Slow Recovery Ahead for Indonesia’s Hotel Industry: Colliers International

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com – Real estate services firm Colliers International Indonesia expects the hotel industry in the country to take a much longer time to recover from the coronavirus pandemic than it did from the SARS pandemic.

Colliers International Senior Associate Director Ferry Salanto said when the world went through the SARS pandemic, Asia needed 14 months to recover.

“Just like the coronavirus pandemic, the first SARS originated from Asia. However, the biggest share of Covid-19 cases globally is in the United States and Europe,” said Ferry.

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“The Asia region at the time had the highest number of SARS cases. Considering the country’s large number of Covid-19 cases, Indonesia’s hotel industry will take longer to recover,” added Ferry.

Colliers International’s data on Indonesia’s hotel industry suggests that the occupancy rate of hotels in Jakarta plunged during the coronavirus pandemic.

The occupancy rate of hotels in Jakarta averaged 60 percent from January to February. In May, that figure was below 20 percent.

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Moreover, Ferry said that Indonesias will postpone business trips and holiday plans until a Covid-19 vaccine is discovered.

This has affected hotel projects in Jakarta as many construction projects have come to a standstill.

During the first semester of 2020, Colliers International noted that only one new hotel in Jakarta was built in February.

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The hotel project’s planned opening in 2020 was forced to be rescheduled to a later date when the situation improves.

According to Ferry, investors prefer to hold on to their money to save themselves.

“Throughout the first semester in 2020, the supply of hotels in Jakarta reached 40,000 units. It is projected to remain stagnant until 2022,” he said.