Hoshino Resorts to Launch New OMO Hotel Brand

The new OMO brand will cater to travellers seeking urban-based, medium-range hotels that deliver a highly personalized and tourism-oriented experience. It will focus on providing unique customer experiences by actively introducing guests to locally immersive and insider-type experiences from eateries, bars and other attractions while at the same time providing quality in-house services.

OMO will be Hoshino Resorts’ fourth hotel brand, following HOSHINOYA, RISONARE, and KAI. OMO hotels will be built in city centres rather than in traditional resort areas, with the first two OMO hotels scheduled to open in Asahikawa, Hokkaido and Otsuka, Tokyo with nightly rates starting at just 5,000-7,000 yen (£33-46).

Hoshino Resorts is leading the charge to add a vibrant new element to the hospitality industry in Japan by developing an urban hotel concept that actively caters to travellers seeking value but  more importantly local experiences. With this in mind, OMO’s tagline will be “Get down with the local rhythm”, encapsulating the brand’s goal of introducing guests to the area’s best-kept secrets and offering unique surprises at every location in order to create memorable trips.

OMO hotels will focus on the following six services:

Interior - interiors that are casual yet innovative, with rooms that are compact yet surprisingly user-friendly and full of entertaining features
Friendly service - attentive, caring and energetic staff who will do their utmost to make each guest’s stay the best it can possibly be
Tourism-oriented location - locations chosen for their lively local scenes and plentiful off-the-beaten-path surprises that are just crying out to be explored
Experience and information - each hotel will act as a source of real-time local information to ensure delightful surprises and memorable experiences
Inviting public areas - playful, freely transformable spaces including lobbies, lounges and cafes that will entice guests to spend time in them
Reasonable rates - moderate prices to encourage casual travellers to take spontaneous trips to each locale, whether to travel, have fun or meet friends

OMO5, one of the first wave of OMOs, is set to open in Otsuka, Tokyo in spring of 2018. The hotel will offer leisure and business travellers alike an excellent opportunity to explore Tokyo’s vibrant neigbourhoods and remarkable landmarks. The hotel will be located only a minute’s walk from JR Otsuka Station which benefits from direct access from major train stations such as Shinjuku and Shibuya on the JR Yamanote Line.

A key feature of OMO5 will be the hotel’s public lounge where guests can relax and interact with other guests and staff as well as find a variety of information to prepare them for their explorations of the surrounding area. 

Among its 125 guest rooms, OMO5 will include a number of concept rooms. The “YAGURA Room” is a revolutionary guest room that combines elements of Japanese culture to create a distinctive scaffolding-based bedroom. With effective use of wall spaces and plenty of vertical spaces, it’s designed to make guests feel like they’re staying in a secret treehouse hideout. Rates will start from just 7,000 yen / £46 per person.

Spring 2018 will also see the opening of OMO7 in Asahikawa, Hokkaido. Located in central Hokkaido, Asahikawa is the ideal base for sightseeing on Japan’s northernmost island. OMO7 is perfectly poised to be the hotel of choice for discerning travellers to the area, helping guests to come face-to-face with a never-ending stream of wonderful local attractions such as the Asahiyama Zoo and the area’s famed local ramen shops. 

The hotel’s lobby lounge will be adorned with local products such as a table crafted from Asahikawa’s renowned white birch, while the “OMO Café & Bar” will provide the ideal environment for guests to relax, or to plan their day with the help of information provided by the hotel’s friendly staff and fellow guests.

Among its 237 guest rooms, OMO7 will also feature “DANRAN Rooms”, concept-driven rooms that are compact yet provide improved usability, making them the perfect place to spread out on the table and plan the next day’s activities. Rates will start from just 5,000 yen / £33 per person.

If you’re wondering where OMO one to three and six went, then wonder no more - the numbers included in the OMO hotel names simply signify the range of services, such as restaurants and other facilities and amenities specific to the OMO brand, offered at each hotel. Zero denotes a completely no-frills experience, while nine signifies a hotel offering the complete OMO package.