High hotel demand expected

JOHOR BARU: Hotels in Johor are anticipating a surge in bookings in the coming months as talk of an impending state election grows louder.

Malaysia Budget and Business Hotels Association Johor chapter chairman Jarod Chia said some hotels have already seen an increase in bookings as political parties flock to Johor to hold national-level conventions and other events.

“Recently, Pakatan Harapan held its convention in Johor Baru and that one event alone helped boost bookings for some of our members.

Occupany rate: Teo (left) expects bookings to spike once the state election is called while Chia says bookings have already risen.

“While there may have been other events, the one that brought the most obvious increase in bookings was the convention held at the Persada International Convention Centre.

“We welcome such events, especially as they come at a time when the hotel industry is being affected by the global energy crisis,” he said.

Chia added that he hopes the heightened activities surrounding a possible election would attract more events to Johor, including on the outskirts.

“Any kind of large-scale event, including those involving elections or political parties, can help increase hotel bookings,” he said.

Meanwhile, Malaysian Asso­cia­tion of Hotels Johor chapter chairman Ivan Teo said he expects the spike in bookings to only begin once the state election is called.

“For now, it is hard to attribute any spike in bookings to talk of an election because most of the time, we do not know if the ­bookings are from specific political parties.

“They would usually book under other names.

“It is usually only once the election is set that the bookings will be made under the parties’ names,” he said, adding that the surge will come once the election date is announced.

“Then we will start getting bookings not only from political parties but also from civil ser­vants, reporters and voters coming here for the election.”

Speculation is rife that Johor could be headed for snap polls by October, especially following heightened political activity ­surrounding Umno’s 80th anniversary celebrations at Istana Besar here on May 11.

However, no official announcement has been made.

The current state legislative assembly’s term expires on April 21, 2027.

The 15th Johor state election was held on March 12, 2022, where Barisan Nasional secured 40 of the 56 seats, while Pakatan Harapan won 12, Perikatan Nasional three and Muda one.

Umno holds 33 of Barisan’s 40 seats, while MCA and MIC holds four and three, respectively.