Artistic Stay

From an artsy hotel management company, Artotel Group is now expanding to become the country’s leading lifestyle brand.

-  Ester Christine Natalia

Earlier this year, President Joko Widodo stated that tourism had the potential to become the largest source of Indonesia’s foreign exchange income. According to the Tourism Ministry, the industry contributed 4.5% of gross domestic product (GDP) and $19.29 billion of foreign exchange income throughout 2018, generated from 15.8 million foreign tourists that came to the country. This year, the government eyes at least $20 billion of foreign exchange income from tourism and up to $28 billion in 2045. The Tourism Ministry notes that foreign tourists spend more on accommodation while visiting Indonesia. According to the ministry’s data, foreign tourists spent Rp 79.8 trillion on accommodation, while domestic tourists spent only Rp 16.2 trillion in 2017.

The hospitality business remains lucrative in the country, not only for five-star hotel chains but also for boutique hotels. Thanks to the trend for sharing photos on social media, nowadays people tend to seek experiences when deciding where to go or where to stay. Erastus Radjimin was aware of this phenomenon when deciding to expand his lifestyle hospitality company Artotel Group. Erastus established the business in 2013 by opening up Artotel hotels in three locations: Surabaya, Jakarta and Bali. Now, the company has turned itself into a boutique hotel management chain that operates 12 hotels through five brands, 15 restaurants and bars inside the hotels, and one beach club. With the expansion, Erastus says, the group now delivers a full-circle lifestyle experience for its target market, the millennials.

“The current millennial travelers don’t necessarily need a five-star hotel. Especially the business travelers, after a long day of meetings they will seek an experience-hotel that can give them something different to talk about and to take pictures of,” says Erastus, founder and CEO of Artotel Group.