It’s counter-intuitive, but it seems that the recent influx of new luxury hotels in Tokyo will ultimately lower the price of hotels throughout the city.

A recent Business Travel News article confirms what we’ve been saying for a while. Tokyo isn’t as expensive as it used to be. Especially when comparing similar accomodations in other major cities like New York and Paris.

BTN reports that a wave of luxury hotel development is bringing well known names like Conrad, Mandarin Oriental, Peninsula and Ritz-Carlton to Tokyo. While these premium brands will offer expensive rooms ($400 per night and up), the increase in available rooms is expected to lead competing hotels to lower their rates.

As the article notes:

“As the new properties open, competition between old and new will increase until the market is stratified into various levels of winners and losers,” the report stated. “Tokyo is already one of the least expensive cities among its peer group for luxury lodging—frequently pricing below London, Paris and New York City. It is fair to assume that room rates will fall even further in the coming years.”

Japan’s deflationary economy also has an impact on the price of lodging.

• Crop Of Mixed-Use Luxury Hotels Rise In Tokyo

The scandal surrounding falsified earthquake safety data that we first reported in late November has now widened to include nearly 90 buildings throughout Japan.

Thirty-Nine hotels have been shut down nationwide as a direct result of the falsified earthquake safety reports created by architect Hidetsugu Aneha.

Some owners have decided to tear down affected buildings rather than bring them up to code. The 162 room Meitetsu Inn Kariya in Kariya is being dismantled as well as at least one condominium.

The revelations about Aneha’s faulty work have lead to building safety concern throughout Japan. Aneha filed reports in the construction of hotels and condominiums. There has been some fear that the scandal could impact Japan’s real estate market. However, Tadashi Matsuda of the Real Estate Economic Institute Co., recently suggested to the Japan Times that the worst may be over:

“We’re assuming other developers will not turn out to have been involved in fudging quake-proof data,” he said. “A few more companies may turn up guilty. But I believe we’ve seen the worst.”

• Razing of Aneha buildings begins
• Aneha scam making buyers wary, for now

If you’re planning on staying in a Tokyo hotel anytime soon you might want to pack an earthquake safety kit. A helmet might not be a bad idea either. Four hotels in and around Tokyo have shut down on fears that they do not meet earthquake safety standards.

The new closures follow last week’s revelation that architect, Hidetsugu Aneha, had falsified earthquake resistance data used in the building of Keio Presso Inn Kayabacho.
(more…)