Complaints From Hotel Entrepreneurs To Jokowi: IDR 50 Trillion Will Evaporate, 1,600 Restaurants Will Close

Grand Sahid Jaya Hotel. (Photo: Doc. Kemenparekraf)

JAKARTA - Chairman of the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association (PHRI), Hariyadi Sukamdani, noted that the hotel industry has the potential to lose around IDR 50 trillion in revenue due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the government's policy of limiting activities.

Hariyadi said, the COVID-19 pandemic and various restrictions have made the company's cash flow increasingly depressed throughout 2020.

"We estimate that during 2020, we will lose at least Rp 50 trillion in potential revenue for nearly 800 thousand rooms," he said, in a virtual press conference on Monday, January 18.

According to Hariyadi, the current conditions of limiting community activities (PPKM) in Java and Bali are considered to further suppress cash flow in the business sector in various fields including hotels, restaurants, shopping centers, and retail. So, according to him, Termination of Employment (PHK) cannot be avoided.

"So that there is no lay-off? This really depends on cash flow. If it continues to be depressed it cannot be avoided," he said.

Hariyadi explained that during the last 11 months there had been a significant reduction in the workforce. However, it is not a pure layoff, because if this is the case, the employer must pay severance pay, which is burdensome.

Furthermore, Hariyadi said, the workforce reduction that had been done so far was one of them by not extending employee contracts that had expired.

"Apindo estimates that within one year, it is possible that 30 percent of the formal workforce will be lost, not to return because of this situation," he said.

Previously, PHRI Deputy Chairperson Emil Arifin said the restaurant sector was also getting more and more pressured by the PPKM policy. According to him, if the implementation of PPKM is extended, the number of restaurants that are permanently closed will reach 1,600.

Emil said, based on a survey as of October 2020, it showed that there were already 1,030 restaurants that were permanently closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Fairmont Hotel, Jakarta. (Angga Nugraha / VOI)

"They can open it if there is additional working capital, including from banks. But if it is extended the permanent closure can reach up to 1,600 restaurants," he said.

Therefore, restaurant, hotel and shopping center entrepreneurs through the Indonesian Employers' Association (Apindo) are asking the government to give concessions to malls, retails, hotels and restaurants that have implemented health protocols to keep operating until 21.00 and a maximum dine-in capacity of 50. percent.

"We ask the government to be elected. If indeed it has implemented the health protocol, it should be given leniency. Hopefully this first evaluation will be given concessions to restaurants or malls that have implemented health protocols," he explained.