Izzati Lokman, a receptionist at one of these hotels, noted that the influx of reservations began shortly after the Election Commission (EC) announced the by-election date two weeks ago.
“Currently, we’re fully booked for nomination day on Sept 14, and rooms for Sept 26 to 29 are also being snapped up quickly. It’s likely that these rooms will be fully booked within the next day or two due to the high volume of requests,” she said.
Izzati also mentioned that bookings have come from political parties, companies and government agencies.
“This was the trend during past elections as well,” she added.
A clerk at another hotel, who wished to be identified as Hazim, said their establishment is fully booked from Sept 13 to 15 and Sept 27 to 29.
“The key election dates have been fully booked for a few days now, and although we’re still getting requests, we have to turn them down because there are no rooms available,” she said.
Meanwhile, Malaysia Budget and Business Hotel Association Johor Chapter chairman Jarod Chia pointed out that demand for hotel rooms in the state is generally high on weekends, even without elections.
“The occupancy rate for budget and business hotels in Johor usually ranges from 80% to 90%, depending on the location and any coinciding festivals or holidays during that period,” he said.
“Given that both nomination and polling days fall on weekends, it’s not surprising that rooms are fully booked. However, achieving high occupancy on weekdays remains a challenge, even with the election.”
Chia said this is partly due to hotels facing increased competition from short-term rental accommodations that are not registered with the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry.
“Political party members often turn the place they are staying at into centres where they discuss strategies and other election matters. That is one of the reasons they prefer homestays as they are able to have more space to themselves,” he said.
Unfortunately, many of these homestays are not registered and lack regulation, said Chia, who urged the government to address the issue.
Echoing these concerns was Johor Homestay Association president Saifudin Mohd Kadak.
“It is very common for homestays to fill up quickly during elections, especially after the EC announces important dates.
“That is the case in Kluang as well. However, it is important to note that most of these accommodations are unregistered and not affiliated with any recognised associations,” he said.
The EC has scheduled Sept 28 for polling, with nomination day on Sept 14 and early voting on Sept 24.
The seat fell vacant after the death of assemblyman Datuk Sharifah Azizah Syed Zain, 63, on Aug 2.
Sharifah Azizah, a former Johor Wanita Umno chief, had won the seat by a majority of 5,166 votes in the March 2022 state election.
