Hotel Suigo in Ibaraki to be demolished due to earthquake damage
The Suigo hotel in Tsuchiura City, Ibaraki, will be demolished after it sustained damage in the March 11 Tohoku earthquake. Suigo is a local government operated hotel which offers low-cost accommodation. These type of lodgings are called "kokumin shukusha".Read more
Foreign fund sells Sendai hotel
A business hotel developer and operator called Shogetsu Sangyo announced that they have purchased Hotel Hokke Club Sendai from a foreign fund.Read more
Prince Hotel Gamagori sold
Kuretakeso, a hotel and wedding hall developer based in Hamamatsu City, announced that they will be acquiring the Prince Hotel Gamagori from the Prince Hotel chain. The hotel will be handed over on March 30, 2012, and the name will be changed to Gamagori Classic Hotel. The hotel will be revamped as a resort hotel and will also be used for wedding ceremonies. The total investment, including renovations to the rooms, is estimated at 1 billion Yen.Read more
Niseko Kogen Hotel sold
Niseko Kogen Kanko, a subsidiary of Tokyu Land, announced that they will be selling the Niseko Kogen Hotel to an undisclosed buyer for just over 1 billion Yen. The buyer is said to be a fund based in Asia.
The Niseko Kogen Hotel will remain open until March, 2012, at which time the new buyer will take over the property. The hotel is aging, so it is expected that the new buyer will demolish and rebuild a high class international hotel on the site. The current 59 room, 4-storey hotel was built in 1975, and room rates start from 7,000 Yen/night (90 USD). In recent years, construction of new condominiums in the area have had a negative impact on the hotel's profitability. Read more
Palace Hotel set to reopen in May, 2012
The Palace Hotel reconstruction project is expected to be completed in 2012 with the "Palace Hotel Tokyo" scheduled to start accepting hotel guests from May 17, 2012. The new hotel will be 23 stories and will have 290 hotel rooms. The rooms start from 45 sqm in size (484 sqft), which is much larger than the typical Japanese hotel room.Read more
Mori Trust acquires famous Kyoto hotel
Mori Trust announced on November 25 that they had acquired the site of Hotel Rantei in Kyoto from Kyoto Century Hotel for an undisclosed sum.
The traditional Japanese-style hotel has been closed since January, 2010, but will undergo a full refurbishment before being re-opened as a luxury hotel by 2013 - 2014. Once it is opened, they hope to attract wealthy domestic and foreign tourists.Read more
Kobe Bay Sheraton Hotel Sold
The Kobe Bay Sheraton Hotel and Towers on Rokko Island will be sold to a hotel and ryokan (Japanese-style hotel) operator called Hotel New Awaji. The hotel name will not be changed and will continue to operate as normal.
The Bay Sheraton was opened in June, 1992. Up until 2005 it was owned by a subsidiary of JTB Corporation, however the long-lasting effects of the 1995 Hanshin earthquake and economic recession made the hotel unprofitable and it was sold to the American investment company, Lone Star Group. It is currently being operated by a subsidiary of Lone Star. Hotel New Awaji will also purchase the subsidiary and will continue to operate the hotel without any disruptions.Read more