Hotels vie for family guests for Idul Fitri

Hotels across the country, especially in greater Jakarta, are offering packages to attract families who don’t want to deal with the heaps of laundry, dirty dishes and daily chores left behind when their housemaids go home during the Idul Fitri holiday.

The promotional packages are also an attempt to prop up hotel occupancy during the low season.

International chain operator Accor Hotels, with its mid-scale brand Novotel, offers Idul Fitri package for Rp 668,000 (US$70.80) per night for two adults and two children in a standard room at its location in Mangga Dua, North Jakarta. The price includes breakfast, discounted laundry services, dinner at the hotel and Seaworld tickets, Accor’s regional director for sales, marketing, and distribution Adi Satria said in a statement sent to The Jakarta Post.

Discounts on laundry services and free tickets to family-friendly amusement parks are apparently the most common features for such packages.

Aston International Hotels’ spokesperson Febri Anindita said that the four-star business hotel Aston Paramount Serpong offered a two-night stay for two for Rp 1.35 million until Sept. 1. “The customers will receive a 15 percent discount on their laundry, a 10 percent discount for food and beverages, and two tickets to Ocean Park,” Febri said.

Kompas Gramedia’s Santika Indonesia Hotels and Resort Group, a major player in the local market, offers a Rp 700,000 special package for superior rooms at its Taman Mini location during the Islamic holiday.

Santika spokesperson Vivi Herlambang said the package included breakfast and lunch or dinner.

Tauzia Hotel Management, which operates four-star Harris Hotels and two-star POP! Hotels, also promoted Idul Fitri at the Harris Hotel Bandung and the Paragon in Surakarta.

Tauzia representative Yani Sinulingga said customers could spend Rp 860,000 per night at the Harris Hotel Bandung and Rp 785,000 at the Paragon and enjoy a selection of traditional Idul Fitri dishes such as ketupat (rice cakes) with opor ayam (chicken in coconut milk) and rendang (West Sumatran style beef stew).

Indonesian Association of Hotels and Restaurants (PHRI) chairwoman Haryanti Sukamdani said that while competition among hotels in Jakarta was tight during the Idul Fitri season, hotels in tourist destinations like Bali could take advantage of the holidays because as visitors extended their vacations.(Jakarta Post)