Hotel and restaurant fears after Bali bomb

Bali hotels and restaurants are expecting a flood of cancellations following the nightclub bombing on Saturday night that killed almost 200 people.

The attack, for which no group has yet admitted responsibility, has shaken hotel and restaurant staff on the idyllic holiday island, where the main income is from tourism.

Agus Bagus, manager of the Hard Rock Café, less than a mile from the Sari club, was on duty when the car bomb exploded.

"I felt my body shake and I called the police and they said it was an electrical fault, but then I called again and they told me it was a bomb. We had to evacuate around 700 people," he said.

Business in the restaurant since had been very quiet and he feared it was a sign of things to come. "The staff are very sad, there is no spirit and we are just working like we are robots," he added.

Chris Norton, regional vice-president of Four Seasons hotels at Jimbaran Bay and Sayan, said that although there was a feeling of shock among guests and staff, no guests had left early.

"The feeling is that people don't want to leave. It's not a Bali problem - terrorists struck in New York and Washington. There has been no mass exodus," he said. However, Norton does expect a sharp drop in occupancy in the coming months.

A spokeswoman for the Ritz Carlton resort confirmed that it had already received cancellations for group bookings this month.

Other hotels, such as Hotel Wina in Kuta, have experienced a trickle of Australian tourists leaving early.

Meanwhile, security is being stepped up. The Hard Rock Café is searching every customer, and many hotels are employing security guards. "We have told all our staff to be extra vigilant in the coming days," said Mark Griffitsh, general manager of Le M‚ridien Niwana Golf & Spa Resort in Kediri Tabanan.

by Christina Golding
Source: Caterer & Hotelkeeper magazine, 17-23 October 2002