Preferred drives business back to Japan
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Preferred Hotel Group (PHG) is attempting to revive the Japanese hotel sector with the launch of a major new promotion. The hotel group has unveiled its ‘Kizuna’ initiative, which will see 10 hotels in Tokyo, Yokohama, Sapporo and Hiroshima, participate in a 10-day sale from now until 15 July, offering rooms for just JPY10,000 (US$124) per night for stays until end of year. The word ‘Kizuna’ means ‘bonding’ in Japanese, and this appears to be reflective of the spirit within PHG since the 11 March disasters.
Immediately following the earthquake and tsunami, PHG’s owners, the Ueberroth Family, on behalf of the Ueberroth Foundation, donated US$10,000 to the American Red Cross to Japan’s earthquake relief effort. A separate donation site within the American Red Cross website was created for PHG associates to donate funds.
PHG also partnered with Vacationist.com last month to hold a benefit sale called ‘Check-In For Japan’. PHG’s global members collectively donated 800 hotel rooms and sold them off at significantly reduced rates, with 100% of the proceeds going to the Red Cross relief effort.
The Kizuna 10-day sale meanwhile, is the latest effort to boost Japan’s hotel sector, which has suffered a significant downturn since the 11 March disasters. Revenue generated through PHG channels to the company’s Japanese hotels plunged 60% year-on-year in April. In May the decline was 30%. Last month PHG said that while some of its members in Tokyo were recovering losses almost back to 2010 levels in June, others are still are recording a 20% year-on-year drop in revenue.
Having recently returned from Tokyo with PHG’s President, Lindsey Ueberroth, Mark Simmons, the company’s Area Managing Director of Asia, noted; “It is remarkable how quickly the Japanese people have rebounded from the tragedy and made a national concerted effort to bring the country back to normalcy. In the last month, we are seeing an increase of international visitors, primarily in the corporate sector at our hotels in Japan. More still needs to be done to bring confidence back to the leisure market and we are actively working together with regional and global partners on this. Our member hotels are actively collaborating to entice visitors back to show them that it is ‘business as usual’ and Preferred is committed to put in maximum efforts globally in promoting the country.”
Ueberroth and Simmons, along with other members of the PHG senior management team, recently visited Hiroshi Mizohata, the Commissioner of the Japan Tourism Agency, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism in Tokyo, in a gesture of thanks for PHG’s efforts in assisting with financial aid as well as promoting tourism to the country.
For further information on the Kizuna 10-day sale, customers can visit www.phgoffers.com/kizuna.
Pictured (from left): Yutaka Nakamura, Advisor for Royal Park Hotels & Resorts Company Ltd; Lindsey Ueberroth, President, Preferred Hotel Group; Hiroshi Mizohata, Commissioner, Japan Tourism Agency / Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and tourism; Kaori Yamaguchi, Regional Director – Japan, Preferred Hotel Group; Mark Simmons, Area Managing Director – Asia, of Preferred Hotel Group.
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