Property developer PT Intiland Development Tbk, through its subsidiary PT Intiwhiz International, is expanding its Whiz Hotels network by developing new hotels across the country. After the launching of Whiz Hotel Yogyakarta and Whiz Hotel Semarang, the company is now developing Whiz Hotel Kuta in Bali. The setting of the first stone on December 27, 2010 marked the start of the development of the hotel.
President and Chief Executive Officer of Intiwhiz, Moedjianto Soesilo Tjahjono, said that Whiz Hotel Kuta was developed by applying strategic corporation concept with investors. Intiwhiz, as hospitality management specialist, will be managing the hotel.
“Whiz Hotel Kuta is the first hotel in Whiz Hotel chain to be built in Bali. Besides in Kuta, we are also going to develop another hotel in Legian later on this year,” Moedjianto said.
Whiz Hotel Kuta is located in a very strategic location, on Jalan Kartika Plaza, Kuta—one of the major tourism areas in Bali. Hotel stands on an area of 2,000 square meters, comprising two buildings with four and five floors, and one floor for basement.
There will be a total of 135 rooms in Whiz Hotel Kuta, divided into three different types. They are standard, deluxe and suite rooms. The rooms themselves have a variety of sizes with the average size of 24 square meters. Each room will come complete with facilities such as paid television, air conditioners, refrigerator, deposit box, internet connection and telephone.
Moedjianto explained that by referring to the concept the company developed, Whiz hotel Kuta will also apply the modern concept with a touch of Balinese traditional architectural aesthetics. The hotel will have a swimming pool, a restaurant, a meeting room, lobby bar and a spa.
“Our decision to provide all the comforts and facilities is based on the market needs, which are inclined more to tourism, rather than to business needs. So, it is different to the concept we apply to Whiz Hotel in other cities, which are categorized as business hotels,” Moedjianto said.
He explained that choosing Kuta for the location of the hotel is based on the fact that the area is one of the major tourist destinations in Bali. Besides its beautiful beach, Kuta has often been the location of internationalscale surfing competition.
Kuta area is also known as the center of Bali tourism. The area has many facilities, such as hotels, restaurants, spas and many music venues. “Every year there is ‘Kuta Karnaval,’ an event which always draws a large number of visitors. This is one example of potentials that are very lucrative for tourism industry, including hotel industry,” he continued.
The big number of tourists, either local or foreign, coming to Bali also shows the big potential the island has always had. Bali local government estimates that 10 million come to Bali in 2010 alone. From this number, the government assures that 2.3 million of them are foreign tourists.
With this potential in mind, Whiz Hotel Kuta will grow and become one of the favorite hotels in Kuta area. Besides offering the facilities and professional services, the hotel’s location in the center of the tourism industry in Kuta is also an important plus point.
According to Moedjianto, the development process of Whiz Hotel Kuta will take around eight months, and the hotel should be ready for operations in October 2011. “October is also the peak holiday season. So, launching the hotel in that month makes a lot of sense,” Moedjianto said.
Whiz Hotels identify their target costumers as executives and tourists, which understand the value of money, and know well what they want and need from a hotel. They are the type of guests who are aware of the important qualities and facilities of a hotel, and will not be bothered to spend money on facilities they don’t need.
Whiz Hotel Kuta will be managed by PT Intiwhiz International, a professional chain hotel operator, working under the flag of Intiwhiz. Intiwhiz is the subsidiary of Intiland, expressly established to manage hotels under Whiz Hotels chain, and other hotels.
“As a professional hotel management company, Intiwhiz also provides its services to hotels outside Whiz Hotels chain. Intiwhiz has a strong management team, experienced in hospitality business. They are fully dedicated to optimize the potential of hotel business in the future,” Moedjianto explained.
New Locations To expand Whiz Hotel chain, the company continuously looks into the possibilities of developing Whiz Hotels in many big cities in Indonesia. After Yogyakarta, Semarang, Surabaya, Bali and Jakarta, the company has chosen new locations to develop more Whiz Hotels.
The locations are, among others, Pakanbaru, Lampung, Balikpapan and Manado. The company is also looking into several other cities, such as Makasar and Samarinda. The development of the hotels will be done through strategic cooperation scheme with the landowners, using buildoperatetransfer (BOT) scheme, or with Intiwhiz acting as hotel operator.
“We are exploring several new opportunities with a number of potential investors, so that we can see Whiz Hotels grow quickly and significantly,” Moedjianto said.
The company also has recorded a significant progress in the development of Whiz Hotel Semarang. The construction of the hotel, which is located on Jalan Piere Tendean, has reached the fifth floor, and the company expects to have the topping off in March 2011. The hotel stands on an area of 936 square meters and will have 154 rooms.
Moedjianto expressed that the other Whiz Hotels which are to be developed soon are those in Jakarta and Balikpapan. Both hotels are in the design finalization stage, and the construction will start in the first quarter of 2011.
Whiz Hotel Jakarta will be located on Jalan Hayam Wuruk, one of the Jakarta’s business hubs. The hotel will have 12 floors and has 180 rooms. It will stand on an area of 1,172 square meters. Meanwhile, Whiz Hotel Balikpapan will be located at the center of the city, on Jalan Jendral Sudirman. The hotel will have 9 floors with 160 rooms.