Post by High Priestess on Dec 25, 2016 15:52:35 GMT
See the article:
www.forbes.com/sites/alexfrewmcmillan/2016/12/23/airbnb-style-rentals-in-japan-are-disrupting-traditional-inns/#2cda6e603efb
While the number of visitors to Japan, particularly from China, is surging, the wealth isn’t being spread evenly among Japan’s hospitality sector. Hoteliers face stiff competition from informal accommodation such as Airbnb.
That’s the option my wife chose when she took the kids to Osaka and Kyoto this summer. The two Japanese cities have already introduced waivers to allow Airbnb-style accommodation, and it looks like it will now be introduced nationally.
Regulators have been struggling to keep up with the surge in private rentals, or minpaku. The government is now moving to allowing such landlords to register their properties as lodges under Japan’s Inns and Hotels Act, loosening the rules to allow private rentals in residential areas nationwide for the first time.
Owners would be allowed to rent out either part of their own house or part of a rental property for up to 180 days per year. Lodging houses already make up more than one-third of Japan’s hospitality industry – 35% to be precise. That fraction looks only set to grow.
Unfortunately, to my mind, it is Japanese traditional inns, or ryokan, that are suffering. They offer Japanese tatami-style accommodation, and for that legal classification must have at least five rooms and a reception. While these are often incredibly charming and offer a real insight into Japan, Western-style hotels and, yes, Airbnb-style informal accommodation are supplanting them.
It is the growing Chinese tourism that is shaping the industry. The number of Chinese visitors doubled in 2015, compared with the previous year, and looks set to leap another 41% in 2016 to 6.7 million.
The Chinese visitors currently favor budget accommodation. But their tastes are also maturing, leading them to demand higher standards. The budget-conscious among them will likely gravitate toward minpaku private rentals.
www.forbes.com/sites/alexfrewmcmillan/2016/12/23/airbnb-style-rentals-in-japan-are-disrupting-traditional-inns/#2cda6e603efb
While the number of visitors to Japan, particularly from China, is surging, the wealth isn’t being spread evenly among Japan’s hospitality sector. Hoteliers face stiff competition from informal accommodation such as Airbnb.
That’s the option my wife chose when she took the kids to Osaka and Kyoto this summer. The two Japanese cities have already introduced waivers to allow Airbnb-style accommodation, and it looks like it will now be introduced nationally.
Regulators have been struggling to keep up with the surge in private rentals, or minpaku. The government is now moving to allowing such landlords to register their properties as lodges under Japan’s Inns and Hotels Act, loosening the rules to allow private rentals in residential areas nationwide for the first time.
Owners would be allowed to rent out either part of their own house or part of a rental property for up to 180 days per year. Lodging houses already make up more than one-third of Japan’s hospitality industry – 35% to be precise. That fraction looks only set to grow.
Unfortunately, to my mind, it is Japanese traditional inns, or ryokan, that are suffering. They offer Japanese tatami-style accommodation, and for that legal classification must have at least five rooms and a reception. While these are often incredibly charming and offer a real insight into Japan, Western-style hotels and, yes, Airbnb-style informal accommodation are supplanting them.
It is the growing Chinese tourism that is shaping the industry. The number of Chinese visitors doubled in 2015, compared with the previous year, and looks set to leap another 41% in 2016 to 6.7 million.
The Chinese visitors currently favor budget accommodation. But their tastes are also maturing, leading them to demand higher standards. The budget-conscious among them will likely gravitate toward minpaku private rentals.