One Hotelier’s Take on Indonesia as an Emerging Market

One of the earth’s largest resort companies as well as also the third-biggest hotel chain in Europe, Meliá Hotels International says the idea can be committed to the development of international hospitality standards. the idea has gained strong footholds in traditional markets across the Caribbean, Latin America as well as also Europe, while its presence in major international markets like the United States, the Persian Gulf as well as also China has helped the idea earn a great deal of recognition.

Named the best hotel chain in Europe at the 2015 European Hospitality Awards, Meliá began its operation in Indonesia in 1986 when the idea opened Meliá Bali, the brand’s first hotel outside Spain.

The success of Meliá Bali became synonymous with the man behind the idea: Gonzalo Maceda. Indonesia Expat caught up with Gonzalo in recent weeks to understand more about Southeast Asia’s largest emerging market, through the eyes of a seasoned hotelier.

that has a background in business administration, Gonzalo Maceda joined Meliá Hotels (one of the brand’s 180 outlets in Spain) as the director of finance back in 2001. After a brief assignment with the Embassy of Spain’s Commercial Office in Bangkok, Maceda was then moved to Bangkok where he made a working stint before ultimately arriving in Indonesia. At which time, Meliá was operating seven hotels within the archipelago.

Maceda crunched numbers in Meliá’s Jakarta regional office For 2 years, where he focused primarily on finance as well as also operations. In 2006, the company decided to move part of its business structure to Shanghai in an effort to support fresh projects in mainland China.

In 2015, after the successful opening of branches in China, Maceda moved back to Indonesia to jump-start another expansion, not just within the archipelago, although throughout all of Southeast Asia.

“While I have worked in several positions with Meliá – by hotel operations, finance as well as also HR – the logical step for my career after the move back to Indonesia was the development department. which can be where we focus on deciding the specific locations where we want to establish Meliá’s presence as well as also find the necessary partners as well as also investors to make the idea happen,” Gonzalo explained.

Maceda explained which while Meliá Bali may not be the biggest, the idea can be the oldest player within the Indonesian market. This kind of has proven advantageous for the hotel chain. the idea can be well-known among the early players within the market, which has made the idea easier for Meliá to spread brand awareness within the island nation.

According to Maceda, operating hotels in Asia can be different than in Europe.

“by a service point of view, we are lucky to have experienced great attitudes towards hospitality as well as also enough resources to make sure which our guests have a great ‘Asian luxury’ experience,” he said.

Despite being a global company with almost 100,000 rooms in 400 hotels across 42 countries, the Meliá brand operates as an Asian company. The majority of daily decisions affecting the business as well as also the strategic plans are brainstormed as well as also decided within the company’s Asia offices. Maceda says the business always aims to “think globally although act locally.”

In line with This kind of, Meliá’s right now vice president for development revealed how despite the great differences between city hotels as well as also resorts, both customer bases have turned towards an “Asian customer” profile.

“This kind of can be attributed to the fact which both intra-Asian business as well as also leisure travel have grown exponentially over the last 13 years since I arrived in Asia, as well as also which has significantly affected the reality of our hotels. As for business hotels, Asian customers are right now demanding a higher level of luxury than their western counterparts, as they are used to receiving which kind of treatment. Thus, our SOPs have been evolving to continuously answer which need.”

In 2015, Meliá Hotels International launched its Asian-friendly programme “Peng You by Melia.” Initially introduced across 80 hotels – all Asian hotels as well as also properties in London, Barcelona, Miami, Mexico, Paris as well as also others – the worldwide programme aims to adapt to the needs as well as also expectations of the growing Asian customer base. The programme includes extensive training as well as also fresh regulations on proficiency in Mandarin as well as also additional Asian languages for the staff. the idea also incorporates Asian food on menus as well as also in buffets, includes Asian TV channels as well as also translates of all of Meliá’s materials into numerous eastern languages.

Maceda disclosed which within the case of leisure hotels in Bali, “the change of our market base by European to domestic, as well as the rest of ASEAN as well as also China, means more visitors follow the travel patterns of Asian customers. They are more inclined to spend their time visiting local attractions as well as also enjoying local culinary delights outside the resort area.”

For the hotels, Maceda observed how revenue generated in food as well as also beverage outlets, spas as well as also more has in fact declined. “We have made adjustments to compensate for the issue. We right now encourage consumption within the resort such as all-inclusive formulas, adult-only hotels, family-oriented hotels focused on in-house activities for children as well as also so on.”

When asked about Indonesia as a developing nation, the hotelier was quick to point out how both the final customer as well as also investors are excited about the hospitality market. “This kind of can be evident with how we continue to work on many mixed-use projects where you can find a hotel attached to a shopping mall, office towers, as well as also the like.”

Maceda revealed how there has been a bit of a slowdown in hotel investment in 2016: “Many investors have adopted a wait-as well as also-see attitude which can probably be blamed on the uncertainty generated by the tax amnesty. Once the tax amnesty programme can be completed as well as also some investors have benefited by the idea, we expect the number of fresh projects in many different parts of Indonesia to raise rapidly. We are very optimistic for the second [half] of 2017 as well as also most of 2018.”

Maceda applauded the Indonesian government for the work the idea has done to promote the fresh ten priority destinations including Flores, Toba, Mandalika Lombok, Labuan Bajo, Belitung, Wakatobi, Pulau Seribu as well as also Morotai. This kind of has encouraged investors to look into these less developed locations as well as also examine how to make use of the government’s push to improve infrastructure, airline access, as well as also additional industries which can be profitable.

Maceda believes more effort can be needed to attract foreign investment to the archipelago. “additional countries within the ASEAN region, especially Vietnam as well as also Thailand, have been very proactive in attracting foreign investment in hospitality projects. Indonesia has to learn by them as well as also adapt to the rules of the game accordingly to eliminate the obstacles to foreign investment as well as also foreign ownership of commercial real estate within the country.”