JOHOR BARU: With the Simpang Jeram by-election on the horizon, it will be busy days ahead for hotels in Muar, with many rooms having already been snapped up.
Zairin Kamarulzaman, a marketing supervisor at a hotel in Muar, said the number of bookings has increased since the Election Commission (EC) announced the dates for the by-election for the Simpang Jeram state seat and the Pulai parliamentary seat.
“For now, we are fully booked for Aug 26, which is nomination day. There are still rooms for other days until polling day, but they are going fast.
“We have yet to officially receive bookings under any political parties, but there are individuals booking many rooms for long periods,” she said.
Zairin said it was normal for hotels to see such a high number of bookings during elections as political parties, media personnel and others involved would need accommodations.
“We were also fully booked during the state election in March last year, and the general election in November,” she said.
A clerk at another hotel in Muar, who only wanted to be known as Nora, said they were fully booked for dates between Sept 1 and Sept 3.
“The three dates coincidentally fall on a weekend, which is when we normally see a high occupancy rate.
“At the moment, we still have some rooms available for other dates between Aug 26 and Sept 9, but they are being snapped up fast,” she said.
Checks on hotels in Johor Baru found that hotel bookings for the Pulai by-election have yet to pick up.
A clerk at a hotel in Johor Baru, who declined to be named, said the hotel has not received any bookings from political parties so far.
“We have not received any large number of bookings. Perhaps the numbers will increase in the coming days,” she said.
Johor Malaysia Budget and Business Hotel Association chairman Jarod Chia said while the by-elections might help increase the number of hotel bookings, it was not expected to be that significant.
“Elections will increase hotel bookings, but I do not think it will be to the extent that all rooms will be fully booked during the whole by-election period,” he said.
Chia pointed out that for places like Muar, Kluang and Batu Pahat, high hotel occupancy on weekends was normal.
“The weekend crowd, coupled with the election crowd, may see the hotels enjoying full occupancy. However, for weekdays, I believe there will still be rooms available,” he said.
Nomination day for the Simpang Jeram state seat and Pulai parliamentary by-elections has been set for Aug 26.
Polling will be on Sept 9.
Datuk Seri Salahuddin Ayub, who was the elected representative for both seats, died on July 23 due to a brain haemorrhage. He was 61.
Salahuddin was Amanah deputy president and had served as the Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister.
