Indonesian budget hotels tap into growing MICE demand

Aston International and Conventions spokeswoman Febry Anindita said all of its budget hotel brands in Indonesia had at least one function room that could accommodate up to 15 people. “The demand from our customers for meeting room facilities increases every year. Thus, we provide this facility to accommodate their business needs,” Febry said.

Aston’s line of budget hotels, which it has dubbed “Favehotels”, offers 158,000 rupiah (Bt500) per person for a full-day meeting package, inclusive of two coffee breaks and one meal, or 128,000 rupiah for a half-day package, with one coffee break and one meal included.

The rates were also inclusive of standard meeting room equipment, such as a white board, note pads, microphone, mineral water, and the 21 percent government tax, she said.

Newcomer Tauzia Hotel Management, which operates the budget “POP! Hotels”, offers small to medium-sized meeting rooms in its hotels. Tauzia spokeswoman Yani Sinulingga said that their meeting rooms were booked by both local government and business people almost every day. “We have seen a positive response from the market for small meeting room facilities which we offer,” she said.

Contacted separately, Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) Jakarta chapter chairman Eddy Kurtadi said that he often held meetings with his business partners, colleagues and friends in budget-rate hotels. “It is very suitable for our meetings which only involve a small or medium group of people. Besides, we are looking for comfort during our short meetings, and the low-cost hotels can now offer this,” Eddy said.