Japan is pumping its hotel business as the country is preparing 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games amidst with major tourist arrivals in 2017 and also in 2018.
Japan has seen a couple of expansion in hotel industry, along with the flourishing of private lodging market with a law that sets rules on the nascent service taking effect in June.
According to real estate market research firm CBRE, the number of hotel rooms in eight major Japanese cities including Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto is expected to total 330,000 as of the end of 2020, up 32 percent from the end of 2016.
There are major Japanese and foreign hotel chains and non-hotel operators are planning to open lodging facilities amid the continued arrival of foreign tourists into the country.
The number of foreign visitors to Japan hit a record 28.69 million in 2017 from 8.61 million in 2010.
The wedding service provider Take and Give Needs Company also opened a lodging facility in Shibuya, while outdoor gear provider Snow Peak Inc established such a facility in Yokosuka, south of Tokyo.
Ryohin Keikaku Co, operator of the Muji household goods store chain, is planning to open a luxury hotel in Tokyo’s posh Ginza shopping area by spring 2019.
Meanwhile, the Minpaku private lodging market is set to expand further with e-commerce company Rakuten Inc, travel agency JTB Corp and railway operator Keio Corp venturing into the industry.
While hotel industry firm, Airbnb has tied up with Recruit Holdings Co, which provides housing information, in an attempt to secure a large number of houses. Meanwhile, the hotels in some areas in the country have started to see their profits decline apparently due to an intensifying price competition with minpaku service providers.
According to British-based research company STR, hotels in Osaka Prefecture in western part of Japan saw their index for profitability rise 2.3 percent in 2016 from the year before, but it went down 1.0 percent in 2017.
