Japan Welcomes Seventh Starwood Hotel Opening
<B> Japan Welcomes Seventh Starwood Hotel Opening</B>
By Judy Jacobs
Starwood Hotels & Resorts has opened its seventh property in Japan--the Yokohama Bay Sheraton Hotel & Towers. Yokohama, which ranks as Japan's second most populous city and its largest port, is in the midst of a reformation that will ensure its stature as one of Japan's top business destinations.
On a site opposite the Japan Rail Yokohama Station, which serves more than two million passengers daily, the Yokohama Bay Sheraton Hotel & Towers was built at a cost of $368 million. The 28-floor hotel is well placed to cater to international business travelers, whose numbers are increasing in Yokohama.
"We expect business travelers to be 35 percent of our entire business," said Yasoji Omori, the hotel's rooms division manager. "In addition, we expect overseas travelers to comprise 10 to 15 percent."
With its rail link providing virtually continuous 40-minute rides to Tokyo's Central Station and 90-minute connections to Narita International Airport, the property offers a number of business travel amenities. Its rooms include modem connections for personal computers and two international direct dial telephone lines with voice mail. The 40 tower rooms include complimentary continental breakfast, express checkin an checkout, secretarial services and meeting room, as well as eight restaurants and lounges, a complete fitness center, swimming pool and sauna and a fully equipped business center.
Among the property's conference facilities are seven function rooms accommodating groups of 30 to 1,000 attendees, and facilities for simultaneous interpretation in up to 12 languages.
Starwood also operates the Sheraton Grande Tokyo Bay in Chiba and the Kobe Bay Sheraton Hotel & Towers in Kobe, as well as The Westin Kyoto Takaragaike Prince Hotel, the Westin Nagoya Castle, the Westin Osaka and the Westin Tokyo.
Starwood officials also announced that its the four-year-old Westin Tokyo is enjoying an average occupancy rate of 90 percent at an average price of approximately $240. Also, the Westin Nagoya Castle in Chiba has completely renovated its largest banquet room, which can accommodate up to 3,000 guests.
Starwood's new property is the latest development in a city striving to set the stage for the 21st century. Rallying behind its Minato Mirai 21--also known as MM21, or the future port of the 21st century--Yokohama is creating a new commercial and business district that is one of the largest development projects in Japan.
The city is transforming itself into a trade and technology center with several projects underway, including the U.S.-Japan Technology Village Partnership complex. Scheduled to be ready by year end, the Village will provide offices for U.S. companies doing business in Japan, offering research and development and testing facilities.
Another project, World Porters, is expected to be open for business in the MM 21 area in the fall of 1999. Quite unlike any other developments of its type, the facility will contain wholesale and retail shops, an exhibition hall, offices, restaurants and entertainment outlets. It is being developed to facilitate commercial deals both for Japanese traders and foreign companies.
Meanwhile, the Yokohama Minato Mirai Hall opened this summer, with seating for 2,020 in the main hall and 440 in a smaller hall. Although designed for music concerts, it also is available for private events and complements the city's other meetings facilities, most notably the Pacific Convention Plaza Yokohama.
The Pacific complex includes the National Convention Hall of Yokohama, which accommodates 5,000 in its main hall; the conference center, which seats 1,000 in its hall and has 60 meeting rooms; and an exhibit hall with 107,640 square feet of exhibition space. The convention hall and conference center are served by an eight-language simultaneous interpretation system.
Information on all Starwood properties now is available on the chain's new Website at www.starwoodhotels.com or www.starwoodlodging.com. The site highlights each property's meeting and planning capacities, with property photos and floor plans.