Society

Hotels in Japan slash prices as occupancy rates plunge

Mar 03 (Nikkei) - As Japan suffers a coronavirus-induced drop in travel, hotel chains are slashing room rates for about 30% of stays during the normally busy early spring season, a Nikkei analysis of online booking sites shows.

Prices were down on average about 20% on Monday from those offered on Feb. 26 as shown on the Rakuten Travel and Jalan.net online booking sites for 1,087 of the 3,624 stays covered.

The average discount was deepest for hotel stays in Fukuoka, which dropped 25%, followed by Kyoto at 24%. Prices for many stays in central Kyoto have more than halved in the last five days.

In Tokyo, where the average price dropped 22%, stays in the foreign-tourist-heavy area of Ueno-Asakusa showed steep declines.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe last week called on Japan to cancel, postpone or reduce the size of nationwide events for the next two weeks, and urged a similar closure at public primary, middle and high schools.

The move reverberated through travel websites. Nikkei tracked prices of one-night stays for two adults in Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Sapporo and Fukuoka on March 28 -- the last Saturday of the month and traditionally a busy day due to the spring school break.

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