Singapore’s Pan Pacific Hotels Group to open two new hotels in Tokyo next year

August 26, 2022

TOKYO – Singapore’s  Pan Pacific Hotels Group will open two new hotels in Tokyo’s Shinjuku district next year, the hospitality firm said on Thursday (Aug 25).

These two hotels are part of the ongoing Shinjuku Redevelopment Plan to spruce up the nightlife and shopping district, with new skyscrapers including offices, cinemas and malls being planned.

The plan includes a 72.8 billion yen (S$740 million) makeover of Shinjuku Station – the world’s busiest train station with about 3.5 million passengers daily – that is slated to be completed by 2046. The Kabukicho entertainment district of Shinjuku will also be refashioned with more public spaces and a new airport shuttle station.

The two hotels – Bellustar Tokyo and Hotel Groove Shinjuku – will be located in the new Tokyu Kabukicho Tower, a mixed-use skyscraper that will also house a cinema and a four-storey live concert venue.

The building, which has 48 floors above ground and five basement floors, is set to open in April next year. It is designed by architecture firm Kume Sekkei, which was behind the Yayoi Kusama Museum in Tokyo.

Pan Pacific Hotels Group, which is a member of the Singapore-listed UOL Group Limited, said it hopes to capitalise on pent-up tourism demand following the easing of prolonged Covid-19 border restrictions.

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said that from Sept 7, pre-departure polymerase chain reaction tests will no longer be required for triple-vaccinated travellers in the latest step of Japan’s reopening.

The daily cap on arrivals will likely be eased to 50,000 travellers from the current 20,000 travellers, media said, though Japan has yet to resume visa-free leisure travel.

“While Japan has remained relatively cautious with their reopening measures, we have continued to observe strong demand for travel there,” Pan Pacific Hotels Group chief executive officer Choe Peng Sum told The Straits Times, adding that the company remains bullish in Japan.

Citing a recent study by market research firm YouGov that showed how nearly half of Singaporeans consider Japan for their next destination, he said: “We anticipate further relaxations over the following months and by the time we open in the first half of next year, we will be well-positioned to capture the returning demand.”

Pan Pacific Hotels Group manages three brands – Pan Pacific, Parkroyal Collection and Parkroyal.

Bellustar Tokyo, which is under the Pan Pacific brand, will have 97 rooms that range between 42 sq m and 277 sq m, occupying the 39th to 47th floors of the Tokyu Kabukicho Tower.

The luxury hotel will have a penthouse on the 47th floor that will come with round-the-clock butler service, in-room chef private dining, a personal spa treatment room for two people, a kitchen, and a jacuzzi with views of the city skyline.

It will also have a sky dining restaurant with teppanyaki, sushi, bar and lounge offerings on the 45th floor.

Hotel Groove Shinjuku, which is under the Parkroyal brand, will have 538 rooms that range between 21 sq m and 61 sq m and occupy the 18th to 38th floors of the tower.

Bearing a logo that resembles a vinyl disc, the group said that the hotel was inspired by the energetic entertainment scene of Shinjuku’s Kabukicho district.

The two establishments are the hospitality group’s second and third hotels in Japan, following the five-star Cerulean Tower Tokyu Hotel which opened in 2019 in the Shibuya district.

The group has more than 50 hotels, resorts and serviced suites in 30 cities across Asia Pacific, North America and Europe.

Mr Choe told The Straits Times that the group is observing a strong rebound in business including in Singapore, where its properties have an occupancy rate of about 80 per cent as compared to the competitor average of 63 per cent.

With a positive business outlook, the group is continuing to expand, with hotels in Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Hanoi and Langkawi due to be launched within this year.