Hotelier groups suggest charging foreigners in US dollars

 

Malaysian Association of Hotel Owners president Teo Chiang Hong has asked why Malaysia does not quote its foreign tourists in US dollars like regional neighbours. (Facebook pic)

PETALING JAYA: Hotelier groups have called on industry players to support a proposal to the government that would allow them to charge foreign visitors in US dollars.

“If you (industry players) are willing, then we, as the collective hotel associations, can suggest to the ministry to have USD-denominated quotes for rooms,” said Malaysian Association of Hotel Owners (Maho) president Teo Chiang Hong.

He questioned why Malaysia did not quote its foreign tourists in US dollars given that its regional neighbours like Thailand, Myanmar and Indonesia were already doing so.

“A hundred dollars is nothing (to foreigners) but it’s a lot for us. It’s now RM460,” he said.

“Can you imagine … you go to any other country and a five-star hotel is no less than US$200. But (in Malaysia), it’s less than US$100. It’s ridiculous,” he said as a panellist during a hotelier conference here.

Malaysian Association of Hotels (MAH) president Christina Toh said given the current exchange rate, charging foreign visitors in US dollars would boost profits.

At 6pm today, the ringgit ended at 4.6430/4.6470 against the greenback compared with 4.6385/4.6425 at the close yesterday.

“In Indonesia, they quote locals in local currency. But if you’re a foreigner, you will be quoted in US dollars — which is about 20% higher than the local rate. Why can’t we do the same thing?”

Toh said industry players had previously suggested doing this to former tourism, arts and culture minister Nancy Shukri, but needed to follow up on the matter with the current minister, Tiong King Sing.

Maho executive director Shaharuddin Saaid told FMT that while it was not illegal for hoteliers to begin charging tourists in US dollars on their own accord, they wanted to reach an understanding with the government on its implementation.

“Actually, we are at liberty to do it ourselves, but we don’t want to do so without getting the government’s approval. At least if they endorse it, then we’ll have no problems and it will be easier for us.

“They (hoteliers) may be worried about how we’re going to do it, the mechanism and so on. So we will need to explain the details to them,” he said. - FMT