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Airbnb seeks growth in Japan before major sports events
Reading Time: 2 minutesTokyo: Airbnb co-founder Nathan Blecharczyk has said the home-sharing firm wants to grow in Japan ahead of this year’s Rugby World Cup and the Summer Olympics in Tokyo in 2020. It comes a year since the passing of a law that legalised the private lodgings operator in the country. Now, Airbnb is looking to capitalise […]
OyoLife ties up with major real estate companies
Reading Time: < 1 minuteJapan: Japanese short-term rental marketplace OyoLife.co.jp has announced it has tied up with 11 major real estate companies to drive up listings on its platform. Listings on the OyoLife mobile platform have now exceeded 1,700 rooms following its launch in April this year. The partnership with the real estate firms will help to accelerate the […]
Rakuten Lifull Stay launches WillStyleStay marketplace
Reading Time: < 1 minuteJapan: Vacation rental business Rakuten Lifull Stay Inc. has launched a rental marketplace for detached houses in Japan, entitled “WillStyleStay”. The project is being offered in collaboration with real estate consultant HyAs & Co. Tokyo-based HyAs, which was founded in 2005, provides consultancy for property construction and development. It also provides sales promotion support. Rakuten Lifull […]
Airbnb and HomeAway among founding members of Japanese rental association
Reading Time: 2 minutesJapan: A Japan Association of Vacation Rentals will be established in January, uniting nine founding members aiming to boost the country’s vacation rental tourism. These look set to include home-sharing ryokans (Japanese-style inns) that use residential facilities and event vacation rentals. The group will be coming together at a time when Japan has been strictly […]
Antitrust watchdog in Japan ends inspection into Airbnb operations
Reading Time: < 1 minuteJapan: Japan’s antitrust watchdog has said that it has ended its inspection into the Japanese operations of Airbnb. It said the reason for closing the investigation was that the U.S. home-sharing platform provider had taken appropriate measures to eliminate any suspicions of wrongdoing. The Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) opened the probe because Airbnb had […]
Stay Japan announces travellers’ concierge service for certified accommodation
Reading Time: < 1 minuteJapan: Stay Japan has announced plans to introduce a concierge service to help travellers find certified vacation rentals in Japan. The service, which would be provided by Haykusenrenma, would also help tourists who have had their bookings cancelled at the last minute due to the enforcement of the ‘Private Lodging Business Law’ in the country […]
Airbnb pulls plug on unlawful Japanese listings
Reading Time: < 1 minuteJapan: Airbnb has refunded accommodation and travel costs for customers who have booked at unlawful “minpaku” listings on its site. Airbnb has cancelled reservations for the private lodgings in Japan which are not in accordance with relevant laws and regulations. Such lodgings are called “minpaku” in Japanese. The move comes after the Japanese Tourism Agency urged […]