GIC acquires 16 Marriott-run hotels in Japan amid tourism boom

Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC has acquired 16 hotels in Japan operated by Marriott International for about ¥125 billion ($800 million), according to people familiar with the matter.

In the latest big real estate deal in Japan, GIC took over Four Points Flex by Sheraton, a mid-price-range hotel chain, according to the people.

U.S. investment firm KKR said on Sept. 25 that it sold Four Points Flex by Sheraton. It didn’t provide details such as the buyer and sale price. The chain is operating in 11 cities, including the tourist hotspots Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto and Fukuoka.

Spokespeople for GIC and KKR declined to comment.

The weak yen has benefited the hotel business by making Japan a more affordable travel destination. The number of foreign visitors to the nation broke above 40 million for the first time last year, reaching around 42.7 million people, according to land ministry data.

Hotels are considered less vulnerable to inflation than other real estate assets as they can easily raise room rates in response to swelling expenses and stronger demand. That helps hotels maintain profitability even during periods of increases in the cost of living, like Japan is experiencing now.

GIC’s hotel purchase follows other big Japanese real estate transactions in recent years, such as a $900 million acquisition of 27 resort hotels owned by Daiwa House Industry by a foreign investor group in 2023. Japan Hotel REIT Investment’s takeover in March this year of the Hyatt Regency Tokyo hotel for ¥126 billion is another example.

KKR bought 14 hotels in 2024 from Unizo Holdings, which filed for a court-supervised restructuring in April 2023 due to an inability to repay bonds that were coming due.