Japan’s largest hospitality company, APA Group, plans to grow
its presence in the United States rapidly, to 100 properties by 2020, and it’s starting
with the Garden State.
The APA Hotel Woodbridge near New Jersey Transit and
Amtrak's Metropark station, set to open this week, will mark APA’s official
entry into the country. The 200-room conversion hotel is part of a joint
venture between APA and New Jersey-based Friendwell Group of Companies.
In Japan, APA has 347 hotels comprised of 56,607 rooms and
directly operates most of its properties. It specializes in “new urban style
hotels,” which emphasize high functionality and sustainability.
Friendwell CEO Jason Cheng said APA might introduce the
brand in Manhattan during Stage One development. It's also eyeing markets like Boston,
Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. “Anywhere that Japan
Airlines flies direct,” Cheng said. Friendwell, which originated in Taiwan, has
a three-year exclusive contract to develop APA properties and serve as a
franchisee. The real estate investment trust-like Friendwell is mainly based in
New Jersey and has 13 hotels comprised of 3,301 rooms in the state, including
the new APA.
APA Group CEO Toshio Motoya believes the brand will do well
in the United States, particularly with business travelers. “We analyzed how
businessmen use the rooms,” Motoya said. “When they check in, they drop off
their luggage and they leave immediately to go out to meetings. When they come
back, they want to take a bath, relax, go to bed and have a great breakfast. We
want to make sure those areas are where we concentrate most and eliminate anything
else that’s not necessary.”
APA’s hotel rooms feature such amenities as LED lighting, volume-regulating
faucets that reduce water consumption and bedside switch panels that control
room temperature, television and lights. Motoya said APA’s new-build hotels
consume one-third the energy of a traditional hotel. All its properties are within
a three-minute walk from a train station, a feat the company will continue to
pursue in the United States.