Le Meridien Hotel Etc. For Sale In Marketplace, PHRI: It Has Been 12 Months That This Industry Cannot Rise

Illustration. (Photo: Unsplash)

JAKARTA - The COVID-19 pandemic that has been ongoing since last year has put pressure on the economy and business sector. Many businessmen have gone out of business because they cannot survive, one of which is in the hotel sector. Several businessmen have been forced to sell their hotels in Jakarta through a number of marketplaces.

The hotels for sale include Hotel Le Meridien on Jalan Jenderal Sudirman, Central Jakarta, sold for IDR 2.7 trillion by the Best Properties Indonesia account at OLX. Advertising for the sale of Hotel Le Meridien is also available in several other marketplaces.

Then, the Hotel Ibis Budget Jakarta, Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta, was sold for Rp. 85 billion. The Ibis Budget Jakarta hotel was sold by the Aldila Aspan account on February 1, 2021.

When confirmed, Secretary General of the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association (PHRI) Maulana Yusran said the phenomenon of selling hotels had indeed occurred since before the COVID-19 pandemic. However, this condition is exacerbated by the pandemic.

According to Yusran, the sale of hotels in Jakarta during the COVID-19 pandemic was carried out as a solution to avoiding deeper losses. This is because the hotel operating costs and credit payments are still running, while the income is not there.

"If they are asked why they are selling, is it because there is pressure? So you see, this hotel and restaurant are already in the 12th month, yes they cannot rise at all. Never mind talking to get up, it's hard to survive," he said, when contacted by VOI , Thursday, February 4.

Furthermore, Yusran said, the hotel industry is difficult to survive not only from the pressure of the COVID-19 pandemic, but also from various policies issued by the government that have resulted in restrictions on mobility or community activities.

"Because of that policy, everything is holding back movement. On the other hand, hotels and restaurants really need movement. Coupled with this time limitation also affects consumer traffic to move. Not to mention the problem of testing to use airplanes, which are now only given a time limit of 2. day, "he said.

According to him, various policies issued by the government are very burdensome for business actors in the hotel industry sector. However, he did not deny that restrictions were needed to prevent the spread of a massive virus.

Even so, he said, the government's restrictive policies were not running optimally, where active cases of COVID-19 in the country continued to increase, while the economy was under pressure. As a result, the impact on hotel occupancy or occupancy has decreased dramatically.

"The impact is not only on the island of Java but also throughout Indonesia. This is added to the conditions that are currently in low season. This is what makes business players breathless, because this is not 2 or 3 months and this has entered the 12th. month, "he said.

Yusran explained that if this condition continues without assistance from the government, many hotels and restaurants will go bankrupt. As a result, layoffs or layoffs are inevitable.

"We have not seen that the workforce sector (layoffs) will increase. Because business actors cannot pay salaries from the workforce itself and now the workforce is what happens?" He said.

Therefore, he said, in this difficult time the government must share the burden and not delegate everything to entrepreneurs. He also suggested that the government should carry out more massive tracing in residential areas, not only in the business sector such as hotels and restaurants.

"But we have never seen how the situation is in a densely populated environment such as in markets or roadside stalls. The implementation of health protocols in the community. How can it not improve if it is not controlled there," he said.