Hotels in Japan emerge relatively unscathed
Posted: Fri 18 Mar, 2011 3:43 PM
A recent statement from some of the biggest hospitality companies in Japan indicate that most hotels were spared from the 9.0 magnitude earthquake that devastated the country, with the exception of properties in the city of Sendai.
Prince Hotels, which has 48-hotels in Japan, reported that it had closed two of its properties the Shizukuishi Prince Hotel and Shuizukuishi Ski Resort in Iwate Prefecture and that some of its other properties would have changes in their operating hours. However, it reported no injuries or serious damage.
JAL Hotels, which has 25 hotels in the country under its NHI chain and 13-hotels under its Hotel JAL chain, reported that two of its hotels the Hotel JAL City Hachinohe and the Hotel JAL City Sendai were in a difficult situation. The InterContinental Hotels Group, which has 37-hotels in Japan, said it had evacuated all 120-guests from its ANA Holiday Inn hotel in Sendai and had closed the hotel to new bookings and guests.
All other IHG ANA hotels across Japan are fully operational, the statement said. IHG added that it had advised all hotels across the Tokyo metropolitan area and the northern part of Japan to follow government recommendations to minimise electricity usage, which could involve some suspension of normal services and operations for the duration of the power outage.
Addressing the nuclear risk, IHG said it was keeping a close watch on the situation. Its closest property to the Fukushima Daiichi power plant, the ANA Holiday Inn Sendai, was deemed to be in a safe zone, it said.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts, which has 14-hotels in Japan, said that all guests and staff were accounted for at its Westin Sendai and that the property had suffered no structural damage. The hotel would be closed over the next few days due to lack of facilities, according to a Reuters report.
Marriott International, which has nine hotels in Japan including the Ritz-Carlton Tokyo and The Ritz-Carlton Osaka, stated it had no reports of harm to its guests or employees, nor any significant structural damage at any of its properties. Accor, which also has nine hotels in Japan, said all its hotels remained operational and its buildings had received only minor damage. One of the three hotels the Mercure Hotel Narita had been impacted by the national rolling power blackouts for a few hours each day, the statement said.
Hyatt Hotels, which has eight properties in Japan, reported that all of its hotels were operational and that there were no injuries to guests or staff. Japan Leisure Hotels, which has six properties in the country, reported some damage to its Sendai property although stressed it had been left intact.
The hotel has been shut down and is expected to remain closed for at least a month. The Peninsula Tokyo reported that it was functioning as normal and it did not anticipate being impacted by the government-mandated blackouts. The hotel said it had, however, closed three F&B outlets Peter Restaurant, The Peninsula Caf and The Peninsula Boutique & Caf at Naka Dori to conserve energy.
