HotelsMag November 2013 | Page 64

PIPELINE : ASIA PACIFIC

INDONESIA

Indonesia ’ s capital city of Jakarta and resort haven of Bali rank behind only Shanghai in terms of total guestrooms in their total active pipelines in Asia Pacific , with 8,167 guestrooms and 7,244 guestrooms , respectively , according to the most recent data available from STR Global . The new supply is not hurting hotel performance in Jakarta , which saw occupancy from January to May increase 2.9 % year-on-year to 67.5 %, a 14.1 % ADR increase to US $ 168 and a 17.4 % RevPAR increase to US $ 114 , according to Jones Lang LaSalle . However , in Bali new supply is pulling down occupancy .
Foreign direct investment in Indonesia ’ s tourism industry skyrocketed 225 % to nearly US $ 800 million between 2011 and 2012 , according to data from HVS . The bulk of the new supply is economy and midscale hotels . Meanwhile , this year the Indonesian government expanded Jakarta ’ s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport and Bali ’ s Ngurah Rai International Airport , the latter of which includes a terminal that will be able to handle 25 million passengers per year .
Accor is the largest operator in Indonesia by guestroom count , and according to Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels & Hospitality , Ibis has the largest pipeline in the country by brand . Earlier this year Accor launched the Maha Cipta brand extension for its Grand Mercurebranded hotels in Indonesia , similar to its Mei Jue brand extension for China .
The second-largest operator is Archipelago International , Jakarta , whose hotels are primarily on the islands of Java , serving domestic and regional corporate travelers , and in Bali , serving primarily Australian leisure travelers . Archipelago continues to expand in Indonesia via management contracts . “ The biggest issue we face now is saturation of our brand in several markets where we cannot take on new projects and have to reject deal offers , which of course has opened the doors for others to enter ,” says Norbert Vas , vice president of sales and marketing , Archipelago International . “ Bali , where we have 17 hotels operating and 13 in the pipeline , is key to us , but it is feeling the effects of oversupply already . However , arrivals are increasing from China and domestic leisure travelers .”
Santika Indonesia Hotels & Resorts , Jakarta , is the country ’ s third-largest operator and is currently focused on expanding its Amaris Hotel budget brand via owned hotels . Santika reports growing RevPAR and occupancy across all its brands .
IHG says it is targeting Indonesia for expansion with its Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express brands . “ We see Indonesia as a primarily midscale market ,” says Clarence Tan , COO , South East Asia and resorts , IHG .
Infrastructure helps keep the pipeline geared toward Bali , but Indonesia ’ s other islands may see more resort development , which could create a parallel of the Caribbean market for Australian and Chinese leisure travelers . “ Developers are looking beyond Bali ,” says Neil Jacobs , CEO , Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas . “ The hot places are Sumba , Flores , Komodo and Lombok , as all have beautiful beaches and natural surroundings . However , ultimately airlift and road infrastructure are big pieces of how a hotel market is assessed by foreign investors , and the Balinese government recognized this and responded accordingly .”
Anantara Bali Uluwatu opened in June 2012 . The Balinese market has the third-largest hotel pipeline in
Asia Pacific .
62 HOTELS November 2013 www . hotelsmag . com