09, December 2009
Japanese premium cosmetics maker Kanebo has announced it will launch its own branded line of beauty spas in Europe this year. Kanebo's first "Sensai Select Spa" will open in a Swiss luxury hotel in December 2009. In addition to offering esthetic treatments featuring Kanebo's own products, the spas will also sell products from the maker's luxury "Sensai" line.
12, March 2009
Hilton Hotels Corporation, with the recent addition of the Denizen Hotels brand, now holds 11 different hotel brands. Denizen Hotels is positioned with Hilton's other "Luxury and Lifestyle" brands, including well known names such as Conrad Hotels and Resorts, Waldorf Astoria Collection, and Waldorf Astoria Hotels and Resorts.
05, March 2009
The newly-opened Shangri-la Hotel is located in front of the JR Tokyo Station. It is located on the 27th to 37th floors of the Marunouchi Trust Tower building. The hotel offers a total of 202 standard rooms, priced at around 700 USD (70,000 JPY) per night without tax and service charges. Luxury rooms sized at around 269 sq meters cost as much as 10,000 USD (1,000,000 JPY) per night. The Shangri-la is hoping to attract guests with its' superior location and stellar interior décor.
29, January 2009
Niseko in Hokkaido, Northern Japan is experiencing swelling numbers of wealthy overseas tourists from countries such as Malaysia and Singapore. Resorts in the area have focused marketing efforts on high net-worth individuals from these areas who remain less affected by the current financial crisis.
January 22, 2009
On January 21, Japanese Luxury Hotel operator Hotel Okura, announced a new tie-up with Kahala Hotel of Oahu, Hawaii. The two organizations have agreed to operate their room reservations and other related services jointly in order to boost service levels.
January 08, 2009
Shangri-La Tokyo, the first hotel for the brand in Japan, will open in March 2009, and has begun to accept customer reservations.
December 11, 2008
IHG-ANA Hotel group re-opened their Fukuoka facility under the ANA-Crowne Plaza brand on December 4, 2008. IHG-ANA is the Japan based venture between global hotel operator InterContinental Hotel Group (IHG) and Japan based All Nippon Airways Hotels (ANA). ANA-Crowne Plaza concept combines the globally recognized service standards of the Crowne Plaza brand with the genuinely Japanese trust and reliability inherent in the ANA Hotel brand. The re-branded Fukuoka hotel aims to raise service levels and become the market leader in the Kyushu area.
October 23, 2008
InterContinental Hotel Group (IHG) has announced it will introduce its boutique hotel brand, Hotel Indigo, to Japan and the Asia pacific region in coming months. IHG currently operates 4 brands, InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express already in 19 countries in the region, and is looking to add Hotel Indigo as a new type of offering.
August 21, 2008
Central Tokyo luxury hotels have reported higher occupancy rates during the "Obon" summer holiday period compared to last year. For example, Hotel Okura in Tokyo's Minato-Ku reported occupancy rates 10 points higher compared to one year ago, while The Royal Park Hotel in Tokyo's Chuo-Ku reported an increase of 7 percentage points.
August 21, 2008
InterContinental Hotels has announced it will offer a Dom Perignon lunch promotion at its luxury boutique hotel location, The Strings InterContinental Hotel in Minato-Ku Tokyo. The lunch special will be offered in"The Dining," the hotel's French inspired restaurant and feature a bottomless glass of Dom Perignon Champagne for 30 minutes, reflecting the brand's wide popularity with Japanese luxury consumers.
July 08, 2008
American global hotel management leader, Hilton Hotels International is set to move forward with plans to expand their various brands in Japan. From very high-end premium hotels to business hotels, in total nine different brands will be developed. Primarily the newly branded hotels will come from independently managed hotels, and by 2017 more than 50 hotels will be opened under a Hilton brand.
June 23, 2008
The premium luxury hotel chain Hotel Okura will open a wine restaurant and bar in their Fukuoka hotel named the Baron Okura Wine Dining and Bar on July 1st of this year. Guests will have over 500 types of wine to choose from, and will be served by qualified sommelier staff. As well, in August a special "wine school" will open for guest. The hotel's first floor restaurant will undergo remodeling to accommodate the new facilities and they expect sales to exceed ¥130,000,000 by the end of 2009.
June 15, 2008
Universal Studios Japan (USJ), the movie-based theme park in Osaka in western Japan, has announced plans for the development and refurnishing of five hotels in the surrounding area. Keihan Hotel will acquire and remodel an existing hotel which will go along with the development of a new hotel in the same area. And by July 2009 American chain Best Western will also begin construction. These developments are expected to intensify the competition between USJ in Osaka and Tokyo Disneyland, which similarly has already developed hotels nearby.
June 11, 2008
Misawa Homes Co. Ltd has opened "Century" as their very high-end division specializing in luxury homes for wealthy consumers in Japan.
May 31, 2008
The Osaka ANA Hotel has announced the October 1st opening of the ANA Crown Plaza Osaka hotel as part of their 25th anniversary commemoration. This year is a turning point for the hotel, and to mark the occasion the hotel will undergo some major changes, including re-branding and remodeling into an international standard luxury hotel. The remodeling will begin at the end of June, starting with the guest rooms, and will soon be followed by large scale renovations in other areas of the hotel.
May 14, 2008
The scenic Kobe bay area is the site of a unique development plan, including luxurious suites and hotels which will fit in well with the area's current trendy and chic image.
April 17, 2008
In the old-town area of Takayama City in the Japanese Alps, one after another new hotels are being built while existing hotels are going through a large scale renovation trend. As the roads open up for the summer traffic rush, the competition for customers is sharply increasing as hotels make marked progress in their marketing for high-end affluent customers, with business and young couple consumer s also in their focus.
1. Daikokuya Launches Online Luxury Handbag Rental Services
3. Korean Cosmetic Brand Opens New Salon Hanbang Ginza 10/19/08 Grand Opening
4. Online shopping for luxury goods in Japan
5. Gucci Café's Tart Heart Special Menu
6. Shiseido and Kanebo compete with premium cosmetics brands
7. Luxury brand Cartier decides to begin their online sales in the Japanese market
8. Chrome Hearts Tokyo - New Sales Approach
9. Kyoto stores compete for luxury brand market and customer attention
