A Japanese hotel operator known for its sophisticated thermal water resorts is betting that the traditional concept could work in the United States
Hoshino Resorts, a 107-year-old company famous for its luxury retreats in beautiful Japanese locations, plans to open its first location in the U.S. mainland in the next three to five years, said CEO Yoshiharu Hoshino, whose family founded the company. The privately held company surveyed locations and held discussions with developers and real estate investors, he said. An ideal location, in his opinion, could be Saratoga Springs, about a three-hour drive from New York and Boston.
Yoshiharu Hoshino
Source: Hoshino Resorts
To build a new facility with a partner, Hoshino would look for a location in the U.S. with that potential. The culture of visiting hot springs for relaxation and restorative treatments already exists in the United States, although many of the most sought after locations still remain wild, with no resort infrastructure surrounding them. Hoshino designs and operates thermal water resorts, usually owned by developers and real estate investors.
“My personal goal is to bring traditional Japanese hot springs resorts to North America,” said Hoshino, the fourth generation of his family to run the company, in an interview with Bloomberg TV. “There are so many resources from hot springs in the USA”
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A new location in the United States would attract Americans who want to experience some of Japan’s culture, but may hesitate – or cannot – travel abroad. The company, which owns a property in Hawaii, plans to resume its search for a suitable location as soon as Covid-19 slows down, Hoshino said.
Hoshino Resorts operates several hotel brands for a variety of budgets, but is best known for its luxury Hoshinoya resorts.
Although the coronavirus has fundamentally changed travel, there are still opportunities, according to Hoshino. Back in Japan, the company will be careful to develop hotels in urban areas due to the oversupply of a recent tourism boom, leaving many operators in these places under financial pressure.
Hotel Hoshinoya Tokyo, clockwise from the upper left corner, the entrance, the reception, the corridor to the dining room and the external thermal water bath.
Photographer: Kiyoshi Ota / Bloomberg
Hoshino Resorts opened its first location in Karuizawa, a mountain resort town and popular retreat for Tokyo residents in 1914. When Hoshino became the head of the company in 1991, he started taking control of struggling spa resorts and turned them into luxury stays in the Japanese style Hoshinoya is now known for. Many were originally developed during Japan’s housing bubble era in prime locations, but an economic recovery and the influx of tourists before the pandemic made them viable again for a resort operator like Hoshino.
The extensive properties explore concepts long cherished in Japan, such as scenic natural environments and locally sourced cuisine. Resort rooms are minimalist and often have a confluence of Japanese elements, such as thatch tatami mat floors and sliding shoji doors and modern necessities.
The company was profitable in 2020, driven by a domestic travel subsidy program and the demand from Japanese tourists who would normally travel abroad, said Hoshino. Japan had fewer cases of coronavirus than most other rich countries and the government has not imposed strict restrictions on movement, unlike many other places.
Hoshino said he only expects hotels in the Tokyo area to be affected by the decision to ban foreign viewers from the summer Olympics, and that travel and business at Hoshino Resorts are expected to return to pre-Covid levels in 2023.
The company operates 43 properties in Japan and three abroad – in Hawaii, Taiwan and Bali. It will open its first facility in China this year – in Zhejiang province, south of Shanghai.
“We have been in the market for more than 107 years and now it is time to think about the next 100 years of developing hot spring hotels around the world,” said Hoshino. “I want to launch that base while I am the head of this company.”