Johor Baru hotels crowing over CNY bookings

Johor Baru

JOHOR BARU: Hotels here are reporting good bookings for their rooms to welcome the Year of the Rooster due to the long Chinese New Year holiday in Malaysia.

Lunar New Year in the country falls on Jan 28 and 29, and many have opted to extend their leave, especially those from Kuala Lumpur who will observe another holiday – Federal Territory Day – on Feb 1.

Holiday Villa Hotel sales director Betty Yeoh said bookings for its rooms started to come in last November and December, with 80% of the four-star hotel already been booked.

“We received a lot of bookings from mainland Chinese and Hong Kong folks coming to celebrate the Lunar New Year here to escape winter back home," she said.

Yeoh said they preferred to spend their 10-day Spring Festival in Malaysia as it will be less chaotic compared to the situation in China, where millions of people will criss-cross the country to celebrate the festive season.

She said guests at the hotel also include Malaysians from the central and northern regions going to Singapore to visit family and friends in the republic because it will be cheaper to stay here.

“An average standard four-star hotel room in Johor Baru is RM300 nett per night plus breakfast, compared with S$300 (RM930) in Singapore," added Yeoh.

Mutiara Hotel Johor Baru marketing and communications manager Lily Tham said the hotel is already 80% booked for the Chinese New Year period, mostly from regular customers from outside Johor and Singapore.

She said locals outside Johor Baru prefer to stay at her hotel instead of at their family or friends’ houses because it is more convenient, especially those with extended families.

Tham also expects the hotel to be fully booked two weeks before Chinese New Year.

Pulai Springs Resort marketing and communications manager Charlotte Monteiro said its rooms are already fully booked for the first day of Chinese New Year and 70% booked for Jan 29.

She said that based on previous record, bookings will start to come in the second week of the month before the Lunar New Year because families would be busy at the start of the New Year.

“Singaporeans and Malaysians outside Johor stay at the hotel to shop, especially at the factory outlet offering off-season branded fashion items and also to visit theme parks here," said Monteiro.

On reunion dinners, she said regular guests had made their bookings since early last month, and the price for this year’s eight-course feast for 10 persons is RM1,388, from RM1,288 last year.