SoftBank's Fortress emerges as white knight for hotel chain Unizo with $1.3 billion bid
Hotel chain Unizo Holdings said Friday it has received a friendly buyout offer worth up to $1.3 billion from a SoftBank Group investment firm, in a deal that will help it fend off a rare hostile takeover bid from travel agency H.I.S. Co. U.S.-based Fortress ...
Temple in Tokyo enters hospitality business to offset decline in devotee families
A temple in Tokyo has opened a lodging facility as part of efforts to survive a drop in member families caused partly by Japan's graying and shrinking population. Shodenji temple in Minato Ward opened a hostel big enough for 12 guests after receiving a proposal ...
Casino resort frontrunner MGM says winning and building Osaka facility by 2025 is tough but doable
Over the next few months, the government is expected to debate the structure of a new regulatory committee that will oversee so-called integrated resort complexes containing casinos and draft a basic policy specifying the selection criteria for such facilities. For Osaka, considered the frontrunner of ...
Authorities investigate series of arsons at three top Waikiki hotels
Hawaii authorities were investigating three fires that were intentionally set in different high-rise resort hotels near Waikiki Beach over the past few days, officials said Wednesday. A blaze on Monday caused $1.8 million in damage at the 25-story Waikiki Beachcomber by Outrigger. The fire was ...
U.S. hotels, unions push back against pressure to hold detained migrants
There's a new target in the clash over immigration: hotels. Advocacy groups and unions are pressuring Marriott, MGM and others not to house migrants who have been arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers. For decades, the U.S. government has occasionally detained migrants in hotels, and ...
Shigeru Ban designs an escape from the pressures of urban life
Nature takes precedence in Shigeru Ban's unusual design for Shishi- Iwa House, a resort hotel in Karuizawa designed to encourage human interaction within luxury minimalism.
Wheelchair-accessible hotel rooms still an issue ahead of Tokyo 2020 Paralympics and Olympics
A shortage of wheelchair-accessible hotel rooms remains an issue for Tokyo 2020 organizers, who say they are committed to using the Paralympic Games to make Japan a more inclusive place. As the clock ticks down to the Aug. 25, 2020, opening ceremony for the games, ...
Private equity sees hot opportunity in Japan's traditional onsen inns
For Japan's growing flood of foreign tourists, one of the top internet search terms is onsen, the traditional hot springs where travelers have soaked since the days of the samurai. Now some of the world's oldest businesses are attracting big new money. Private equity funds ...
Japanese government seeks public comment on plan to bring foreign trainees into hotel sector
The government on Thursday started soliciting public comments over its plan to allow foreign nationals who come to Japan under the government-sponsored Technical Intern Training Program to work directly for hotels for up to five years, officials said. Those workers could eventually apply for a ...
Rakuten, Booking.com and Expedia raided by Japan's antitrust watchdog over lodging price policy
Japan's antitrust watchdog on Wednesday raided the offices of Rakuten Inc. and two other online booking operators, alleging they hurt fair trade by requiring accommodation providers to offer their lowest prices on their platforms, according to a source close to the matter. The Fair Trade ...
Japan's travel agencies and hotels look to milk imminent era shift to Reiwa with tours and souvenirs
Travel agencies and hotels are selling commemorative packages to take advantage of the forthcoming change of Imperial era, an opportunity that typically comes only once every several decades. Leading travel agency JTB Corp. is selling a three-day tour that starts on April 30, the final ...
Bumpy ride feared in Japan as new visa types issued to ease labor crunch
Japan will open its doors wider to workers from abroad when the revised Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act takes effect. However, with it comes a host of other issues.
