Will begin offering vacation rental services to accommodate travelers to Japan from the Asian region
Tokyo, 2017-Jul-20 — /EPR Retail News/ — Rakuten LIFULL STAY, Inc., a Rakuten Group company providing vacation rental services, and AsiaYo Co., Ltd., operator of “AsiaYo.com,” Taiwan’s largest vacation rental reservation site, today announced that the two companies have agreed to form a business collaboration in the vacation rental business.
In this collaboration, Rakuten LIFULL STAY will provide property listings from its tentatively-titled “Vacation Stay” vacation rental service to AsiaYo.com, making it possible for users of AsiaYo.com to reserve private lodging facilities listed on Vacation Stay. AsiaYo.com is a vacation rental reservation site from Taiwan that has achieved rapid growth in the three years since its launch in 2014. AsiaYo.com operates not only in Taiwan, but in South Korea and Thailand as well, with plans to expand into other Asian countries and regions. Through the collaboration, the two companies will promote travel to Japan from Asia, including Taiwan, raising awareness of the various regions of Japan and increasing the number of visitors to these areas, while aiming to provide vacation rental services that can meet the growing demand for lodgings.
Rakuten LIFULL STAY, Inc. aims to launch its vacation rental service after the new Private Lodgings Business Law is expected to come into effect in January 2018, and is proactively working to expand its stock of vacation rental properties in Japan. AsiaYo is focusing on enhancing the various services it provides through its vacation rental reservation site, such as its native language support for Asian travelers (in Chinese, Korean and English). Both companies are working to build an environment in which owners can offer their properties as vacation rental properties with peace of mind by enhancing their services aimed at travelers to Japan from the Asian region.
According to data released by the Japan National Tourism Organization*1, the number of travelers to Japan from Taiwan surpassed 4 million people for the first time in FY2016, making it the third largest source of tourist traffic behind China and South Korea. In addition to the growing number of visitors to Japan from Taiwan, AsiaYo.com users tend to use private lodgings in groups, such as with their families or friends, and prefer properties with multiple rooms. For this reason, demand for vacant house vacation rentals to be offered by Rakuten LIFULL STAY is expected to be high.
Going forward, Rakuten LIFULL STAY and AsiaYo will continue to offer a broad range of lodging options to meet the rising demand for inbound travel to Japan from Asia, contributing to the development of the vacation rental market.
*1 Number of Foreign Visitors to Japan (2003 – 2017), Japan National Tourism Organization http://www.jnto.go.jp/jpn/statistics/since2003_tourists.pdf
About Rakuten LIFULL STAY
Company name: Rakuten LIFULL STAY, Inc.
Address: Otemachi Financial City Grand Cube 3F
1-9-2 Otemachi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
Representative: Representative Director Munekatsu Ota
Details of business: Services related to vacation rental platform
Date of establishment: March 2017
Website: https://rakuten-lifull-stay.co.jp/
About AsiaYo
Company name: AsiaYo Co., Ltd
Address: 18-3, Lane 77, Section 2, Dunhua South Road, Taipei, Taiwan
Representative: CEO Cheng Chao-Kang
Details of business:
AsiaYo Co., Ltd. runs “AsiaYo.com,” the largest vacation rental reservation site in Taiwan. It has more than 13,000 listed rooms in Taiwan, with the number of reservations growing 20% on average every month since it began operating in 2014. In addition, the number of monthly visits to AsiaYo.com has surpassed 2 million unique sessions, an increase of roughly four times on the previous year. The company has set forth the vision of providing a matching platform that can deliver the greatest travel experiences to travelers.
Date of establishment: June 2013
Website: https://asiayo.com/
Source: Rakuten Inc.