. Sunda in Central Jakarta as it had the image of huge squid painted on it .
Six local artists including Zaki Arifin, Oky Rey Montha and Eddie Hara painted as many as 107 rooms in the hotel.
'Each artist designed a floor, so we have six different urban contemporary style themed rooms here. We are doing this because we want to really integrate the art in the hotel,' Artotel Thamrin public relations manager Heni Juniarti said, adding that the hotel would launch on Oct. 17 this year.
Artotel Indonesia's first property is Artotel Surabaya in East Java, a 106-room urban street-style accommodation that opened in July 2012.
'Response from the market has been good as we have maintained on average a 84 percent occupancy rate till today,' Eduard said.
The company is currently constructing two properties in Cikarang, West Java and Sanur, Bali, that are expected to open next year. It plans to expand the chain to Palembang, Makassar and Kendari over the next few years.
Another player incorporating art in its hotels is Tauzia Hotel Management through its new brand Yello Hotel.
Tauzia spokeswoman Yani Sinulingga said the company had decided to blend street art into its Yello accommodation as it was the perfect way to target the booming middle-class market in the country that sought freedom through arts.
'We want to showcase freedom of expression in addition to urban art. Our artistic atmosphere with distinctive bright colors and cutting edge design will bring in a whole new market ,' she said.
Just as with Artotel, Yello will incorporate street art in its lobby, rooms and meeting rooms. Fourteen Yello Hotel properties are being developed in major cities across Java and Bali, with its first one, Yello Seminyak (Bali), set to begin operations in the first quarter of 2014.
The firm was optimistic that its art-themed hotel would pull in a 70 to 80 percent occupancy rate despite the highly competitive market, she said.
A hotel in Jakarta that has included art to help enhance its services is the upscale Pullman Central Park in West Jakarta.
It was distinctively designed with an 'Industrial Raw' concept, a cross between a modern museum and a designer signature hotel.
Pullman Central Park's marketing communication executive, Arditiya Chandra Putra, said the art concept had been a success as the hotel was able to maintain its 80 percent occupancy rate on the weekends when most hotels had seen decreased rates.
