In the capital city of Jakarta, which is the epicenter of the epidemic within the country, some five-star hotels have suspended their operations entirely, while others still welcome guests, albeit with tight preventive measures and creativity with their promotions.

Felicia Setiawan, the marketing communications director of Fairmont Jakarta in Central Jakarta, which is still open, said all of the hotel's staff were required to wear face masks and gloves – the latter is especially a must for room cleaners. The establishment also provides hand sanitizer in several areas and body temperature checks at the entrances. Access to and from the hotel is limited.

“A number of our gates are closed earlier, such as the tunnel that connects the hotel to Plaza Senayan,” Felicia told The Jakarta Post on Thursday, adding that the hotel still had other gates open around the clock.

Regarding occupancy, Fairmont Jakarta has been severely impacted by the outbreak. “Aside from the decrease in terms of occupancy, we’ve also temporarily closed several of our restaurants as a preventive measure,” said Felicia.

The hotel's temporarily closed restaurants include 1945 Restaurant, Peacock Lounge and VIEW Restaurant and Bar. Its all-day dining restaurant Spectrum remains open, while guests may order food from the now-closed Italian eatery Sapori Deli from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Fairmont Jakarta's neighbor, Hotel Mulia Senayan in Central Jakarta, no longer operates its CJ's Bar and Cascade Lounge but still runs its restaurants, namely The Café, Orient8, Edogin, il Mare and Table8 -- all also provide a food delivery service with a minimum order of Rp 1 million (US$63.59).

“We believe in this current situation, the hospitality industry is hit the hardest; [hence] we are doing our best to serve our guests,” Rully Rahman, director of sales and marketing at Hotel Mulia Senayan, said via email.

The Westin Jakarta in South Jakarta is among the five-star hotels that no longer welcome guests.

“In light of the Jakarta gubernatorial regulation and the current global COVID-19 situation, we can confirm that from April 1, The Westin Jakarta has been unable to accommodate any new bookings and will be waiving cancellation fees during this time,” shared the hotel's sales and marketing director, Himanshu Kapoor, via messaging service.

According to Kapoor, the establishment is currently operating with “limited access to facilities and food and beverages services” for the guests who are currently staying at the hotel. “This decision has been taken together with the hotel owner, as the well-being and safety of our associates and guests [is of] utmost importance."

Meanwhile around 9 kilometers from The Westin Jakarta, The Sultan Hotel Jakarta has temporarily shut down its operations, or switched to “reduced-operation mode” from April 1 to May 31. The Central Jakarta hotel stated that the decision was made to ensure the health of its guests and staff, as well as in response to the “decline of the business and room occupancy rates."

Guests who have booked their stay are said to be transferred to The Sultan Residence apartment, which is located close to the hotel, with terms and conditions applied.

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The Dharmawangsa hotel in South Jakarta has also announced its temporarily closure.

Some of the properties of hotel management group Archipelago International are also no longer operating because of the COVID-19 crisis. “We are confident that our hotels that have to temporarily close will reopen as soon as it’s safe to do so,” said the company's president and CEO, John M. Flood, in a statement.

Among the ones temporarily closed are those located in South Jakarta, such as Aston Rasuna and favehotel Melawai. (kes)