JOGJAKARTA will need a thorough re-evaluation of its ratio of the number of hotel rooms to public space, said its governor Sultan Hamengku Buwono X, expressing support for the municipal government’s recent decision to impose a moratorium on new hotels.
The governor said: “With the additional 34 new (star- and non-star-rated) hotels (in the last couple of years), it is important to have a thorough study of the ratio of the number of available rooms to public space, so that it does not take away what rightfully belongs to the travelling public.”
Mayor of Jogjakarta, Haryadi Suyuti, earlier imposed a city regulation to stop issuing new hotel licences as of January 1, 2014. The moratorium is valid until December 31, 2016 and is applied only to the Jogjakarta municipality of this city province. However, investors who obtain new licences before January 1, 2014 will be able to continue with construction, while existing hotels are allowed expansion.
Haryadi was quoted by the local media as saying: “Jogjakarta already has quite a lot of hotels. This moratorium is temporary and we shall evaluate again later.”
According to the municipality’s data, there are currently 37 star-rated hotels and 370 non-star accommodations.
Horwath HTL director, Pacific Asia, Matt Gebbie, said out of the six major cities in Java-Bali (Jakarta, Bali, Bandung, Surabaya, Semarang, Jogjakarta/Solo), Jogjakarta and Solo are the most balanced in terms of supply and demand, allowing occupancy and rates to increase in the last couple of years and next year.
Gebbie said the destination could apply a moratorium policy, but “more than dictating what to do the (regional government) can have an educated look at where the gaps in the market are”, such as whether there are too many hotels in the lower tier and not enough in another.
