In Jakarta, After Bombings, the Ritz Reopens

Stepping into the coffee shop at the Ritz-Carlton Jakarta, you would never know it had been blown up just over a fortnight ago — and that's exactly how Tan Kian wants it. A small army of workers saw, pound and drill in a hive of activity on a Sunday afternoon as the hotel's owner watches over the swank café's reconstruction. "I have had a team of 300 men working around the clock for the past four days," says a defiant Tan, the owner of the both the Ritz-Carlton and J.W. Marriott that was the other target of two deadly bomb attacks in the Indonesian capital on July 17. "We will reopen tomorrow so make sure you stop by and have lunch."

The Ritz-Carlton has changed the name of the coffee shop from Airlangga to Asia for its reopening, but it will take more than a PR move to erase this national memory. All of Tan Kian's staff have been working long hours since two suicide bombers killed themselves and seven others, mostly foreign, in Indonesia's deadliest terrorist attacks in four years. None of the hotel staff has quit. The Marriott, directly across the street in this central business neighborhood of Jakarta, also reopened on July 29, just 12 days after a still unidentified young Indonesian with suspected links to Jemaah Islamiah, a regional network with links to al-Qaeda, blew himself up near the lobby.

It took much longer to reopen the Marriott the first time it was hit by a suicide bomber in 2003, killing 10. "All the staff is quite motivated," says Els Ramadhinta, a spokeswoman for the Ritz-Carlton who just had her first weekend off since the attacks. Els says she was at the Marriott the morning the bombs went off but adds that she wasn't scared to go back to work. "No one is complaining, neither the guests nor the staff, that we have reopened so fast."

While occupancy rates at the two hotels have dropped to around 10%, Tan Kian is not worried, adding that it took nine months for room levels at the Marriott to get back to normal the first time around. This time, he tells me in the hotel's nearly deserted restaurant, he hopes it will be even faster. "The sooner we reopen the sooner people will forget," he says. "The best way to fight these terrorists is to reopen."

How many paying customers will agree remains to be seen. The U.S. ambassador, Cameron Hume, has already had lunch at the Marriott to demonstrate his confidence in the hotel's security, which was likely breached last month by insiders. Police are still hunting for a florist working in the hotel believed to have aided the bombers. The Ritz-Carlton's checkpoint — a standard feature at Jakarta's five-star hotels since the 2002 Bali bombings — has been moved to a small foyer at the side of the entrance where a larger scanner for luggage will be installed. A new entrance at the back of the hotel will also be used to scan employees, vendors and suppliers coming inside.

Those are reassuring moves, but some say they aren't likely to resume using the hotels, particularly the Marriott, even with increased security. One foreign businessman who used to have regular meetings there shakes his head dismissively when asked if he will go back. "No way," says the American national, who asked not to be named. And for those who might be willing, their companies may have rules against it. "I am aware of several large companies already that won't put U.S. hotels on their approved list of hotels for visiting executives," says Ken Conboy, country manager of Risk Management Advisory in Jakarta.

While it will take the two hotels time to find their footing after the attacks and nonstop broadcast of security-camera footage of the bombers in the days after, foreigners and overseas entertainment acts continue to flow into the city. French band Phoenix played to more than 2,500 fans on Aug. 1 and organizers for the upcoming rock festival, Java Rockin'Land, report that no foreign acts have canceled. That's a big change from 2002, when acts like Missy Elliott, Limp Bizkit and the Red Hot Chili Peppers got cold feet and cancelled shows after the terrorist attacks killed 202 people in club bombings in Bali. Catching Noordin M. Top, the Malaysian believed responsible for July's attacks and the country's most wanted fugitive, would go a long way to fully restoring confidence in Indonesia's safety. In the meantime, the Ritz-Carlton — and the nation — are working as quickly as possible to move on.