More Bali Hotels Listed for Sale, But Experts Say It's Not a Sign of Industry Trouble

In recent times, an increasing number of hotels and villas in Bali have been listed for sale, prompting speculation that this reflects a struggling hospitality industry or even signs of business failure on the island.

However, Gde Brawiswara Putra, Chairman of Escotel Indonesia and a hotel and villa management practitioner with experience overseeing more than 30 hotels across Indonesia—including Bali—and around 75 villas both inside and outside the island, says this assumption is not always accurate. "A hotel being sold doesn't necessarily mean the business has gone bankrupt," he stated.

According to Gde, the hotel business has two interconnected dimensions: as an operational business expected to generate sustainable cash flow and profit, and as a property asset that can appreciate in value over time. Because of this dual nature, the decision to sell is not always driven by poor financial performance. In many cases, owners follow a strategy of building, developing, and managing a property before selling once its value is considered optimal.

Gde emphasized that the presence of a for-sale sign alone should not be used to judge the health of a hospitality business. Instead, evaluation should consider overall financial performance—revenue, profit, debt, the original purchase or construction cost, and the current sale valuation. He also noted that high occupancy rates do not automatically translate into profitability, as operational costs such as OTA platform commissions, staffing, building maintenance, and utilities can erode earnings even when a property appears busy.

Ultimately, Gde argued, the true measure of a hotel's financial health is not occupancy rate or revenue volume, but its consistent and sustainable ability to generate profit.