Kuching Hotel Rooms To Hit 10,000 Ahead Of 2027 SEA Games

KUCHING, March 20 (Bernama) -- Hotels in Kuching, one of the host cities for the 2027 SEA Games, will be well prepared to accommodate visitors and participants, with total room capacity projected to reach about 10,000.

The Malaysia Association of Hotels (MAH) Sarawak Chapter chairman John Teo Peng Yew said several new hotels are also expected to open ahead of the Games, adding about 1,000 rooms to the city’s current supply of more than 9,000 rooms.

“In Kuching, we will be expecting around 5,000 participants, including officials. There will be enough rooms for all,” he told Bernama.

Teo said most hotels in Kuching were upgraded last year for the Visit Malaysia 2026 (VM2026) campaign, so the city will have nearly all hotels newly refurbished.

“Hygiene and safety for all participants are our top priorities. All MAH members undergo annual inspections covering cleanliness, hygiene and service standards, as well as Bomba safety requirements for the buildings,” he said.

The 2027 SEA Games, scheduled from Sept 18 to 29, will see the events held across four clusters: Sarawak, Penang, Johor and Kuala Lumpur.

The Sarawak cluster will host the opening ceremony and 17 sports, namely aquatics, weightlifting, basketball, bowling, lawn bowls, e-sports, gymnastics, golf, cricket, archery, shooting, muay thai, petanque, squash, taekwondo, tennis and wushu.

Commenting on the manpower aspect, Teo said ensuring well-trained staff for the SEA Games is a top priority.

He said hotels provide their own in-house training, and the Human Resource Development Corporation (HRD Corp) also assists by allowing hotels to access funds for employee training to upgrade service standards.

“All hoteliers will ensure there is sufficient staffing to cater to such an important event like the SEA Games.

“Hotels hosting SEA Games participants will employ temporary staff, mainly students who have experience working part-time during major events. Most of them are well trained by professional hoteliers,” he said.

Despite the overall state of readiness, Teo acknowledged several challenges in ensuring a seamless experience for all SEA Games participants.

He said while 3- to 5-star hotels would generally face few issues in providing better services, accommodation and food, smaller inns and motels may not meet the same standards.

“Another challenge is logistics. Will there be sufficient transportation during the Games?

“We are hoping that the Autonomous Rapid Transit (ART) system in Kuching will be operational by then. Otherwise, we may face challenges as at least 5,000 participants will need transportation from the airport to hotels and from hotels to the Games venues and back,” he added.

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