TEMERLOH : Business is booming for hotel and homestay operators here as party workers and supporters flood the town ahead of the Kerdau by-election on March 6.
All rooms at major hotels here and in nearby Mentakab are fully booked as most of the guests checked into their respective hotels yesterday.
Most of them will be occupying the rooms until March 7.
Some prospective guests had also made reservations even before the Election Commission had announced the nomination and polling dates.
A Hotel Seri Malaysia executive here said all the 50 rooms in their premises were fully booked from Feb 25 to March 7.
"There are no vacant rooms now, but we are still receiving enquirer, with some offering to pay extra."
A spokesman of Hotel Green Park said the hotel expected to record full occupancy until polling day. He said the hotel's 107 rooms had been fully booked and guests had been arriving since Wednesday.
Even budget hotel operators were kept busy entertaining calls from guests who were not able to secure rooms at the bigger hotels.
As part of their efforts to lure customers, some of the budget hotel operators had given their premises a fresh coat of paint and even offered transportation to Kerdau.
A receptionist at Classic Cos Inn in Mentakab said most of their rooms had been booked for the whole of the campaigning period.
"Since the established hotels were fully booked, many of the guests have come here. And although we charge them a little extra, they are prepared to pay."
Several budget hotels said they still had rooms available for the weekend, but not from Monday.
According to Malaysia Homestay Association president, Datuk Shariman Hamdan, who owns the Desa Murni Homestay here, more than 80 per cent of the 200 homestay units had been snapped up.
