News

Announcement of the Top 10 Room Rankings Popular in the "Stay-at-Home Demand" in 2023

Jan.18.24

Kinnoutake Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Hakone Town, Kanagawa Prefecture, President and CEO: Kei Kubosawa, hereinafter referred to as "Kinnoutake"), which operates five inns and three dining establishments in Hakone, Kanagawa Prefecture, will announce the room ranking that was popular among the "stay-at-home demand" based on the reservation status for the fiscal year 2023.

The scale of Kinnoutake Group's inn facilities is based on the motto of Small Luxury, ranging from 9 to 23 rooms. Each facility and room are designed differently to suit individual tastes, providing private time and space by offering in-room open-air baths and room service meals. This time, we will announce the top 10 room rankings that were popular among the "stay-at-home demand" for the fiscal year 2023, which returned to normal life after about four years of lifting restrictions.

| Stay-at-home Room Popularity Ranking (Number of Users)

The most popular room in the 2023 ranking is the "Wakamatsu" room at "Matsuzakaya Honten" in Ashinoyu Onsen, Hakone, taking the top spot. Matsuzakaya Honten's rooms occupy up to the fifth position. Additionally, six rooms from "Kinnoutake Tonosawa" made it to the top 10.

Matsuzakaya Honten, founded in 1662 (Kanbun 2), is a long-established inn that has continued as a hot spring inn for over 360 years since the Edo period and is even depicted in Ukiyo-e by Hiroshige Utagawa. Ashinoyu Onsen was selected as the only National Recreation Hot Spring area in Kanagawa Prefecture, and the inn's hot spring, gushing out 200 liters per minute, is a 100% source hot spring with "Yunohana" dancing, containing all three major beautifying spring qualities (sulfur spring, sulfate spring, carbonic acid hydrogen carbonate spring). In addition to its history and high-quality hot springs, the inn has gained support from inbound travelers for adopting all-inclusive free drinks in addition to meals and providing an experience of Japanese traditions through hot springs, cuisine, and inn stays by 15 foreign staff members.

Although Kinnoutake Tonosawa relinquished the top three spots to Matsuzakaya Honten, it maintained strong popularity, especially among couples and married couples in their 20s to 40s, with six rooms in the top 10. While Kinnoutake Tonosawa occupied the top 1 to 4 positions in the 2022 ranking, the increase in inbound travelers after the transition of COVID-19 to Category 5 infectious diseases in May 2023 (up 131% from the previous period) resulted in Matsuzakaya Honten rising to the top.

｜Stay-at-home Room Popularity Ranking (Revenue)
The top spot in the revenue-based popularity ranking for stay-at-home rooms in 2023 goes to the room "MIKADO" at Kinnotake Sengokuhara, which was newly created in March 2023 to enhance added value. "MIKADO" is the top-tier room in our group, covering an area of 136 square meters, and the customer unit price was ¥173,000, with 35% being inbound travelers. Ranking second and third are two rooms from the Club Floor of Kinnotake Tonosawa, which also made it to the top 10 in terms of the number of users, with a customer unit price of ¥86,000. In total, seven rooms, including "MIKADO" at Kinnotake Sengokuhara, made it to the top 10. The overall average customer unit price for the facilities is ¥93,000. Kinnotake Sengokuhara, with the concept based on the well-known tale "The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter," offers nine uniquely designed rooms, each with an open-air bath, providing meals in the room. The repeat rate for guests staying in the rooms is high, at 40%.

*Survey Date: January 4, 2024
*Survey Target: Those who applied for stays at Kinnotake Group facilities (January 1, 2023, to December 31, 2023)
*Target Facilities: Kinnotake Sengokuhara, Kinnotake Tonosawa, Matsuzakaya Honten, Hotel Zagyokukan, Kinnotake Saryo

｜Summary
In 2023, with the easing of COVID-19 restrictions in May, daily life returned after about four years. According to a survey by Hakone DMO, the total number of visitors to Hakone for the entire year of Reiwa 5 (2023) was 14.2 million (81.83% compared to the previous period), and for inbound travelers, it was 612,000 (841% compared to the previous period). The total number of users for Kinnotake Resorts was 37,000 (141% compared to the previous period), with a rapid recovery of inbound travelers due to the lifting of entry restrictions and the impact of a significant weakening of the yen. The average customer unit price increased by 112% compared to the previous period.
In 2024, it is expected that inbound travelers will reach a record high of 33.1 million. Inbound travelers tend to book early, causing a shortage of available rooms toward the end, making it difficult for domestic travelers to make reservations. The following high prices in Japan will also affect the calming of domestic revenge consumption.

｜Future Outlook
Kinnotake Resorts will enhance the value of customer experiences by renovating rooms, establishing new facilities such as gyms, saunas, and pools, and promoting smart solutions at each facility. Furthermore, we aim to create added value and contribute to the development of tourism demand in Hakone and the Japanese accommodation and tourism industries by launching "Ryocance," which focuses on providing an environment and space to experience the uniqueness of Japan through various activities such as traditional culture, food, and more. By establishing a revenue model that generates continuous-stay demand, we aim to improve customer satisfaction by increasing the length of stay at the facilities, leading to the creation of new revenue streams and operational efficiency, including reducing check-in and check-out times and cleaning processes. In terms of attracting customers, we will strengthen our efforts through multilingual websites, AI multilingual chats, SNS, and expanding sales channels overseas, promoting digitization (DX).

*Ryocance web site: https://kinnotake-resorts.com/ryocance/tonosawa/