Japan Hotel Giant Buys Coast Hotels

APA Hotel Group, the largest hotel network in Japan, has recently acquired Coast Hotels of Vancouver – thereby kicking off its expansion into the North America market, reports Ted Davis in this week’s digital edition of Canadian Travel Press.

The purchase agreement with Okabe Ltd., the holding company of Coast, has been valued at $210 million.

The business deal marks a new era of expansion into North America for APA Hotel Group, said Toshio Motoya, founder of the group, during a press conference in Vancouver announcing the acquisition of Coast by APA.

APA has 373 properties in Japan, for a total of 67,000 rooms. The acquisition of Coast adds 38 branded properties in western North America to the mix.

In 2015, APA Hotel announced its first acquisition in North America, with the purchase of a property in New Jersey.

Together with the Coast properties, APA now has over 5,000 rooms on this continent.

The company aims to reach 100,000 rooms in both Japan and North America by 2020.

“Coast Hotels is a recognized and respected brand. APA Group intends to position Coast as a sub-brand of APA Hotels & Resorts,” said Motoya.

APA expects to make Vancouver its base of operations and head office for North American development, he said, noting that Vancouver is strategically located to leverage the Asia Pacific region.

“We are delighted that an organization as entrepreneurial and respected as APA Hotel Group has chosen Coast Hotels as its route into the North American market,” said Victor Komoda, president of Coast Hotels.

“This deal is great news for our customers, who will benefit from the new urban style hotel concept APA has brought to the hospitality industry.”

For the full story check out this week’s digital edition of Canadian Travel Press by clicking here.