Born in 1956, originally based on a strategy of land acquisition, Prince Hotels has grown thanks to the accumulation of lots. This strong growth, during the golden period of the 1960s in Japan, is now a source of difficulties, which are forcing the group to separate from parts of its hotel portfolio. The acquisition of Staywell, in 2017, could prompt a fresh start for the group.
Key figures
20 438 rooms
worldwide 2017
49 hotels
worldwide 2017
The Seibu group, owner of the Japanese railways, started in the 1950s to acquire land owned by a largely cash-strapped Japanese aristocracy, a land on which it built hotels that it then let operate by other groups. From these real estate operations, which multiplied under the backdrop of Japanese economic growth until the 1990s, the Prince Hotels group was born.
Since 2005, the group's hotel portfolio has been in relative decline in terms of number of rooms, because of the contractions in demand due to the Japanese economic crisis, but without excessive losses. The purchase of Staywell in 2017 allowed Prince Hotels to breathe and expand its park as Japan prepares for the 2020 Olympic Games.
With nearly fifty hotels in Japan, Taiwan, China and the United States, the group has also started developing ski resorts and golf courses. With the thirty hotels in Staywell, which Prince Hotels wants to increase to a hundred in ten years, the hotel group sees larger.
