Skift Take
This fourth-generation hotelier isn’t afraid to think differently, and he has grand plans for introducing the rest of the world to his family’s luxe interpretations of Japanese hospitality.
Yoshiharu Hoshino knows he’s got something special with his family business, and he wants the rest of the world to experience it, too.
The CEO of Hoshino Resorts wants to introduce the rest of the world to his company’s unique take on the traditional Japanese ryokan, or inn, as best evidenced by the company’s ultra-luxe Hoshinoya brand.
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That brand opened its first location in Tokyo last year, after having established itself throughout Japan for the past few years, and Hoshino hopes to expand the brand on a global scale going forward.
What makes the Hoshinoya brand so special is its contemporary take on the traditional ryokan: sleeker and much more modern than what you’d find in most ryokans, but still deeply connected to Japanese culture and to the nature that surrounds the property. It’s a formula Hoshino thinks he can successfully apply to other parts of the world.
In addition to the Hoshinoya brand, Hoshino Resorts also has two other brands — Kai and Risonare. And right now, the company operates two hotels outside of Japan, a property in Bali and another in Tahiti.
And as Hoshino focuses on growing his company worldwide, he’s also been outspoken about a number of issues impacting the hospitality industry in his home country: namely the high demand for accommodations in Tokyo, and the pending legalization of short-term rentals.
Skift recently caught up with Hoshino to ask him about his growth plans, as well as his thoughts on short-term rental regulation in Japan.
[caption id="attachment_232985" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Yoshiharu Hoshino, CEO of Hoshino Resorts[/caption]
Skift: For those of us who aren't so familiar with Hoshino Resorts, can you tell us more about the company and the properties you have?
Yoshiharu Hoshino: This is a family business for more than 100 years. Actually, this year is our 103rd year in operation. I'm a fourth-generation hotelier in this business, and my brother and I took over this operation in 1991. The year 1991 was a very difficult time for Japan, because everything started going down. The 1980s were very good; the 1990s was not so prosperous a decade for us.
So, instead of developing new hotels, we decided to concentrate on the operation of the hotels, o
