Hong Kong fund backs out of historic hotel project in Kitakyushu
A Hong Kong fund has pulled out of a historic hotel conversion project in Kitakyushu’s Mojiko district due to fundraising difficulties. The project would have seen an 87-year old office building fully renovated and converted into a 90-room luxury boutique hotel scheduled to open in the fourth quarter of 2020.Read more
Ace Hotel coming to Fukuoka
After opening its first Asian location in Kyoto in 2020, Fukuoka has been selected as Ace Hotel’s second location. The hip Seattle hotelier will take up 8 floors in a mixed-use building under construction in Tenjin.Read more
Department Store plans 500 billion Yen redevelopment
Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings is planning to invest 500 billion Yen (approx. US$3.2 billion) in a large-scale redevelopment project in the neighborhood around its landmark Isetan Shinjuku Department Store. This redevelopment plan is expected to boost annual department store revenues by 100 billion Yen.Read more
Condos canned as hotel set to stay on
There has been an abrupt change in plans for a hotel in Tachikawa, Tokyo. News of its closure and proposed redevelopment made headlines last June, but the developer appears to have sold the closed hotel to a local real estate company last month.Read more
Fortress to buy operator of Seagaia resort
On May 10, Sega Sammy Holdings announced the planned sale of the operator of Seagaia resort in Miyazaki to Fortress Investment Group.Read more
Japan’s shrinking hotel sizes
Hotel construction may have resumed to a normal pace post-pandemic, but the average floor size per building is shrinking rapidly. Nationwide, the average GFA of a hotel built in 2023 was 72% smaller than the recent high seen in 2018.Read more
Inbound tourism recovery bolsters hotel occupancy and room rates
With Japan's inbound tourism market now starting to exceed pre-pandemic levels, conditions are looking positive for hotel operators. A recent survey by Tokyo Shoko Research (TSR) found that 80% of the hotels were reporting occupancy rates of 80% and higher. Room rates, too, are now seeing pricing higher than 2019 levels.Read more