Destinasea

Located in east Bali, Lotus Bungalows is an enchanting and exotic place. Launched in 1998, Lotus Bungalows has a boutique resort concept with 20 Balinese-style rooms, with restaurant facilities, swimming pools, and Gangga Divers Dive Center which is equipped with a special swimming pool for diving practice, perfect for divers and tourists who want to explore the beauty the beautiful nature of eastern Bali. Lotus Bungalows is an active member of the Association of Indonesian Hotels and Restaurants (PHRI) in Karangasem, Bali.

As a Dive Resort, Lotus Bungalows realizes the importance of preserving the environment, especially the sea. Lotus Bungalows is committed to being a tourism influencer that has a positive impact in both the socio-economic aspects of the local community and also in environmental aspects, especially the sustainability of marine life. As stated by Iskandar as the owner of Lotus Bungalows, “As a Dive Resort with guests mostly divers, we are very aware that we depend on the environment, especially the sea. We want to have a positive impact on our environment by preserving it and also to the surrounding community.”

'Garden to Table' or' From the Garden to the Table 'is a concept in Lotus Bungalows restaurant where vegetables are grown in the hotel area, organic and fresh, then cooked and served. One of the favorite menus at the Lotus Bungalows restaurant is the Chicken Sambal Matah Pizza, a unique and delicious blend of Balinese and Italian cuisine.

Environmental Sustainability Practices

Lotus Bungalows carries out many activities related to environmental sustainability and is very aware of the problem of plastic waste in the oceans. The main focus of Lotus Bungalows is Waste Reduction, one of which is to replace the use of single-use packaging in all hotel and Dive Center areas. As stated by Natalie Maya as the Sustainability Coordinator of Lotus Bungalows, "The main focus at Lotus Bungalows is waste reduction by preventing waste from occurring, where we no longer use single-use packaging throughout the hotel."

Lotus Bungalows no longer uses mineral water in single-use plastic bottles and replaces them with glass water containers, in this effort the company has a perceived plastics-use savings of 80%. All in-room amenities such as tea and coffee have been placed in refillable containers, as well as bathroom amenities such as soap and shampoo, have all been placed in refillable containers. Lotus Bungalows provides in-room cloth shopping bags so that guests can refuse single-use plastic bags when shopping.

Just like in the hotel room area, the Lotus Bungalows restaurant does not use food ingredients in disposable packaging such as margarine, jam, sugar, salt, and so on. All food additives are placed in a refillable container. To further help its waste reduction program, Lotus Bungalows has replaced plastic straws with reusable straws.

Lotus Bungalows makes energy conservation efforts by replacing all conventional bulbs with Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs). The management has conducted training to change the behavior of staff to only use electricity as needed.

Gangga Divers, which is a Dive Center owned by Lotus Bungalows, has a Code of Conduct to always respect marine animals and maintain the preservation of coral reefs by not touching or stepping on them. This code of conduct is always conveyed before starting diving and snorkeling activities. To help preserve underwater life, Lotus Bungalows through Gangga Divers often carries out underwater cleaning involving guest divers. Coastal cleaning is carried out regularly, for example collaborating with One Island One Voice to clean the coast every year in The Biggest Beach Clean Up event, in this event Lotus Bungalows took the initiative to become the coordinator of the Candidasa Beach area.

Lotus Bungalows has a good waste management system, hotel and restaurant waste are sorted according to appropriate categories, namely organic waste, recyclable waste, and non-recyclable or non-compostable waste. Organic waste from restaurants and gardens is managed independently within the hotel area and processed to be used as compost for use in the hotel garden as well as their vegetable garden. In this effort, Lotus Bungalows collaborates with a waste management company, Eco Bali Recycle, regarding the construction of a compost area and training for managing organic waste to be used as compost. The recyclable waste is handed over to the waste management of Nyuh Tebel Village, Candidasa, to be recycled for resale. Lotus Bungalows has also carried out efforts to deal with waste internally, urging all staff to bring their own mineral water bottles, refillable for free at the hotel, an effort gladly welcomed by the staff.

With the concept of a bungalow room, Lotus Bungalows is friendly to guests with special needs. All rooms are on one level and have wheelchair access to the rooms. As a Dive Resort, most of the visitors are divers, but it is possible for guests who want to enjoy the beauty of the underwater world by snorkeling. In this case, Lotus Bungalows collaborates with local fishermen to pick up guests who want to snorkel, this is an effort to support the socio-economic conditions of the local community. Another effort is to buy food ingredients such as vegetables and fruits from local markets, not only getting fresher vegetables and fruits but also helping and supporting the local socio-economy.

All staff at Lotus Bungalows are permanent employees and most of the staff are locals, namely from Nyuh Tebel Village. Lotus Bungalows opens opportunities for students from the Tourism College and Vocational School to conduct Field Work Training, one of which is the Karangasem Tourism Vocational High School. As an active member of PHRI Karangasem, Lotus Bungalows regularly participates in staff training programs held by PHRI and conducts training related to work and guest satisfaction services. The results of these trainings can be seen clearly from guest reviews, and the hotel managed to get the Travel Choice 2020 Award from TripAdvisor.

Joining Signing Blue

In line with Lotus Bungalows' mission to preserve land and marine environment, Signing Blue is a perfect complement as it is an established internationally trusted legal entity. Lotus Bungalows officially joined Signing Blue in early 2021 and now, Lotus Bungalows is more assertive in implementing the mission of preserving nature with the standards and guidelines from the Signing Blue team. It can be said that Signing Blue is a tool to strengthen Lotus Bungalows' commitment to preserving nature.

Lotus Bungalows has gained international credibility as a sustainable tourism player since joining Signing Blue. Not only that, but Lotus Bungalows also benefited from the operational aspect, the Standard Operating Procedure that was created has helped Lotus Bungalows implement work activities related to preserving the land and sea environment, occupational safety, as well as improving the local socio-economics.

Several sustainable programs guided by the Signing Blue team have been planned to support sustainable tourism, namely looking for suppliers of seafood that have been certified sustainable or trusted local fishermen and follow the standards and guidelines of Signing Blue. Sustainable programs related to local socio-economics such as collaborating with local villages to build compost centers and recycling centers to help maintain cleanliness and sustainability, socio-economic assistance with local fishermen to make traditional Jukung, Balinese fishing boats made of wood and bamboo that sail with zero emissions and help promote Balinese culture. Their sustainability programs also involve guests, namely educating guests in environmental care activities where guests can call themselves 'Ocean Hero' by refusing the use of plastic in general and coral reef conservation activities.

Entering the Covid-19 Pandemic period, Lotus Bungalows made several changes in terms of business. When the Indonesian border was closed, Lotus Bungalows focused more on domestic guests, i.e., locals and expatriates who live on the island of Bali. Packages with the interesting addition of free dive training were offered in the Gangga Divers training-only swimming pool, with certified diving instructors. Information about other interesting promos can be accessed through their website www.lotusbungalows.com and on social media.

Lotus Bungalows has also successfully obtained a 'New Normal' certificate issued by the Bali Regional Government Tourism Office (Disparda) in August 2020 and an 'I Do Care' or Cleanliness, Health, Safety, and Environmentally Sustainable (CHSE) issued by the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy (Kemenparekraf) of the Republic of Indonesia in November 2020. Standard Operating Procedures have been established and must be followed by all staff and guests. The addition of hand washing basins, hand sanitizers, and signs to prevent the spread of COVID-19 have been implemented. Guests are required to have their temperature checked and wash their hands before entering the resort area. Signs for mandatory wearing of masks, diligent hand washing, and social distancing have been placed at many points in the resort area. The process of sterilization and disinfection of rooms is often carried out when guests leave. Lotus Bungalows provides one isolation room to anticipate guests who are indicated to be sick, as one of the directives from the central government's CHSE program.

Lotus Bungalows hopes that the country's borders will be opened soon, allowing foreign tourists to return to Indonesia, especially the unspoiled Candidasa area, and help the recovery of Bali tourism. Lotus Bungalows continues to strive to achieve its mission as a tourism player that has a positive impact in preserving nature and helping the local socio-economics. Of course, when the borders between countries are opened, Lotus Bungalows will remain focused on domestic tourists and expatriates who live in Bali, to make them visit and perhaps make Lotus Bungalows a second home. Bali has not been left behind in the speedy development of technology for economic purposes, it has become a convenient place for long-distance businesses.

The middle of 2021 is the beginning of an opportunity to improve the global situation, the central government has created a recovery program for Bali. A business event was held in Bali, with a virtual and offline concept that was attended by various countries, such as the UK and Ireland. The exoticism of Bali remains an inspiration for both local and foreign businesses.