Continued improvement in 5-star hospitality
JW Marriott is one of the leading hotels in Jakarta for business and accomplished travelers. Inside Investor sat down with general manager Karan Berry to discuss how the hotel has progressed throughout its 12-year presence in Indonesia’s capital.
Q: How does JW Marriott Jakarta differ from other top hotels in the city?
A: JW Marriott Hotel Jakarta was opened in Jakarta in 2001 as a luxury hotel brand and part of Marriott International with 3,700 hotels in 70 countries. JW Marriott Jakarta brings its strategic location to the table. Our advantage is that the hotel is located in the heart of the Golden Triangle of Jakarta and well connected to the three main areas of the city (Sudirman, Gatot Subroto, and Rasuna Said). The hotel is also within short distance from shopping malls and to the financial district.
Q: Now that you have been in business for 12 years and you are no longer “new”, how are you addressing the challenge of keeping up-to-date, and what kind of innovations are you introducing?
A: We have recently discussed our annual and 10 years Capital Expenditure Plan on our products and services development. We always look into the future and challenge ourselves as to how we can improve and become more competitive. Last year, for example, we added new security infrastructure, comfortable meeting spaces, and a newly-built fitness centre. This year, we will do a lot of soft renovation of our spa and cake shop, taking into account the needs of our guests. The philosophy of the company is that “If you take care of the associates, the associates will take care of the guests and the guests will continue to come back.” So upgrading and renovating parts of the ‘heart of the house’ (the areas where only the staff are allowed to go) is essential, such as the staff cafeteria, the lockers, recreation space and the kitchen. Late last year, we upgraded WiFi system at the hotel so that all areas of the hotel now have access to wireless Internet with total bandwidth of 41 Mbps/second. We are the only hotel in Jakarta where guests can connect up to seven electronic devices wirelessly in the guest rooms.
Q: Where are your guests from?
A: We have a large amount of local Indonesian customers. Apart from that, most of our customers come from the US, Canada, the Middle East, Malaysia, Singapore, China and Korea. We are also currently tapping into the Japanese market by visiting their offices in Japan to personally engage with them and by integrating our Japanese restaurant (Asuka) to the offer. At Asuka, we serve the best quality (Grade A) of sushi, sashimi, seasonal food as well as the unique Omakase menu using imported ingredients from Japan.
Q: What are the biggest challenges for the hospitality industry in Jakarta?
A: There will be a large influx of room supply in the next two to three years in the five-star luxury hotel segment, but at the same time there are a lot selected service concepts which are coming up. There is heightening competition like never before in the hospitality industry, which definitely is one of the biggest challenges. As a result, it will be quite a challenge in the Human Resources field to find the right person for the right position and to manage employee attrition/turn over rate.
Q: Do you forecast demand will meet the new supply coming into Jakarta?
A: As business improves and Jakarta grows, top hotels in the region will certainly be in high-demand. Client segments that have historically been very strong and are growing further are banking, IT, telecomm, retail, investment banking and energy. In this respect, we see a lot of guest movements from India, Korea and Japan.
Q: What have you personally done in the one-and-a-half years that you have been here to improve the hotel offerings for the best?
A: One thing that I have focused on and have tried to bring about is an extremely structured and balanced approach for my team in the hotel. It is an approach that is looking at all segments of my balanced scorecard to increase market share, to enhance products and services and to ensure the associates are completely looked after in terms of training and guest experience. As a result, we as a hotel have won various highly respected awards such as 2012/2013 Indonesia City Hotel of the Year and Indonesia Leading Business Hotel for two years in a row by the Indonesia Travel and Tourism Award.
Q: What is in the timeline for the next five years for JW Marriott Jakarta?
A: We are looking at enhancing our products, how to improve our guest satisfaction scores, as well as to continue innovating on our food and beverage concepts. We are also looking into the eCommerce particularly social media (i.e. Facebook, Twitter, TripAdvisor) because one of the biggest things that is happening now in Indonesia is the adaption of Facebook and I think Indonesia has one of the highest Facebook user rates in the world. This is a big opportunity that we really would like to focus on for the coming years by strengthening our presence on the online platforms.
Q: Do you think the perception of Jakarta as a fairly unsafe place has changed?
A: It has changed because overall security has improved. As I mentioned previously, we upgraded our security infrastructure last year such as installing CCTV at almost all areas of the hotel, and adding canine units which specifically trained to detect any explosive materials. At JW Marriott Jakarta, we are also continuously improving and innovating our security system.
[caption id="attachment_7807" align="alignleft" width="193"] Karan Berry, General Manager of JW Marriott Jakarta[/caption] JW Marriott is one of the leading hotels in Jakarta for business and accomplished travelers. Inside Investor sat down with general manager Karan Berry to discuss how the hotel has progressed throughout its 12-year presence in Indonesia’s capital. Q: How does JW Marriott Jakarta differ from other top hotels in the city? A: JW Marriott Hotel Jakarta was opened in Jakarta in 2001 as a luxury hotel brand and part of Marriott International with 3,700 hotels in 70 countries. JW Marriott Jakarta brings its strategic location to the...
JW Marriott is one of the leading hotels in Jakarta for business and accomplished travelers. Inside Investor sat down with general manager Karan Berry to discuss how the hotel has progressed throughout its 12-year presence in Indonesia’s capital.
Q: How does JW Marriott Jakarta differ from other top hotels in the city?
A: JW Marriott Hotel Jakarta was opened in Jakarta in 2001 as a luxury hotel brand and part of Marriott International with 3,700 hotels in 70 countries. JW Marriott Jakarta brings its strategic location to the table. Our advantage is that the hotel is located in the heart of the Golden Triangle of Jakarta and well connected to the three main areas of the city (Sudirman, Gatot Subroto, and Rasuna Said). The hotel is also within short distance from shopping malls and to the financial district.
Q: Now that you have been in business for 12 years and you are no longer “new”, how are you addressing the challenge of keeping up-to-date, and what kind of innovations are you introducing?
A: We have recently discussed our annual and 10 years Capital Expenditure Plan on our products and services development. We always look into the future and challenge ourselves as to how we can improve and become more competitive. Last year, for example, we added new security infrastructure, comfortable meeting spaces, and a newly-built fitness centre. This year, we will do a lot of soft renovation of our spa and cake shop, taking into account the needs of our guests. The philosophy of the company is that “If you take care of the associates, the associates will take care of the guests and the guests will continue to come back.” So upgrading and renovating parts of the ‘heart of the house’ (the areas where only the staff are allowed to go) is essential, such as the staff cafeteria, the lockers, recreation space and the kitchen. Late last year, we upgraded WiFi system at the hotel so that all areas of the hotel now have access to wireless Internet with total bandwidth of 41 Mbps/second. We are the only hotel in Jakarta where guests can connect up to seven electronic devices wirelessly in the guest rooms.
Q: Where are your guests from?
A: We have a large amount of local Indonesian customers. Apart from that, most of our customers come from the US, Canada, the Middle East, Malaysia, Singapore, China and Korea. We are also currently tapping into the Japanese market by visiting their offices in Japan to personally engage with them and by integrating our Japanese restaurant (Asuka) to the offer. At Asuka, we serve the best quality (Grade A) of sushi, sashimi, seasonal food as well as the unique Omakase menu using imported ingredients from Japan.
Q: What are the biggest challenges for the hospitality industry in Jakarta?
A: There will be a large influx of room supply in the next two to three years in the five-star luxury hotel segment, but at the same time there are a lot selected service concepts which are coming up. There is heightening competition like never before in the hospitality industry, which definitely is one of the biggest challenges. As a result, it will be quite a challenge in the Human Resources field to find the right person for the right position and to manage employee attrition/turn over rate.
Q: Do you forecast demand will meet the new supply coming into Jakarta?
A: As business improves and Jakarta grows, top hotels in the region will certainly be in high-demand. Client segments that have historically been very strong and are growing further are banking, IT, telecomm, retail, investment banking and energy. In this respect, we see a lot of guest movements from India, Korea and Japan.
Q: What have you personally done in the one-and-a-half years that you have been here to improve the hotel offerings for the best?
A: One thing that I have focused on and have tried to bring about is an extremely structured and balanced approach for my team in the hotel. It is an approach that is looking at all segments of my balanced scorecard to increase market share, to enhance products and services and to ensure the associates are completely looked after in terms of training and guest experience. As a result, we as a hotel have won various highly respected awards such as 2012/2013 Indonesia City Hotel of the Year and Indonesia Leading Business Hotel for two years in a row by the Indonesia Travel and Tourism Award.
Q: What is in the timeline for the next five years for JW Marriott Jakarta?
A: We are looking at enhancing our products, how to improve our guest satisfaction scores, as well as to continue innovating on our food and beverage concepts. We are also looking into the eCommerce particularly social media (i.e. Facebook, Twitter, TripAdvisor) because one of the biggest things that is happening now in Indonesia is the adaption of Facebook and I think Indonesia has one of the highest Facebook user rates in the world. This is a big opportunity that we really would like to focus on for the coming years by strengthening our presence on the online platforms.
Q: Do you think the perception of Jakarta as a fairly unsafe place has changed?
A: It has changed because overall security has improved. As I mentioned previously, we upgraded our security infrastructure last year such as installing CCTV at almost all areas of the hotel, and adding canine units which specifically trained to detect any explosive materials. At JW Marriott Jakarta, we are also continuously improving and innovating our security system.
