Jan 26 (Nikkei) - Japan will relax hotel regulations later this month to kill two birds with one stone -- catering to international tourists' desire to experience Japanese life and culture and making use of vacant old homes.
The government's goal of attracting 40 million visitors to Japan in 2020 appears to be on track, with the number exceeding 28 million in 2017.
As hotel occupancy rates have continued to rise, mainly in the Tokyo and Osaka areas, concern has spread that the supply of lodgings may not catch up.
In response, a law was passed to legalize home-sharing throughout Japan starting in June. This will make it possible for rooms in private homes and even entire houses to be rented out as holiday accommodations, but only for a maximum of 180 days a year. Accommodations seeking to operate year-round will still have to register as hotels or inns, which requires conforming to long-standing regulations.
Furthermore, some municipalities are introducing ordinances that place further restrictions, such as allowing home-sharing only in certain areas or on certain days, to allay residents' concerns about safety, noise and other issues.
Since building full-fledged hotels takes time and is becoming increasingly expensive amid labor shortages, the government has decided to allow old vacant homes and guests houses to take in tourists by removing requirements on room size and total room count needed to operate as a hotel or inn.
At present, a hotel must offer at least 10 guest rooms, while traditional Japanese inns, known here as ryokan, must have at least five. Just one room will be enough to qualify as a hotel or inn once the new regulations take effect. The rules on minimum room size will also be relaxed.
Hotels and inns are currently required to have a reception desk, but this rule will also be scrapped, provided the operator can visually confirm the identity of guests, via video, for instance. It will also become possible to have one reception center handle multiple accommodations, as long as staff are located close enough to arrive in around 10 minutes in case of emergency.
According to a 2015 Development Bank of Japan report, the country had 1.56 million wooden homes built in 1950 or before. As the number of inbound tourists continues to increase, old homes that no one looked twice at before may prove a valuable resource for attracting international tourists.
