PETALING JAYA: With Hari Raya coming soon, hotels in Malaysia expect a slight increase in business.
Given the pandemic, any increase will be minimal, said Datuk N. Subramaniam, president of the Malaysian Association of Hotels (MAH).
“Space occupancy is still low and little has improved due to interstate travel restrictions. But the number of events and food and drink (F&B) can nominally increase, ”he said when contacted about how the hotel industry is dealing with it.
He generally said customer traffic for events and restaurants in hotels, including Buka Puasa buffets, was down 60% from pre-pandemic 2019.
“The decrease in traffic is due to capacity constraints that are in line with industry operating practices,” he said. Subramaniam noted that the Marketing Authorization Holder has over 1,000 members.
They found that the average total occupancy for Hari Raya week in 2019 was around 60%.
“For this year’s celebration, however, an occupancy rate of no more than 40% is expected.
“Our average prices are also down by 30% to 70% due to huge discounts to encourage local tourists,” Subramaniam said.
While social events with SOP are allowed, he said public confidence is still average. He found that social events had decreased by 70% compared to 2019.
Some hotels have offered “work from hotel” deals, but Subramaniam said the response to such packages has not been encouraging.
“Even individual customers would choose their homes for work because the technology is easily accessible and conveniently available anywhere, anytime,” he added.
To stay afloat, according to Subramaniam, hotels are hoping for better business with F&B restaurants in communities, grocery deliveries and rooms at attractive prices.
“We also hope that the government will offer industry assistance with tax exemptions and subsidies to help us cope,” he added.
It was reported that the tourism industry had requested a dialogue with the relevant authorities and said the industry was facing an “economic pandemic”.
On April 20, Deputy Police Inspector General Datuk Seri Acryl Sani Abdullah said Bukit Aman had tightened interstate travel permits due to the increase in Covid-19 cases.
