Luxury Hotels Opening One after Another in Osaka

The opening of new luxury hotels is accelerating in Osaka in anticipation of the Osaka-Kansai Expo to be held in 2025. With the opening of the Expo as well as the future opening of integrated resorts, including casinos, demand is expected to remain high for the foreseeable future.

The Waldorf Astoria, a top-of-the-line hotel by U.S.-based Hilton, and the Hotel Hankyu Grand Lespire Osaka, a new hotel by Hankyu Hanshin Hotels, are scheduled to open near JR Osaka Station, and the Singapore-based Patina Osaka is planned to open near Osaka Castle.

In 2024, “Osaka Station Hotel,” the first hotel to be opened by JR West Hotels and Marriott International, and Hilton’s “Canopy by Hilton” will also open.

Both are expected to capture the wealthy visitors to Japan who are expected to attend the Expo.

Existing hotels are also reportedly embarking on large-scale renovations one after another, targeting the high unit-price affluent segment.

In Osaka, inbound demand is driving up room rates, with a rush of reservations for rooms priced over 200,000 yen per night.

While there is a rush to open new hotels, Osaka’s hotel industry is facing a serious labor shortage. While employees who left due to the spread of the new corona infection have not returned, the increase in the number of foreign tourists and the opening of new hotels one after another have resulted in a competition for human resources, not limited to full-time employees.

Each hotel is trying various means to secure human resources, including the use of one-time and short-time part-timers.

(source) https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20240710/k10014506241000.html