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.
Hotels for sale include Hotel Le Meridien on Jenderal Sudirman Street, Central Jakarta. The five-star hotel was sold for IDR 2.7 trillion by the Best Properties Indonesia account at OLX, and it turns out that it also exists in several other marketplaces.
Then there is also the Goodrich Hotel in Kemang, South Jakarta, which was sold for IDR 26.8 billion by Ogi Nugraha's account at OLX on January 25, 2021. Other hotels in the Jakarta area that are sold in the marketplace are the Hotel Ibis Budget Jakarta, Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta. , which was sold for IDR 85 billion by the Aldila Aspan account on February 1, 2021.
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 days," he said.
Bandung, Jogja, Bali
Apart from DKI Jakarta, PHRI West Java also noted that there are hundreds of hotels that have gone bankrupt due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. PHRI West Java Chairman Herman Muchtar said that his party was still conducting detailed data collection regarding the number of hotels that were bankrupt, but according to him hundreds of hotels in West Java that were bankrupt were no longer operating.
"What is clear is that there are already many closed and unopened ones, slumped. It's already past January entering February COVID-19 has not recovered," Herman said in Bandung, West Java, quoted from Antara, Friday, February 5.
According to him, the hotels that experienced the most bankruptcies were in the city of Bandung, West Java. Because, he said, the region was most affected when tourist visits decreased.
"The city of Bandung is quite a lot (hotels are bankrupt), I think so," said Herman.
As for Yogyakarta, there are also many hotels that are on the verge of bankruptcy, and many have gone out of business. The chairman of PHRI Yogyakarta, Deddy Pranowo, revealed that dozens of hotels and restaurants in Yogyakarta were officially closed because they could not withstand the onslaught of operating costs every month.
"A total of 50 hotels and restaurants are closed. But mostly non-star hotels and small restaurants," he said, when contacted by VOI, Thursday, February 4.
Deddy said that his party had been struggling for almost 10 months to survive amid the uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, hoteliers are no longer able to pay employee salaries, electricity rates, and even BPJS.
"The reason is they are no longer strong with cash flow because the meter, PLN, BPJS, taxes, salaries, and other payments are still running, while the income is small. Even zero, because we can live with human movement (mobility), while (now) it is closed," he explained.
Meanwhile in Bali, which is the heart of Indonesia's tourism, also feels the same way as in Jakarta and Yogyakarta. Chairman of the Association of Indonesian Hotels and Restaurants (PHRI) in Badung Regency, Bali, Rai Suryawijaya, said that the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has made 60 hotels spread across the Island of the Gods to be sold.
He explained that the sale of these hotels was due to the very low occupancy rates so far, ranging from 5 to 7 percent. On the other hand, hotel business actors must pay their debt obligations at the bank. And according to him, if the COVID-19 pandemic is not over, of course the effect will be that in the future many more hotels will be sold.
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