On June 28th, Bloomberg’s The Asia Trade sat down with IHG Hotel & Resorts Japan & Micronesia Managing Director Abhijay Sandilya for a wide-ranging discussion about the how IHG plans to expand in Japan, what the weak yen means and how they view eventual yen strengthening as it pertains to their business.
Key Takeaways:
Japan is a global priority market for IHG
Japan had historically an under penetration of international brands when compared to the US or Australia where branded supply makes up between 40 to 50%, where in Japan that number is below 5%.
[2024] has seen the busiest year ever in signing new hotels [in Japan]
IHG sees similar US dollar spend per stay in 2024 as they did in 2019, hence why they are not too worried about the yen strengthening.
Growing hotel supply away from current tourist hotspots like Kyoto is key to further Japan success.
*Video starts at Mr. Sandilya's segment
