Blackstone (NYSE: BX) announced that Real Estate funds managed by Blackstone (“Blackstone”) have entered into definitive agreements to acquire three hotels in Osaka and Okinawa – Ritz Carlton Okinawa, Kise Beach Palace, and Nest Hotel Osaka. With these investments, Blackstone will have a sizeable $1.3 billion hotel portfolio in Japan, consisting of high-quality properties across some of the country’s top tourist destinations including Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Okinawa, and Fukuoka, and cementing its position as one of the largest foreign hospitality investors in the market.
Daisuke Kitta, Head of Real Estate Japan, Blackstone, said: “We have been one of the most active investors in Japan hotels in the past three years, anchored by our high conviction in hospitality and leisure as an investment theme globally. Japan is experiencing strength in both inbound tourism and domestic travel, supported by its robust economic growth. We will apply our operational expertise and use the full breadth and depth of our global resources to support these hotels for long-term success.”
In the last three years, Blackstone has acquired or signed to buy nearly 20 hotels including an eight-hotel portfolio from Kintetsu Group Holdings.
Jeremy Bleackley, a Managing Director in Blackstone Real Estate, said: “We are pleased to expand our hotel portfolio in some of Japan’s most vibrant markets – Osaka and Okinawa. We’ll continue our work of building these properties into destinations for dining, leisure, and entertainment, and support the growth of these hotels and the local economies in Japan.”
The three hotels include Ritz Carlton Okinawa, a luxury resort surrounded by an 18-hole championship course overlooking the ocean; the Kise Beach Palace, a beach-front resort; and Nest Hotel Osaka, which sits within 5-minute walking distance to Osaka’s center of retail and entertainment district.
Japan’s tourism industry achieved a new record this year, with foreign visitor spending from January to September reaching JPY 5.8 trillion, surpassing last year’s full-year record. In July, the number of international visitors reached a record-high of nearly 3.3 million for a single month, increasing by more than 10% compared to the same month in 2019. The Japan Tourism Agency expects this trend to continue, with the number of visitors for 2024 expected to hit a record of 35 million.
