According to the “FY2025 Survey on Domestic and Overseas Business Travel Expenses” published by Sanro Research Institute (産労総合研究所) in December 2025, companies that pay a flat lodging allowance for domestic business trips at a single nationwide rate set the amount for general employees at ¥8,878, up ¥272 from ¥8,606 in the FY2023 survey. When MetroEngines Research overlays this line on the finalized September 2026 estimated settled ADR for business hotels across all 47 prefectures (based on listings on major booking sites, N=7,427 properties), only 8 prefectures come out above it; the remaining 39 fall within the flat allowance. This article sorts the prefectures above and below the allowance in yen and percentage terms, checks whether the excess is year-round or confined to specific months by lining up July, August and September and the most recent 12 months, and finally sets out the actual figures hotels need when turning corporate demand into product design — the gap between room-only and breakfast-included rates, multi-night stays, and day-of-week differentiation.

The Baseline — General Employees’ Flat Lodging Allowance Is ¥8,878 Nationwide, ¥11,262 at Companies with a Metropolitan Tier

First, let us confirm the corporate baseline from the primary source. Sanro Research Institute’s FY2025 survey was conducted from June to August 2025 targeting 3,000 companies, of which 161 responded. Among companies paying a “flat allowance” for domestic business-trip lodging at a “single nationwide rate,” the amount was ¥10,425 for department managers and ¥8,878 for general employees. At companies with “amounts that vary by destination,” the top tier (major metropolitan areas, etc.) was ¥12,094 for department managers and ¥11,262 for general employees, while the standard tier was ¥8,990 for general employees. For companies reimbursing “actual expenses,” the cap was ¥11,314 for department managers and ¥10,490 for general employees at a single nationwide rate, and ¥13,695 and ¥12,889 respectively in the top tier.

What stands out in the same survey is the trend toward revision: 31.1% of companies “raised” domestic lodging allowances over the past three years, and another 8.7% “plan to raise” them. In the FY2023 survey the published figures were ¥8,606 (single nationwide rate) and a ¥9,117 actual-expense cap, and the release at the time noted that “policy amounts fell by about ¥500” — so the direction has reversed in two years. However, keep in mind when overlaying prefecture-level ADR below that amounts differ by more than ¥2,300 depending on whether regional tiers exist, and that the published materials only break out two job levels: department managers and general employees. The gap between actual ADR and the public-sector baseline — the National Public Employees Travel Expenses Regulations — is covered separately in National Civil Servant Travel Rules vs Actual ADR — Visualizing the 47-Prefecture Gap.

Source: Sanro Research Institute, “FY2025 Survey on Domestic and Overseas Business Travel Expenses” (survey period June–August 2025; 3,000 companies surveyed; 161 responses). The published materials cover two job levels: department managers and general employees. The FY2023 survey (171 responses) published ¥8,606 (single nationwide rate) and a ¥9,117 actual-expense cap; no breakdown by job level is given in the published materials.

References: Sanro Research Institute, “FY2025 Survey on Domestic and Overseas Business Travel Expenses” / Same, “FY2023 Survey Results on Domestic and Overseas Business Travel Expenses” (press release)

Sorting the 47 Prefectures — 8 Exceed the ¥8,878 Allowance; the Median Is ¥7,600

So where do each prefecture’s business hotels stand against that baseline? On finalized September 2026 figures, estimated settled ADR exceeded ¥8,878 in 8 prefectures: Tokyo ¥13,400 (+¥4,486 vs the allowance, +50.5%, N=914), Aichi ¥11,700 (+¥2,823, +31.8%, N=321), Kyoto ¥11,700 (+¥2,823, +31.8%, N=327), Fukuoka ¥11,000 (+¥2,080, +23.4%, N=342), Hokkaido ¥10,800 (+¥1,964, +22.1%, N=437), Ishikawa ¥9,700 (+¥834, +9.4%, N=110), Kanagawa ¥9,200 (+¥371, +4.2%, N=209) and Nara ¥9,000 (+¥157, +1.8%, N=32). Of these, Tokyo, Aichi and Kyoto also exceed the ¥11,262 top-tier amount at companies with regional tiers, and against the ¥10,490 actual-expense cap, 5 prefectures come out above when Fukuoka and Hokkaido are added.

On the other hand, the 47-prefecture median of ¥7,600 is about ¥1,200 below the allowance, and by count 39 prefectures fall within it. Closest to the line are Osaka ¥8,900 (−¥6), Okinawa ¥8,800 (−¥43) and Aomori ¥8,800 (−¥60), all within ¥100. Osaka moved sharply at −34.0% YoY; given that September 2025 fell during Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai (which closed on October 13, 2025), this reads as a return to roughly pre-Expo levels. At the bottom are prefectures in Shikoku, Kyushu and Tohoku, such as Tokushima at ¥5,800 (−¥3,109, −35.0%) — which, from the hotel’s side, also means ample room to add breakfast or multi-night value within the allowance. For a breakdown of policy amounts by job level and excess rates by prefecture, see also Are Corporate Travel Policies Outdated? Actual ADR in 47 Prefectures and Excess Rates by Job Level.

Source: MetroEngines Research; compiled by HotelBank Editorial Team

Scope: business hotels (based on listings on major booking sites). Estimated settled ADR is the finalized figure for each month; September 2026 covers N=7,427 properties across 47 prefectures. YoY compares with estimated settled ADR in September 2025. “Months above allowance” is the number of months in the 12 months from October 2025 to September 2026 in which estimated settled ADR exceeded ¥8,878. Rows shaded blue are prefectures above the allowance.

Source: MetroEngines Research; compiled by HotelBank Editorial Team

Year-Round or Specific Months? July, August, September and the Last 12 Months

The next question is whether September’s excess reflects a prefecture’s normal level or a swing in a particular month. Lining up July, August and September, the number of prefectures above the allowance shifts month to month: 6 in July, 11 in August, 8 in September. Counting over the last 12 months (October 2025–September 2026), Tokyo, Kyoto and Fukuoka exceeded the allowance in all 12 months, and Kanagawa in 11, putting them above the baseline almost year-round. By contrast, Hokkaido did so in 4 months (concentrated in the June–September summer), Okinawa in 5, Nara in 7, and Osaka in 7 (October 2025 — the month the Expo closed — through January 2026, plus spring) — a pattern of crossing the line with seasons and events.

The largest single-month swing is Aichi, which jumped from ¥7,500 in July and ¥7,900 in August to ¥11,700 in September; September was its only month above the allowance in the past 12. Behind this is the 20th Asian Games (Aichi-Nagoya), held September 19 to October 4, 2026, with the first half of the event falling in September. Ishikawa also rose from ¥7,200 in July to ¥9,700 in September, exceeding the allowance in only 3 of 12 months, while Aomori crossed the line only in August at ¥10,400 (Nebuta festival period). In other words, a considerable number of prefectures have months that “fit” and months that “don’t fit” within general employees’ flat allowance, making it rational for hotels to change how they accommodate corporate demand from month to month.

Source: MetroEngines Research; compiled by HotelBank Editorial Team

Day-of-Week Swings — Estimated Sunday Occupancy Is 10.4pt Below Mon–Thu

Beyond monthly swings, day-of-week swings connect directly with corporate demand. For business hotels in September 2026, looking at day-of-week averages over 25 days (excluding the 5-day holiday period of September 19–23), room-weighted across 46 prefectures, occupancy (OTA listed-inventory basis, estimated) was 87.8% Mon–Thu, 85.1% Friday and 88.5% Saturday, versus just 77.4% on Sunday. Saturday fills to weekday levels with sightseeing and leisure demand, but Sunday is when business travelers head home and tourists leave too, making it the day with the most unsold inventory in the week. The pattern is especially pronounced in Osaka (Mon–Thu 79.0%, Sun 67.9%), Shizuoka (86.7%, 72.8%) and Hiroshima (92.8%, 73.6%).

On the listed-price side, average Saturday listed prices are set at 1.04–1.71x weekday (Mon–Thu) levels across the 46 prefectures, and many prefectures see only Saturday spike sharply, such as Fukuoka (1.56x) and Ishikawa (1.71x). Put the other way, Mon–Thu prices run on a lower line than Saturday (about 20% lower in Tokyo, over 30% in Fukuoka), so the comparison with the ¥8,878 allowance also varies by day of the week. In Tokyo the average Mon–Thu listed price of ¥18,300 (tax included, double-occupancy basis) far exceeds the allowance, but on Sundays it falls to ¥13,700, opening room for Sunday check-in corporate demand to fit within the allowance.

Source: MetroEngines Research; compiled by HotelBank Editorial Team

Occupancy (OTA listed-inventory basis, estimated). Business hotels in September 2026; day-of-week averages over 25 days excluding the 5-day holiday period of September 19–23. These are estimates based on the sell-through of inventory sold on OTAs and differ from each property’s actual overall occupancy. “Sat listed price vs weekdays” is the average listed price (tax included) as of the day before arrival, Saturday ÷ Mon–Thu. Kagoshima is excluded from the tally for this month.

Source: MetroEngines Research; compiled by HotelBank Editorial Team

Hotel Moves in Actual Figures — Breakfast Gap, Multi-Night Stays and Day-of-Week Differentiation

Summing up, hotels have three variables they can adjust to capture corporate demand. The first is the gap between room-only and breakfast-included rates. Comparing only hotels that sell both plans (business hotels, September 2026, N=3,039 properties across 47 prefectures), breakfast-included is ¥1,677 (+9.9%) higher than room-only on a national weighted average. By prefecture: Tokyo +¥2,605 (+11.3%, N=361), Osaka +¥1,816 (+11.3%, N=163), Fukuoka +¥1,503 (+7.9%, N=145), Aichi +¥1,432 (+7.0%, N=141) and Kyoto +¥3,456 (+18.5%, N=71), while some prefectures keep the gap small, such as Saitama (+¥441, +2.9%, N=58) and Shizuoka (+¥912, +6.1%, N=132) (a separate HotelBank analysis compares the breakfast premium across hotel types in all 47 prefectures: business-hotel median 9.9%, city hotels 14.45%). Because the ¥8,878 allowance is paid tax-inclusive, about ¥8,071 is the reference point on a tax-excluded basis. If the room-only rate is aligned to this line and breakfast is offered as an optional add-on, guests can more easily settle expenses as “lodging within the allowance, breakfast from the per diem or out of pocket.” This is not about lowering the price of breakfast — it is a design that separates allowance-driven demand from the added value of breakfast and captures both.

Source: MetroEngines Research; compiled by HotelBank Editorial Team

Business hotels, September 2026. Same-property paired comparison limited to hotels selling both a room-only plan and a breakfast-included plan (listed prices, per room for double occupancy, tax included). The data is a rolling tally over a May–October 2026 window; this article shows September, the finalized month. N=3,039 properties across 47 prefectures; the 16 prefectures with the most paired properties are shown.

Source: MetroEngines Research; compiled by HotelBank Editorial Team

The second is multi-night stays. Tallying 759 plan names published for business travelers at business hotels, the most common selling points are breakfast included (52%), multi-night discounts (40%), room only (29%) and gift certificates/vouchers (29%), so multi-night discounts are already a standard for business travel. Long business trips, conferences and training sessions increase multi-night stays arriving Sunday and departing Friday; combined with the structure in which estimated Sunday occupancy sinks to 77.4%, a design that offers allowance-aligned rates only for multi-night stays that include Sunday works well in actual figures. For example, in Tokyo the average Sunday listed price is ¥13,700 and Mon–Thu is ¥18,300, so a 4-night Sunday–Thursday stay averages a little under 10% below the single-night weekday price, increasing the likelihood of fitting within corporate policy.

The third is differentiating weekdays from weekends. In prefectures where Saturday listed prices are set at 1.3–1.6x weekdays, the rate for corporate demand should be judged on Mon–Thu prices; lumping a prefecture in as “doesn’t fit the allowance” based on Saturday levels risks missing opportunities. In prefectures like Hokkaido, where months above the allowance cluster in four summer months, or Aichi, which spikes only in event months, switching corporate plans on and off month by month is the right approach. Conversely, in prefectures that exceed the allowance all 12 months, such as Tokyo, Kyoto and Fukuoka, the main customers are not companies with the ¥8,878 single nationwide rate for general employees but those with the ¥11,262 top-tier regional amount or a ¥12,889 actual-expense cap — so there is upside in receipt/invoice support and in packaging upper-grade rooms with department managers’ ¥10,425–12,094 flat allowance in mind.

Summary — The Allowance Line Is Crossed by “Month and Day of Week,” Not by “Prefecture”

In Sanro Research Institute’s FY2025 survey, the flat lodging allowance for general employees is ¥8,878 at a single nationwide rate and ¥11,262 at companies with a metropolitan tier, with actual-expense caps of ¥10,490–12,889 — all up from FY2023. Overlaying business hotel estimated settled ADR (finalized September 2026, N=7,427 properties) on this line, 8 prefectures exceed it and the median is ¥7,600, so most prefectures sit inside the allowance. Even among those above it, however, Tokyo, Kyoto and Fukuoka stay above the line all 12 months, while Hokkaido does so only in summer and Aichi only in September with the Asian Games — crossing depends more on the month than the prefecture. By day of week, estimated Sunday occupancy is about 10pt below Mon–Thu, making it the most open slot for corporate demand. By combining three moves in actual figures — setting room-only rates at the tax-excluded line of about ¥8,071 and separating breakfast as an add-on, steering multi-night discounts toward Sunday check-ins, and designing for corporate demand on Mon–Thu prices rather than Saturday — hotels can more easily prepare products for the second-half business travel season.

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