Indonesia's Meeting Ban Hits Hotel Sector

The overhang from the Indonesian government's curtailment of functions held in hotels has hit the domestic hotel industry hard.
With the incoming President Joko Widodo coming into power in the quarter of last year a policy to limit events in hotel facilities was widely publicized.
Fallout on hotels with MICE facilities has been felt far and wide as a result.
A recent article in TTG Asia clarified the matter that functions could be held on a selective basis which has resulted in renewed sentiment in the sector.
That said the Mainland Chinese government instituted a ban on the use of 5 star hotels in 2013 and the results have been chaotic for hotels and banquet facilities targeting the top end of the market.
On a recent trip to Jakarta I spoke to a cross section of hoteliers about the situation and they commented that while the impact has been drastic, a number reflected that the abuses in the past over rebates and other kick-backs had been widespread, hence a curtailment was not an absolute negative in the long-term.