Hoshino Resorts operates 36 resorts in Japan and overseas, including the luxury Hoshinoya, the resort hotel Risonare, and the hot spring inn KAI, and its trends always attract a lot of attention. At the top of this list is Yoshiji Hoshino, who is known as the genius of the hotel and inn industry.
"Don't copy anything." Baptism in America


It has been 103 years since my great-grandfather opened Hoshino Onsen Ryokan in Karuizawa. Although Hoshino Resorts is a company with a long history, ever since Mr. Hoshino took over as president, Hoshino Resorts has been developing its business at an unprecedented pace and always shows a challenging attitude. Contrary to that image, his motto is, ``Don't trust your intuition and proceed faithfully to business theory that makes sense.'' ``At the age of 25, I entered the master's program at Cornell University's School of Hotel Management in the United States.I spent two years here gaining a solid grasp of marketing and other business theories, and I also learned a lot from the intensive experience I had with 2 classmates from all over the world. Time has had a big impact on who I am now."
For 25-year-old Hoshino, hotels in overseas resorts and cities such as Hawaii and New York are the objects of his dreams, and his parents' inn, which continues to operate as an old facility, is uncool. I studied abroad with the thought that ``someday, I would like to do something like that at my parents' home.'' However, when he attended a reception wearing a suit, his classmates told him something that changed his thoughts. ``People say, ``Why are you wearing British national costumes?'' It's true that people usually wear T-shirts and jeans and wear casual clothes, but in formal occasions, people from other countries such as India and the Middle East tend to wear British national costumes. They were wearing traditional costumes from other countries.They all came to America carrying their own culture with them.The people there have a strong sense of resistance to imitating other cultures. is". Mr. Hoshino was still young and through honest interactions with his classmates whom he met at school, where he had no conflict of interest, he was able to learn about their inner views on Japanese people.
``This was a very powerful experience.When I was in Japan, I had no doubts that a suit was a sign of formality.However, they said, ``Japan has a long and wonderful history.'' Even though we have such a culture and tradition, I guess you really admire America and Western culture!'' They sense it in everything I have, everything I wear, and every movement I make. For the past two years, I have felt intense regret and embarrassment over the fact that I am."
What does it mean for Japan to operate hotels overseas?


While I was on the path to inheriting my parents' inn, I realized for the first time that ``People would make fun of me for imitating the West.My job was to make a run-down inn look cool.'' This was the greatest result of studying abroad.
In the late 80s, after graduating from graduate school, many Japanese hotel management companies expanded overseas during the bubble economy. However, most failed and withdrew in the 90s. “I was in Chicago at the time, and a journalist asked me, ``Why does Japan come to the United States to open Western hotels?'' I didn't have an answer to the simple question, "Why Western hotels?" Many people look for the collapse of the bubble economy as the reason for the withdrawal, but I simply disagree. I think the biggest reason for our failure was that we were unable to live up to the expectations of people around the world about what lodging facilities run by Japanese companies should be."


Former Hoshino Onsen Ryokan
After that, Mr. Hoshino returned to Japan and became president of Hoshino Onsen Ryokan in 91. In 95, the company name was changed to the current Hoshino Resorts, and in light of the overwhelming oversupply of facilities in Japan's hotel and inn market, the company made a major change in direction by adopting a specialized management strategy. In addition to our solid structure of providing management capabilities and earning fixed costs without taking on real estate risks, we also started a tourism-focused real estate investment trust that we launched in 2013 and listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange as Hoshino Resorts REIT. Both were the first attempts in Japan.
Creation of a new category called “Japanese Ryokan”


Hoshino Onsen Ryokan signboard
Mr. Hoshino has been talking about exporting "Japanese inns" for several years. He creates a category of Japanese inns in the market and creates guests who want to stay there. I would go so far as to assert that there is no possibility for Japanese hotel management companies to go overseas other than this approach. ``If an accommodation facility with a history of ``Japanese inns'' that provides comfort different from Western-style hotels opens in New York or London, for example, the question is, why would a Japanese company do it? It's definitely not going to happen."
In the global hotel industry, there is currently no category called "Japanese inns." However, quoting American management scholar Philip Kotler, Hoshino says, ``Create a playing field in which you can compete.''


Hoshinoya Tokyo
``For example, in Japan, inns outside of the Tokyo area are at a huge disadvantage.In order to invite guests to come to far-flung areas, we need to focus on local characteristics such as local culture and ingredients within a small area. There is no reason.This is a very important point.As long as we take this kind of approach, we will not feel guilty because we have new surprises and discoveries. There isn't." "If my classmates come to the hotel run by Hoshino Resorts, I won't complain. Whenever I go through the final confirmation of a new project, I can't help but see their faces. I always wonder, 'Will they ever make fun of me again?' That's what I mean,'' says Hoshino with a laugh.
This feeling is of course connected to the export of the "Japanese Ryokan" category. Hoshinoya Tokyo, which opened in 2016, aims to be a model of a Japanese inn that can be used in the city. The aim is to stimulate the interest of overseas investors through the success of ``Japanese inns,'' which are chosen by both tourists and business travelers.
Do a good job that makes you proud of your classmates


Kia Ora Rangiroa
When asked about their future plans, they said that they aim to expand domestically by carefully selecting projects that will satisfy Hoshino Resorts fans, and that they would like to expand overseas even more aggressively in order to strengthen their capabilities.
``Since we are basically a company that only does operations, our job is to go to the ends of the earth if the owner calls us.To be honest, when we went to the site to inspect the Tahiti project, it really felt like I thought, ``This is the end of my life'' (lol).However, I am very grateful to be asked to take over the management.The more I try, especially overseas, the more capable I become. We still don't have enough knowledge right now."
Mr. Hoshino uses the word "safe" many times in his conversations. He says that having a firm grasp of business theory, a method that has been proven to a certain extent, and applying strategies to it is a way to reduce errors in judgment. "I won't do anything that doesn't fit with business theory. Making decisions based on intuition is risky. There's no basis for intuition."
The flat organizational culture that Hoshino Resorts advocates is influenced by American management consultant Ken Blanchard, and its master brand strategy since 2009 is based on the brand portfolio strategy theory of American management scholar David A. Aaker. Mr. Hoshino said it was a gift. The sustenance I gained while studying abroad in the United States remains a big core of my work. He still keeps in touch with his classmates from that time, and many of them are in the same industry, so he often asks questions like, ``It seems Japan has a great weapon called hospitality, but what does it really mean?'' The other day, a friend and his wife who live in San Diego stayed at Hoshinoya Karuizawa and gave us good reviews.
``By when will we export ``Japanese Inns''? I don't know because I don't always set a date for achieving my goal.It will probably take a considerable amount of time to become a hotel management company that is recognized overseas. It may not be the right time, but if possible, I would like to make at least one success.Well, I think it would be best to start in North America, where ``good things are properly evaluated.''
*The contents and information contained in this article are as of the time of publication.
Yoshiharu Hoshino
Born in 1960 in Karuizawa, Nagano Prefecture, as the eldest son of the Hoshino Onsen Ryokan. He graduated from the Faculty of Economics at Keio University and completed the master's program at the Cornell University Graduate School of Hotel Management in the United States. In 1991, at the age of 31, he became president of Hoshino Onsen Ryokan. Since then, he has set a corporate vision of being a ``master of resort management,'' and has been developing lodging facilities and snow resorts across the country, including the stay-at-home resort ``Hoshinoya,'' which pursues an extraordinary experience.
http://www.hoshinoresort.com/resortsandhotels/hoshinoya/
Interview by Mio Shimamura Text by Mime Kihara Photography by Kanako Noguchi
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