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DARMA Mangkuluhur Hutomo has attracted public attention because of his success in increasing interest in Indonesian tourism. Even though he is still under 30 years old, he already holds a number of important positions. He is trusted to be Commissioner at PT Wisma Purnayudha Putra, a property company owned by Tommy Soeharto and also Commissioner of PT Intra Golflink Resorts (IGR) which has recently expanded its golf and golf business properties.
Apart from that, Darma Mangkuluhur is also the President Director of PT Humpuss Land. It doesn’t stop there, he is also the owner of a restaurant called Lounge In The Sky, a fine dining restaurant that offers a luxurious dining experience at a height of 50-meters and is the first in Indonesia and BOCA RICA Tapas Bar & Lounge, starting since 2018 it has been quite successful and is known as a tapas bar for the capital’s elite. He brought inspiration from typical Spanish dishes and culinary culture to Jakarta but still with flavors that are suitable for the Indonesian tongue.
During a casual chat with the Jakarta’s Media Association (HAM) regarding the initiation of ARTOTELGroup, on Tuesday (03/19), 2024 at BERANDA Restaurant, ARTOTEL Suites Mangkuluhur Jakarta, Darma Mangkuluhur Hutomo revealed that there was an increase in public interest in the sport of golf. Indonesia’s opportunity to develop golf tourism is still very large. Both in business and wanting to make Indonesia a ‘paradise’ for world golfers.
“Through PT Intra GolfLink Resorts (IGR) which will invest funds reaching IDR1.2 trillion until 2027 for expansion into golf courses. I see the opportunity for golf tourism is very large. As we see Indonesia’s position in Southeast Asia for golf tourism is still inferior to Thailand, which has 351 golf courses and is visited by 6 million foreign tourists per year just to enjoy golf,” Darma noted.
PT Intra GolfLink Resorts (IGR) itself has three golf courses, namely Palm Hills Golf Club Bogor, New Kuta Golf Bali, and Black Rocks Golf Belitung. Investment funds reach IDR 1.2 trillion, one of the goals of which is to build a new golf course in Sentul, Bogor.
“We are committed to maintaining and growing the lifestyle ecosystem in golf so that the IGR business can be sustainable. We dare to invest with large amounts to improve performance in the future,” Darma remarked.
Even though the number of golf courses is less than that of Thailand, Indonesia only has 158 golf courses, half the number of Thailand. Apart from that, the number of foreign tourists who come to Indonesia to play golf is only 270 thousand people per year. Likewise, there are only 170 thousand active local golf players in Indonesia, while in Thailand it reaches 1 million people.
“But there’s no need to worry, I’m sure we can compete in this golf business as we will prepare a new golf course on 70 hectares of land. The location is about 9 kilometers from Palm Hills Golf Club. By carrying out the Golf and Active Lifestyle Ecosystem concept, we will also carry out expansion in the form of developing integrated property areas around the golf area, such as villas and other commercial facilities,” he explained.
According to Darma, IGR will also build a total of 13 residential clusters on the old golf land by 2027. The total land area in the area reaches 94 hectares. Apart from Sentul, the company will also develop its assets in Bali. IGR will establish a boutique luxury hotel and revitalize existing hotels and villas around New Kuta Golf Bali.
However, when asked about the renovation of ARTOTEL Suites Mangkulur, which was formerly known as Crowne Plaza Hotel Jakarta, which at that time was held by a foreign operator, the term of service expired. “But we, (PT Humpuss Land) on that time we are looking for a new hotel operator that not only provides better performance but must also be able to bring it out of the difficult times of the COVID-19 pandemic,” he pointed out.
“Crowne Plaza Hotel Jakarta, is more than 20 years old, when ARTOTELGroup was appointed as a partner, the first plan that was carried out was renovation in all areas. However, at that time there were problems due to COVID-19 but the business had to survive,” he said without providing details of funds for the hotel renovation itself.
Meanwhile, Erastus Radjimin, Founder & CEO of ARTOTELGroup, said at the same time I heard that the Crowne Plaza Hotel Jakarta group would carry out renovations and look for new partners as operators. Meet as usual, business introductions and other things, the business process continues, see whether partners are suitable or not based on the process. It turns out, during the process, these two companies had a lot in common, namely because they had the same vision, namely for Indonesia.
“We both believe that a project starts with trust and transparency. Judging from the location, this hotel is very strategic, frankly I can’t see any other place that compares, because if the Semanggi area is folded, well in the middle is this hotel. Even though the hotel is good, if the room revenue is only 20 rooms, it’s the same as the business will not run optimally,” said Erastus Radjimin.
In order for operations to continue running and provide a livelihood for its employees in the midst of the pandemic, ARTOTELGroup has taken precise steps by carrying out gradual renovations, starting from the lobby, restaurant, meeting room and then the rooms.
“At that time, we promised to Mr. Darma Mangkuluhur to generate more profits after renovation. And it turns out that in this case, we are on the same frequency, so the collaboration is good. Hotel owners and their operators must communicate intensively,” Erastus said.
ARTOTEL Suites Mangkulhur Jakarta, he continued, has 360 rooms and all are under renovation. Another form of intense communication that went well, this is the first ARTOTEL Suites, all aspects of the design were approved directly from Mr. Darma Mangkulur. For example, the hotel now has a big surprise by reopening with a new concept after undergoing total renovation since September 23, 2023. The new face transformation of BERANDA’s F&B outlets is expected to create a surprise ahead.
Also, in an effort to pampering its guests, ARTOTEL Suites Mangkuluhur Jakarta continues to present a series of renovations in three places within the hotel such as the hotel’s Lobby, BERANDA Cafe, Boca Lounge and several ARTSY Studio & SUITES hotel rooms, all of which are located on the 14th floor.
All hotel nuances to be integrated from the moment you enter the lobby, restaurant, lounge and throughout 311-hotel rooms featuring newly renovated ARTSY rooms and the legendary classical rooms throughout the hotel.
However, when asked about the opportunity to investing in the new capital of Nusantara (IKN), both Darma Mangkuluhur and Erastus Radjimin agreed that they are very interested in building a hotel in IKN, especially with a local operator, because so far it has always been dominated by foreign operators. It is true that we are still waiting for other local investors to join in building together a lifestyle hotel there and are looking at the opportunities. [traveltext.id]
