The Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) is considering issuing warnings to 15 hotel operators in Tokyo on suspicion that they violated the antimonopoly act by holding monthly meetings to share internal information, which could potentially have led to the effective operation of a price cartel.

The hotel industry has seen soaring room rates, partly due to a surge in inbound foreign tourists, and it is believed that information sharing among hotels may have influenced pricing.

Hotel operators that could be issued warnings include New Otani, The Okura Tokyo and Imperial Hotel, Tokyo.

Hotel representatives from the 15 companies regularly attended monthly meetings in Tokyo, at which they shared internal business data such as occupancy rates, average room prices and pricing outlooks.

While the JFTC’s investigation did not confirm explicit cartel behavior — such as coordinated price hikes — it found that some hotels had used information shared by competitors when setting their own room rates. The JFTC concluded that such exchanges could potentially lead to cartel-like price coordination and decided that early corrective action was necessary, prompting the warnings.

The JFTC plans to make a final decision based on input from the companies that have been advised they may be issued warnings.

The 15 hotel companies have since discontinued the meetings and ceased information sharing, according to Imperial Hotel, Tokyo. “Although the exchange of information was not done with the intention of unfairly restricting trade, we will continue to cooperate fully with the investigation,” a representative from the operator said.

Japan’s hotel industry has seen a sharp recovery in demand following the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2024, the total number of domestic hotel stays reached approximately 650 million, a 9.1% increase from the 2019 figure, according to the Japan National Tourism Organization.

The combination of rising demand from both inbound tourists and domestic travelers, along with inflation, has driven room rates upward.

The 15 hotel operators in Tokyo subject to JFTC warnings are: Kintetsu Miyako Hotels, Grand Nikko Tokyo, Keio Plaza Hotel, Seibu Prince Hotels Worldwide, Cerulean Tower Tokyu Hotel, Nishishinjuku Hotel & Resort, Nippon Hotel, New Otani, Palace Hotel, Hankyu-Hanshin-Daichi Hotel Group, Hulic Hotel Management, Fujita Kanko, The Okura Tokyo, Mitsubishi Estate Hotels & Resorts and Imperial Hotel, Tokyo.