SiteMinder’s World Hotel Index, the indicator of hotel reservation and guest arrival trends globally, showed that by July 2022, 45 per cent of forward bookings to its Indonesian hotels have been from international travellers — a trend that has been accelerating since February 2022 when restrictions on incoming travellers were relaxed.
Bali leads as the top destination receiving international bookings, followed by Jakarta, Bandung and Yogyakarta.
Booking volumes for SiteMinder’s Indonesian hotels are currently at 94 per cent of the pre-pandemic level, compared to August 2020’s booking volumes which were less than 40 per cent of the same period in 2019 when international bookings were below 10 per cent. This showed a big drop from that of January 2020, when international bookings shed nearly 60 per cent of total bookings.
Thanks to the country’s large population, hotels have been kept afloat by the domestic market.
Justin Williams, regional manager (Asia), SiteMinder, told TTG Asia that the domestic market “remains important to the local accommodation industry” but as international travel rebuilds, it will be relied upon “less heavily by Indonesian accommodation providers”.
He said: “This August, for example, roughly half of all bookings to Indonesian hotels were from local guests; however, international travellers are taking up a greater share with each month.”
SiteMinder’s market vice president – Asia Pacific, Bradley Haines, commented: “With a strong reliance on international travel, Indonesia’s accommodation sector has certainly felt the repercussions of restricted global movement more than most in recent years. However, a trait of this period that’s represented in this data is the speed at which things can change.
“With thousands of both large and small hotel operators in Indonesia that contribute significantly to the country’s economy, but haven’t always had access to the technology that we can provide, there is a tremendous opportunity awaiting every Indonesian accommodation business currently, as international travel rebounds.”
SiteMinder helps to educate the growing Indonesian team through regular events where local businesses are provided with the latest information on how to run a successful accommodation operation.
To celebrate the return of international travel to Indonesia, and to discuss its implications for local accommodation businesses, SiteMinder hosted a roundtable event in Bali last July, featuring a panel of general managers from the local hotel industry.
