Japanese hotels suffer in disaster aftermath
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Japanese hotels have seen broad double-digit declines in terms of occupancy and revenue per available room (revPAR) in the aftermath of the recent disasters in the Tohoku region of northeastern Honshu, according to STR Global. A report detailing the performance of the country’s hotel industry in March and April 2011 showed that hotels in Sendai, the city nearest the earthquake’s epicentre, as well as Sapporo and Tokyo, have borne the brunt of the impact of the disaster. Cities further from the centre of the catastrophe were generally less impacted.
Occupancy in Japan was down 21.3% for March and 27.6% for April compared with the same months in 2010. Tokyo and Sendai showed greater falls in occupancy of 33.6% and 36.7% for March, respectively. Sendai’s revPAR declined 22.7% in March 2011 before increasing by 77.2% in April 2011. Demand is expected to remain firm with the resumption of Tohoku Shinkansen express train services, as well as insurance companies sending staff to the Sendai area to assess claims.
By comparison Tokyo, some 300km to the south of Sendai, saw occupancies fall from 83% in March 2010 to 55% in March 2011, as people sought to move away from the threat of radiation exposure. Further south, Osaka saw only a small reduction in occupancy (-2.8%) whilst Kobe actually experienced a rise of 6%.
“Our deepest sympathies go to those affected by the dramatic earthquake and tsunami in Japan,” said Elizabeth Randall, Managing Director of STR Global. “Declines in RevPAR are nothing against the overall suffering of the country and the loss of life. With the resilience of the Japanese people, the country and industry will surely recover.”
STR Global also commended the response of the Japanese hotel industry to the disaster, with many of Tokyo’s three- and four-star hotels making themselves available as public shelters to help cope with the influx of displaced people and those seeking to distance themselves from the possibility of radiation exposure. The Grand Prince Akasaka (pictured), one of the city’s most prestigious addresses, was due to close at the end of March, but has stayed open to offer accommodation to some of the 30,000-plus evacuees from the Fukushima Prefecture. Solare Hotels & Resorts, which manages hotels in 73 destinations across the country, is offering 10,000 room nights free of charge in its Chisun and Loisir-branded hotels. Additionally, many hotels have waived cancellation fees.
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