Hotel Management International (HMI), operating 44 hotels and ryokans in Japan, and IHG Hotels & Resorts, developing 6,300 or more hotels worldwide, has reached a strategic partnership agreement. Based on the agreement, Three ‘Crown Palais’ hotels in Koichi City, Chiryu City and Hamamatsu City will be renovated and rebranded to ‘ANA Crowne Plaza Hotel.’
“we are confident that the power of IHG and the ANA Crowne Plaza brand will enable us to strengthen our offering and expand our business attracting a wider range of travelers to our hotels,’ Ryuko Hira, President of Hotel Management International said. “We can contribute to increases in inbound travelers to local cities and growth of local economy,” expecting to welcome about 30% more international guests than today.
Abhijay Sandilya, CEO of IHG ANA Hotels Group Japan and Managing Director of IHG Hotels & Resorts Japan & Micronesia said, “We will bring our collective vision for these three properties to life as ANA Crowne Plaza hotels, the largest international premium hotel brand in Japan.”
Putting a higher business priority on Japan, IHG Hotels & Resorts operates 47 hotels of eight brands and will open additional 15 hotels. ‘ANA Crowne Plaza Kochi,’ ‘ANA Crowne Plaza Chiryu’ and ‘ANA Crowne Plaza Hamamatsu,’ offering 539 rooms in total, will open in the first half of 2026.
HMI has expanded hotel rebranding through partnerships with major global hotel chains including Marriott International in April 2024. “Global brands are highly demanded. They have superiorities in royalty programs, big investment to system development or online services,” Hira said.
HMI plans to make a new partnership with maybe another global hotel brand for around 10 exiting hotels.
For the partnership with IHG Hotels & Resorts this time, Hira said that ANA Crowne Plaza Hamamatsu and Chiryu are expected to attract guests from India particularly because many automobile industries there develop their businesses in India.
