By Rosli Mansor Ahmad Razali
IPOH: The statement made by the Mayor of Ipoh, Dato’ Rumaizi Bahrin, regarding the alleged shortage of hotel rooms in Ipoh, has drawn the attention of Zamari Muhyi, the Chairman of the Hotel Budget and Business Association Malaysia (MyBHA) in the state of Perak.
“MyBHA refutes Dato’ Rumaizi’s claim that Ipoh lacks hotel rooms. Based on the observations of MyBHA Perak members, we find that the number of accommodation rooms in Ipoh is still sufficient.
“Our monitoring also reveals a 30-40% decrease in the demand for accommodation rooms in Ipoh compared to the previous year.
“There are 95 registered MyBHA members in the state of Perak, providing around 3,200 rooms. In the city of Ipoh, 35 MyBHA members are offering 1,200 accommodation rooms.
“MyBHA hopes that Dato’ Rumaizi should have consulted with players and stakeholders in the hotel industry before making statements regarding the hospitality industry,” he told Ipoh Echo / Peraktastic, who is also the Secretary-General of MyBHA Malaysia.
Zamari also addressed the short-term proposal by MBI to allow unlicensed Airbnb and homestay operations to meet the accommodation needs in Ipoh as if legitimizing the operation of unlicensed accommodation businesses in the city.
“STRA @ Airbnb is considered an unregistered and unlicensed business that is still not regulated by the federal government. Local authorities need to be more aware of the sustainability of the registered and licensed hotel industry.
“This monitoring is necessary to protect operators in the hotel industry who operate legitimately and are licensed,” he emphasized.
