Re-sorting the 16 hotels (1,991 rooms) held by Nippon Hotel & Residential Investment Corporation (日本ホテル&レジデンシャル投資法人, TSE: 3472) by acquisition date splits the portfolio into two distinct layers: nine hot-spring ryokan acquired in 2016–17 (967 rooms, total acquisition price ¥29,220 million) and seven urban business hotels acquired since December 2024 (1,024 rooms, ¥18,863 million). By room count, the newer layer already accounts for 51.4%, and the acquisition price per room has fallen from ¥30.22 million to ¥18.42 million — about 60% of the earlier level. This article lays out the composition of each group and its price per room, the estimated settled ADR and estimated occupancy of the municipalities where the hotels sit, and the appraisal values and rent assumptions disclosed by the REIT, to show what has changed in the two years since the sponsor change and where the room for the next acquisitions lies.
• ADR (average daily rate) = an estimated settled rate (tax-excluded equivalent), calculated by applying a segment-specific correction factor to the lowest-plan price each property publishes on OTAs (per-room rate for 2 guests, tax included). Benchmarked against property-level results disclosed by listed hotel REITs (91 properties, most recent 3 months), the median error is about 7%. These are estimates and differ from each property’s actual transaction prices and accounting figures.
• Area-level ADR (prefecture / municipality) is the median of the estimated settled rates of the properties covered (the level of a typical property in the area).
• Where listed prices are mentioned, they are per-room rates for 2 guests (tax included).
• OCC (occupancy) = rooms sold as a share of total rooms in the area (an estimate based on OTA sales inventory).
• Source: MetroEngines Research (continuously tracks OTA published prices for about 168,000 properties in Japan, of which about 27,000 are confirmed active)
*Property names, acquisition prices, room counts and acquisition dates are based on the investment corporation’s disclosures (notices of acquisition and the earnings release for the fiscal period ended May 2026); ownership of each property was cross-checked against our REIT holdings data (as of October 19, 2026, N=16 properties). Acquisition prices are the sale prices stated in the purchase agreements (excluding tax, truncated below ¥1 million). The simple sum of the property-level prices, ¥48,083 million, differs from the ¥48,088 million total in the earnings release because of rounding.
- — 51.4% The seven urban business hotels acquired since December 2024 (1,024 rooms) now make up the majority of rooms across the 16 hotels (1,991 rooms)
- — ¥30.22M vs ¥18.42M per room Acquisition price per room for the nine hot-spring ryokan and the seven new hotels. The new hotels are larger at 146 rooms per property on average, with fixed rent at 91.8% of rent (assumption for the period ending November 2026)
- — Appraisal +9.6% The 16 hotels’ end-May 2026 appraisal value of ¥52,702 million exceeds their combined acquisition price of ¥48,083 million, and all seven new hotels are appraised above cost
- — Hakata-ku +13.1%, Osaka Chuo-ku −34.0% Estimated settled ADR in the host municipalities (September 2026, YoY). Osaka’s correction reflects a comparison with the prior year, when Expo 2025 was running
- — ¥12–22 billion Room to add hotel assets, back-calculated from a 60–70% hotel weighting at ¥100 billion of assets (our estimate). At the new hotels’ price per room, this equals roughly 650–1,190 rooms
Executive Summary — Most Rooms Now Date From December 2024 or Later
The bottom line: the investment corporation’s hotel portfolio has shifted its center of gravity from hot-spring ryokan at over ¥30 million per room to station-front business hotels at around ¥18 million per room, and as of end-May 2026 it carried an appraisal value of ¥52,702 million against a combined acquisition price of ¥48,083 million (+9.6%). The seven new hotels were appraised 11.2% above their acquisition price at end-May 2026, while the nine legacy properties have built up an appraisal surplus of ¥6,442 million (+25.5%) over book value. Of the REIT’s total unrealized gain of ¥9,573 million (earnings release), the 16 hotels account for ¥8,408 million.
Behind this is the external growth since APA Holdings Co., Ltd. became the sponsor in December 2023. Three acquisition rounds — December 2024, September 2025 and December 2025 — added seven urban business hotels, and the share of Oedo Onsen facilities shown in the earnings release has fallen to 42.4%. Meanwhile, the ryokan group lifted RevPAR 17.6% year on year in the period ended May 2026, also contributing through higher variable rent. The sections below break the two groups down in numbers.
A Two-Layer Portfolio — Acquisition Date, Rooms and Price for All 16 Hotels
We start with a list of all 16 properties. Property numbers prefixed “H” are business/city hotels and “S” are hot-spring and spa-related facilities, following the classification adopted after the investment corporation renamed its asset categories to “Hotels, etc.” and “Rental Housing, etc.” in December 2025. All seven H properties were acquired in or after December 2024, while the nine S properties were acquired at the September 2016 IPO or in December 2017 — so the acquisition date coincides exactly with the property-type boundary.
| No. | Property | Location | Acquired | Rooms | Acquisition price (¥ million) | Price per room | Period-end appraisal (end-May 2026, ¥ million) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| H-1 | APA Hotel Asakusabashi-Ekimae (アパホテル〈浅草橋駅前〉) Since Dec 2024 | Taito-ku, Tokyo | Dec 2024 | 180 | 4,160 | ¥23.11M | 4,800 |
| H-2 | APA Hotel Namba-Minami Daikokucho-Ekimae (アパホテル〈なんば南 大国町駅前〉) Since Dec 2024 | Naniwa-ku, Osaka | Dec 2024 | 118 | 1,581 | ¥13.40M | 1,870 |
| H-3 | APA Hotel Gifu-Hashima-Ekimae (アパホテル〈岐阜羽島駅前〉) Since Dec 2024 | Hashima, Gifu | Sep 2025 | 146 | 920 | ¥6.30M | 932 |
| H-4 | APA Hotel Namba-Kita Shinsaibashi-Ekimae (アパホテル〈なんば北 心斎橋駅前〉) Since Dec 2024 | Chuo-ku, Osaka | Dec 2025 | 162 | 4,850 | ¥29.94M | 5,330 |
| H-5 | APA Hotel Hakata-Ekimae 4-chome (アパホテル〈博多駅前4丁目〉) Since Dec 2024 | Hakata-ku, Fukuoka | Dec 2025 | 109 | 3,930 | ¥36.06M | 4,170 |
| H-6 | APA Hotel Matsuyama-Jonishi (アパホテル〈松山城西〉) Since Dec 2024 | Matsuyama, Ehime | Dec 2025 | 144 | 1,200 | ¥8.33M | 1,420 |
| H-7 | Hotel Vista Atsugi (ホテルビスタ厚木) Since Dec 2024 | Atsugi, Kanagawa | Dec 2025 | 165 | 2,222 | ¥13.47M | 2,460 |
| S-1 | Oedo Onsen Monogatari Leoma Resort (大江戸温泉物語 レオマリゾート) 2016–17 | Marugame, Kagawa | Sep 2016 | 241 | 9,697 | ¥40.24M | 8,700 |
| S-2 | Oedo Onsen Monogatari Premium Ise-Shima (大江戸温泉物語Premium 伊勢志摩) 2016–17 | Shima, Mie | Sep 2016 | 83 | 3,656 | ¥44.05M | 3,830 |
| S-3 | Oedo Onsen Monogatari Premium Ito Hotel New Okabe (大江戸温泉物語Premium 伊東ホテルニュー岡部) 2016–17 | Ito, Shizuoka | Sep 2016 | 73 | 2,657 | ¥36.40M | 2,820 |
| S-4 | Oedo Onsen Monogatari Premium Atami (大江戸温泉物語Premium あたみ) 2016–17 | Atami, Shizuoka | Sep 2016 | 76 | 3,000 | ¥39.47M | 3,500 |
| S-5 | Oedo Onsen Monogatari Wan Wan Resort Nishi-Izu (大江戸温泉物語 わんわんリゾート 西伊豆) 2016–17 | Izu, Shizuoka | Sep 2016 | 64 | 1,910 | ¥29.84M | 2,000 |
| S-6 | Oedo Onsen Monogatari Awara (大江戸温泉物語 あわら) 2016–17 | Awara, Fukui | Sep 2016 | 95 | 1,901 | ¥20.01M | 2,020 |
| S-8 | Oedo Onsen Monogatari Premium Ikaho (大江戸温泉物語Premium 伊香保) 2016–17 | Shibukawa, Gunma | Sep 2016 | 40 | 1,299 | ¥32.48M | 1,360 |
| S-12 | Oedo Onsen Monogatari Premium Kinugawa Kanko Hotel (大江戸温泉物語Premium 鬼怒川観光ホテル) 2016–17 | Nikko, Tochigi | Dec 2017 | 172 | 3,870 | ¥22.50M | 6,070 |
| S-14 | Oedo Onsen Monogatari Higashiyama Grand Hotel (大江戸温泉物語 東山グランドホテル) 2016–17 | Aizuwakamatsu, Fukushima | Dec 2017 | 123 | 1,230 | ¥10.00M | 1,420 |
| Acquired 2016–17: 9 properties | 967 | 29,220 | ¥30.22M | 31,720 | |||
| Acquired since Dec 2024: 7 properties | 1,024 | 18,863 | ¥18.42M | 20,982 | |||
| Total: 16 hotels | 1,991 | 48,083 | ¥24.15M | 52,702 | |||
Looking at price per room property by property, the legacy group is led by resort-type hot-spring properties: Ise-Shima at ¥44.05 million, Leoma Resort at ¥40.24 million and Atami at ¥39.47 million. In the new group, Hakata-Ekimae 4-chome (¥36.06 million) and Namba-Kita Shinsaibashi-Ekimae (¥29.94 million) sit around ¥30 million, while Gifu-Hashima-Ekimae (¥6.30 million) and Matsuyama-Jonishi (¥8.33 million) are below ¥10 million. Even under the same APA Hotel brand, price per room varies more than fivefold depending on the local market, which is what holds the new group’s average to ¥18.42 million.
¥30.22 Million vs ¥18.42 Million per Room — Room Scale and Rent Structure Drive the Gap
The two groups differ in more than unit price. The legacy group averages 107 rooms per property and the new group 146, so the new properties are larger while costing less per room. Hot-spring ryokan assume two or more guests per room with two meals included, which raises revenue and appraisal value per room; business hotels stack up many small rooms for single occupancy. On an acquisition-price basis the legacy group accounts for 60.8% and the new group 39.2% — the reverse of the room split.
| Item | Acquired 2016–17 (9 hot-spring ryokan) | Acquired since Dec 2024 (7 business hotels) |
|---|---|---|
| Properties | 9 | 7 |
| Rooms | 967 (48.6%) | 1,024 (51.4%) |
| Total acquisition price | ¥29,220 million (60.8%) | ¥18,863 million (39.2%) |
| Price per room | ¥30.22 million | ¥18.42 million |
| Average rooms per property | 107 | 146 |
| Total period-end appraisal (end-May 2026) | ¥31,720 million (+8.6% vs. acquisition price) | ¥20,982 million (+11.2% vs. acquisition price) |
| Appraisal minus book value | ¥6,442 million (+25.5% vs. book value) | ¥1,966 million (+10.3% vs. book value) |
| Rent assumption, period ending Nov 2026 (half-year, ¥ million) | Fixed 925 + variable 141 + other 78 = 1,146 | Fixed 457 + variable 37 + other 3 = 498 |
| Fixed-rent share | 80.7% | 91.8% |
| Annualized rent / acquisition price (our estimate) | 7.8% | 5.3% |
| Rent structure | Fixed rent + variable rent linked to adjusted GOP (trailing 12 months) | Fixed rent + variable rent equal to a rate applied to annual sales above a base amount (APA Hotel) |
| Locations | Kagawa, Mie, Shizuoka x3, Fukui, Gunma, Tochigi, Fukushima (hot-spring resorts) | Tokyo, Osaka x2, Gifu, Fukuoka, Ehime, Kanagawa (station-front / city center) |
The difference in rent structure is also a point for investors. Under the operating revenue assumptions for the period ending November 2026 in the earnings release, rent from the seven new hotels is ¥498 million for the half-year — ¥457 million fixed plus ¥37 million variable and ¥3 million other — with fixed rent accounting for 91.8%. APA Hotel variable rent applies a rate to the portion of each property’s annual sales above a contractual base amount, a design that secures stable income from the fixed portion while capturing upside when operations are strong. The nine legacy properties generate ¥1,146 million in total — ¥925 million fixed, ¥141 million variable and ¥78 million other — with variable rent calculated by applying a rate to adjusted GOP for the most recent 12 months. Dividing annualized rent by acquisition price gives 7.8% for the legacy group and 5.3% for the new group: the ryokan group generates thick rent relative to its acquisition price, while the urban hotels were brought in at the tighter transaction yields of city markets.
From the appraisal side, the depth of the legacy group’s valuation stands out. Kinugawa Kanko Hotel (172 rooms) was appraised at ¥6,070 million at end-May 2026 against an acquisition price of ¥3,870 million (+56.8%); Ise-Shima at ¥3,830 million against ¥3,656 million; and Atami at ¥3,500 million against ¥3,000 million. In 8 of the 9 properties, appraisal value exceeds acquisition price. In the new group, Namba-Kita Shinsaibashi-Ekimae was appraised at ¥5,330 million against ¥4,850 million and Asakusabashi-Ekimae at ¥4,800 million against ¥4,160 million; as of end-May 2026, all seven were appraised above acquisition price, +11.2% in total. Across hotel REITs as a whole, appraisal values have reached 1.25x acquisition prices; the multiples by acquisition year and the distribution of cap rates are organized property by property in Hotel REIT Appraisals Hit 1.25x Cost: Cap Rates Across 298 Assets.
A Shift in Location — Station-Front Hotels in the Three Major Metros and Regional Hubs Join a Spread of Hot-Spring Resorts
Plotted on a map, the legacy group is spread across hot-spring resorts in central and eastern Honshu — Izu (Atami, Ito, Nishi-Izu), Ise-Shima, Awara, Ikaho, Kinugawa and Aizu-Higashiyama — plus Leoma Resort in Kagawa on Shikoku. The new group sits in front of shinkansen and subway stations in Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka and the Nagoya area (Gifu-Hashima), joined by city-center locations in Matsuyama, a regional hub, and Atsugi in suburban Greater Tokyo. Seasonal demand at hot-spring resorts and weekday business demand in the cities now complement each other.
According to the investment status section of the annual securities report (20th fiscal period), the book value of hotels, etc. at end-May 2026 was ¥10,665 million in Greater Tokyo, ¥10,289 million in the Tokai region, ¥6,457 million in the Kansai region and ¥16,888 million elsewhere, so Tokai and “other” — home to the ryokan group — remain the heaviest. As its acquisition policy going forward, however, the investment corporation states in the earnings release that, on reaching ¥100 billion in assets, it targets 60–70% hotels, etc. and 30–40% rental housing, etc. (acquisition-price basis), combining business/city hotels and rental housing in a balanced way while reducing the share of Oedo Onsen facilities. It is natural to read the map assuming the number of blue dots will keep growing.
Estimated Settled ADR in the Host Municipalities (September 2026) — Hakata-ku +13.1%, Taito-ku +4.4%, Hot-Spring Areas High and Flat
Next, we check the lodging market in each property’s municipality using MetroEngines Research data. Note that the estimated settled ADR used here is the municipal median, not the settled rate of the individual property. The table below sets the September 2026 level against the same month a year earlier.
| Municipality | Property held | Est. settled ADR Sep 2026 | Sep 2025 | YoY | Properties covered (Sep 2026) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Taito-ku, Tokyo | APA Hotel Asakusabashi-Ekimae New | ¥13,366 | ¥12,805 | +4.4% | N=176 |
| Naniwa-ku, Osaka | APA Hotel Namba-Minami Daikokucho-Ekimae New | ¥10,150 | ¥15,548 | −34.7% | N=56 |
| Hashima, Gifu | APA Hotel Gifu-Hashima-Ekimae New | ¥5,869 | ¥5,541 | +5.9% | N=9 *Reference only (small sample) |
| Chuo-ku, Osaka | APA Hotel Namba-Kita Shinsaibashi-Ekimae New | ¥10,578 | ¥16,018 | −34.0% | N=193 |
| Hakata-ku, Fukuoka | APA Hotel Hakata-Ekimae 4-chome New | ¥14,241 | ¥12,592 | +13.1% | N=151 |
| Matsuyama, Ehime | APA Hotel Matsuyama-Jonishi New | ¥10,122 | ¥9,821 | +3.1% | N=90 |
| Atsugi, Kanagawa | Hotel Vista Atsugi New | ¥8,180 | ¥7,428 | +10.1% | N=22 |
| Marugame, Kagawa | Oedo Onsen Monogatari Leoma Resort Legacy | ¥7,096 | ¥6,544 | +8.4% | N=12 *Reference only (small sample) |
| Shima, Mie | Oedo Onsen Monogatari Premium Ise-Shima Legacy | ¥15,976 | ¥16,912 | −5.5% | N=57 |
| Ito, Shizuoka | Oedo Onsen Monogatari Premium Ito Hotel New Okabe Legacy | ¥19,215 | ¥19,018 | +1.0% | N=127 |
| Atami, Shizuoka | Oedo Onsen Monogatari Premium Atami Legacy | ¥22,713 | ¥21,304 | +6.6% | N=107 |
| Izu, Shizuoka | Oedo Onsen Monogatari Wan Wan Resort Nishi-Izu Legacy | ¥18,938 | ¥20,920 | −9.5% | N=64 |
| Awara, Fukui | Oedo Onsen Monogatari Awara Legacy | ¥21,552 | ¥20,925 | +3.0% | N=22 |
| Shibukawa, Gunma | Oedo Onsen Monogatari Premium Ikaho Legacy | ¥15,368 | ¥15,788 | −2.7% | N=46 |
| Nikko, Tochigi | Oedo Onsen Monogatari Premium Kinugawa Kanko Hotel Legacy | ¥17,620 | ¥18,297 | −3.7% | N=121 |
| Aizuwakamatsu, Fukushima | Oedo Onsen Monogatari Higashiyama Grand Hotel Legacy | ¥10,974 | ¥10,124 | +8.4% | N=38 |
Among the new group’s locations, Hakata-ku in Fukuoka rose the most to ¥14,200 (+13.1% YoY, N=151), followed by Taito-ku, Tokyo at ¥13,400 (+4.4%, N=176), Atsugi, Kanagawa at ¥8,200 (+10.1%) and Matsuyama, Ehime at ¥10,100 (+3.1%) — all above the prior year. Osaka’s Chuo-ku (¥10,600) and Naniwa-ku (¥10,200) show corrections of just over 30% YoY, but the comparison month, September 2025, fell during Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, when room rates across the city stayed elevated; it is reasonable to read this as a return toward pre-Expo 2024 levels. A lease structure in which fixed rent makes up over 90% of income acts as a buffer against swings in the local market like these.
Among the legacy group’s hot-spring areas, Atami (¥22,700, +6.6%), Awara (¥21,600, +3.0%) and Ito (¥19,200, +1.0%) were above the prior year, while Nikko (¥17,600), Shima (¥16,000), Izu (¥18,900) and Shibukawa (¥15,400) held high levels in the ¥15,000–19,000 range while undergoing modest year-on-year corrections. Ryokan estimated settled ADR reflects a per-room rate for two guests adjusted to a tax-excluded equivalent; the fact that it moves in a band roughly twice the ¥10,000 or so seen in business hotel locations backs up the gap in price per room.
Estimated Occupancy in the Host Prefectures (September 2026) — Read Together With Property and Room Counts
After rates, we look at supply and demand. The table below shows, for each property’s prefecture, the occupancy rate (estimated, based on OTA-listed inventory) for the same category (business hotel or ryokan), as a monthly average for September 2026. These are estimates based on how OTA-sold inventory is absorbed and differ from actual property-wide occupancy. The number of properties N and rooms M covered (based on listings on major booking sites) are shown alongside.
| Prefecture | Category | Related properties | Est. occupancy (Sep 2026) | Properties / rooms covered | All-category est. occupancy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tokyo | Business hotel | APA Hotel Asakusabashi-Ekimae | 90.3% | 539 / 78,439 rooms | 89.8% (805 / 104,583 rooms) |
| Osaka | Business hotel | Namba-Minami Daikokucho-Ekimae / Namba-Kita Shinsaibashi-Ekimae | 80.0% | 285 / 47,820 rooms | 80.4% (410 / 59,647 rooms) |
| Fukuoka | Business hotel | APA Hotel Hakata-Ekimae 4-chome | 90.0% | 175 / 22,893 rooms | 88.3% (381 / 28,935 rooms) |
| Kanagawa | Business hotel | Hotel Vista Atsugi | 87.0% | 116 / 15,836 rooms | 84.2% (385 / 30,855 rooms) |
| Gifu | Business hotel | APA Hotel Gifu-Hashima-Ekimae | 88.3% | 59 / 5,851 rooms | 88.1% (225 / 10,493 rooms) |
| Ehime | Business hotel | APA Hotel Matsuyama-Jonishi | 79.7% | 50 / 5,232 rooms | 82.8% (141 / 7,986 rooms) |
| Shizuoka | Ryokan | Atami / Ito Hotel New Okabe / Wan Wan Resort Nishi-Izu | 81.3% | 260 / 7,550 rooms | 83.0% (690 / 29,829 rooms) |
| Tochigi | Ryokan | Kinugawa Kanko Hotel | 83.6% | 117 / 5,118 rooms | 81.2% (315 / 13,513 rooms) |
| Fukushima | Ryokan | Higashiyama Grand Hotel | 87.9% | 107 / 3,585 rooms | 85.4% (224 / 11,622 rooms) |
| Mie | Ryokan | Ise-Shima | 78.8% | 91 / 2,415 rooms | 83.1% (223 / 13,089 rooms) |
| Fukui | Ryokan | Awara | 81.8% | 55 / 1,029 rooms | 84.5% (125 / 4,379 rooms) |
| Gunma | Ryokan | Ikaho | 84.9% | 145 / 4,887 rooms | 81.4% (278 / 12,866 rooms) |
| Kagawa | Ryokan | Leoma Resort | 79.3% | 24 / 1,148 rooms | 80.1% (128 / 5,506 rooms) |
Estimated business hotel occupancy is in the 85–90% range in the new group’s main locations: Tokyo 90.3% (539 properties / 78,439 rooms), Fukuoka 90.0% (175 / 22,893), Gifu 88.3% and Kanagawa 87.0%. Osaka is at 80.0% (285 / 47,820), suggesting that inventory absorption has also settled alongside the rate correction. In the ryokan category, Fukushima (87.9%), Gunma (84.9%) and Tochigi (83.6%) are high, and Shizuoka (81.3%, 260 / 7,550) also holds above 80%. All the prefectures hosting the nine legacy properties show estimated ryokan occupancy of 78–88%, confirming resilient demand across the spread of hot-spring resorts.
Operating Results Disclosed by the REIT — Ryokan RevPAR +17.6%, Variable Rent Up to ¥144 Million
Turning from municipal market data to property-level disclosures: according to the earnings release for the period ended May 2026, RevPAR across all Oedo Onsen facilities rose from ¥26,938 a year earlier to ¥31,667 (+17.6%), while RevPAR across all business/city hotels (excluding Hotel Vista Atsugi, whose operator has not consented to disclosure) was ¥9,042. As a result, variable rent from hotels, etc. rose from ¥105 million in the previous period to ¥144 million (+¥39 million), and the investment corporation notes that “variable rent is expected to continue to arise from the next period onward in line with hotel operating results.”
The operating level of the new group can also be checked in monthly disclosures filed on TDnet. In the April 2025 monthly disclosure, APA Hotel Asakusabashi-Ekimae posted cumulative occupancy of 99.6% for the period ending May 2025 (December 2024–April 2025), ADR of ¥12,745 (+16.3% YoY) and RevPAR of ¥12,688 (+19.6%), while APA Hotel Namba-Minami Daikokucho-Ekimae posted occupancy of 89.7%, ADR of ¥9,907 (+20.9%) and RevPAR of ¥8,883 (+21.2%). For April alone, Asakusabashi-Ekimae recorded occupancy of 100.6% and ADR of ¥16,118, figures that show the pull of the Asakusa area with its high share of inbound visitors. From the June 2025 data onward, the investment corporation switched to disclosing the monthly operating status of variable-rent properties whose tenants have consented on its own website, where subsequent property-level monthly data can be found.
These operating results feed through to the ¥52,702 million appraisal value mentioned above. For the period ended May 2026, the investment corporation compared the acquisition-time appraisal values of eight properties and the previous period-end appraisal values of 23 existing properties, explaining that the total “increased by ¥155 million, due in part to revisions to operating income at some properties.” Eight to ten years after acquisition, the ryokan group’s book value has declined through depreciation while its appraisal value has held above acquisition price, making it the source of the unrealized gains.
The Sponsor Pipeline — From Preferential Negotiation Rights to Closing, and the Room for Further Acquisitions
Six of the seven properties acquired since December 2024 came from the APA Group, and the flow begins with preferential negotiation rights under the sponsor support agreement. Under the agreement, the investment corporation is granted preferential negotiation rights to purchase hotels owned or developed by the APA Group that meet its investment criteria; it also receives priority information on third-party properties for sale and can ask the APA Group to warehouse (bridge) third-party properties temporarily. The actual timeline is summarized below.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| Dec 19, 2023 | Sponsor support agreement signed with APA Holdings Co., Ltd.; the APA Group acquires all shares of the asset manager |
| Feb 27, 2024 | Unitholders’ meeting changes the name to Nippon Hotel & Residential Investment Corporation |
| Jul 22, 2024 | First preferential negotiation rights obtained from the APA Group for two APA Hotels (Asakusabashi-Ekimae and Namba-Minami Daikokucho-Ekimae) |
| Nov 18, 2024 | Decision to acquire eight properties (two APA Hotels + six rental housing properties) for ¥13,108 million; closed December 3 |
| Jul 4, 2025 | Decision to acquire APA Hotel Gifu-Hashima-Ekimae for ¥920 million; closed September 4 |
| Aug 29 and Oct 3, 2025 | Preferential negotiation rights obtained for Namba-Kita Shinsaibashi-Ekimae, Matsuyama-Jonishi and Hakata-Ekimae 4-chome |
| Nov 12, 2025 | Decision to acquire eight properties (four hotels, etc. + four rental housing properties) for about ¥19.7 billion together with a public offering; closed December 2. ¥8,859 million raised through the public offering and third-party allotment |
| Feb 2026 | Long-term issuer rating of A− (outlook: stable) obtained from Japan Credit Rating Agency (JCR) |
| May 29, 2026 | APA Holdings’ guarantee of borrowings ends; all interest-bearing debt becomes unsecured and unguaranteed |
| Sep 11, 2026 | APA Holdings gives notice of its plan to acquire up to 4,000 additional units (raising its stake to up to 6.0%) |
What stands out is how the time from obtaining preferential negotiation rights to closing has shortened. In 2024 it took about four and a half months, from the rights obtained on July 22 to the December 3 closing; in 2025, the three properties whose rights were obtained on August 29 and October 3 closed on December 2, completing the acquisitions in two to three months. The October 3, 2025 disclosure stated that the preferential negotiation right for APA Hotel Hakata-Ekimae 4-chome (Hakata-Ekimae 4-chome, Hakata-ku, Fukuoka; built September 2000; 109 rooms) had been obtained from Hotel Green Do Co., Ltd., an APA Group company, and the same document listed a hotel of about 160 rooms in Kanagawa Prefecture among properties with rights already obtained. Two months later, on December 2, the REIT acquired Hakata-Ekimae 4-chome for ¥3,930 million and the 165-room Hotel Vista Atsugi for ¥2,222 million — showing that disclosure of preferential negotiation rights works as a direct preview of the next acquisition.
The sponsor also has ample supply capacity. In a press release on June 11, 2026, the APA Group stated that it “operates 347 hotels with 84,021 rooms in Japan and 50 hotels with 5,454 rooms overseas under its own brands,” and its new five-year medium-term plan, AIM5-II, launched in April 2026, targets 100,000 rooms in Japan under its own brands alone by the end of March 2031. The investment corporation owns six APA Hotels with 859 rooms — equivalent to 1% of the sponsor’s published domestic room count — leaving plenty of room to add more. A preferential negotiation right carries no obligation to acquire and no consideration, so the structure lets the REIT build up holdings while selecting properties that meet its investment criteria. What the sponsors of the other six hotel REITs own, and through which agreements they channel property information, is compared by type in 7 Hotel REIT Sponsors: 300 Assets, ¥1.8T — Where Next Deals Come From.
The capital relationship with the sponsor is also deepening. On September 11, 2026, it was disclosed that APA Holdings plans to acquire up to 4,000 additional units of the investment corporation, raising its stake from 5.0% to up to 6.0% (25,746 units). The investment corporation explains that “by aligning the interests of unitholders and the APA Group, sponsor support leading to medium- to long-term growth is expected.” On May 29, 2026, APA Holdings’ guarantee of borrowings ended, and all interest-bearing debt became unsecured and unguaranteed. Together with the A− (stable) long-term issuer rating obtained from JCR in February 2026, this marks a move to a stage where the REIT can raise funds without relying on the sponsor’s credit support.
Let us put a number on the acquisition headroom. At end-May 2026, the total acquisition price was ¥68,991 million, of which hotels, etc. accounted for ¥48,088 million (69.7%). Applying the 60–70% hotels, etc. weighting the investment corporation targets on reaching ¥100 billion in assets gives a total hotel acquisition price of ¥60–70 billion, implying room to add ¥12–22 billion from the current level (our estimate). At the new group’s price of ¥18.42 million per room, this equals 650–1,200 rooms — room to bring in urban hotels from the sponsor’s pipeline on a scale equal to or greater than the 1,024 rooms acquired since December 2024.
The two tables below show this headroom with ranges, based on two assumptions: the hotels, etc. weighting and the price per room. Even in the middle scenario (65% hotels, etc.), the headroom is ¥16,912 million, close to the ¥18,863 million total acquisition price of the seven new properties acquired since December 2024. If the price per room shifts toward high-priced urban assets (¥29.94 million at Namba-Kita Shinsaibashi-Ekimae), the number of rooms the same amount can buy shrinks to 400–730; at ¥16.14 million, in line with the Ichigo Hotel REIT average, it exceeds 1,000 rooms even in the middle scenario.
| Scenario | Hotels, etc. weighting (acquisition-price basis) | Total hotel acquisition price (¥ million) | Headroom (¥ million) | vs. current | Rooms at new-group price (¥18.42M per room) | Indicative annualized rent (¥ million, at 5.3%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bear (low end) | 60% | 60,000 | 11,912 | +24.8% | approx. 647 | approx. 631 |
| Base | 65% | 65,000 | 16,912 | +35.2% | approx. 918 | approx. 896 |
| Bull (high end) | 70% | 70,000 | 21,912 | +45.6% | approx. 1,190 | approx. 1,161 |
| Hotels, etc. weighting (headroom) | ¥16.14M (Ichigo Hotel REIT average) | ¥18.42M (new-group average) | ¥24.15M (16-property average) | ¥29.94M (Namba-Kita Shinsaibashi-Ekimae) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 60% (headroom ¥11,912M) | approx. 738 | approx. 647 | approx. 493 | approx. 398 |
| 62.5% (headroom ¥14,412M) | approx. 893 | approx. 782 | approx. 597 | approx. 481 |
| 65% (headroom ¥16,912M) | approx. 1,048 | approx. 918 | approx. 700 | approx. 565 |
| 67.5% (headroom ¥19,412M) | approx. 1,203 | approx. 1,054 | approx. 804 | approx. 648 |
| 70% (headroom ¥21,912M) | approx. 1,358 | approx. 1,190 | approx. 907 | approx. 732 |
Source: Estimated by MetroEngines Research & Consulting from Nippon Hotel & Residential Investment Corporation’s earnings release for the period ended May 2026 (total acquisition price; target asset allocation at ¥100 billion in assets). Headroom = ¥100,000 million in assets x hotels, etc. weighting − hotels, etc. acquisition price of ¥48,088 million at end-May 2026. Indicative annualized rent applies the new group’s annualized rent / acquisition price of 5.3% (the assumption for the period ending November 2026 doubled, divided by acquisition price) uniformly; it is a reference value, not a forecast of acquisition timing, price or yield.
Comparison With Other Hotel REITs — Price per Room and Average Rooms per Property
To position this single-REIT deep dive, we set it alongside other hotel REITs. The comparison is limited to two measures — price per room and average rooms per property — with no ranking by asset size. Coverage is the domestic hotel assets of seven hotel-focused and diversified investment corporations, counting properties for which both acquisition price and room count are published.
| Investment corporation | Properties counted | Total rooms | Total acquisition price (¥ million) | Price per room | Average rooms per property |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ichigo Hotel REIT Investment Corporation (3463) | 28 | 4,370 | 70,543 | ¥16.14M | 156 |
| Nippon Hotel & Residential Investment Corporation (3472) | 16 | 1,991 | 48,083 | ¥24.15M | 124 |
| Hoshino Resorts REIT, Inc. (3287) | 71 | 8,667 | 233,906 | ¥26.99M | 122 |
| Invincible Investment Corporation (8963) | 110 | 19,260 | 603,134 | ¥31.32M | 175 |
| Japan Hotel REIT Investment Corporation (8985) | 52 | 15,058 | 648,098 | ¥43.04M | 290 |
| Kasumigaseki Hotel REIT Investment Corporation (401A) | 15 | 726 | 49,210 | ¥67.78M | 48 |
| Mori Trust REIT, Inc. (8961) | 6 | 1,937 | 142,217 | ¥73.42M | 323 |
Nippon Hotel & Residential’s price per room of ¥24.15 million sits between Ichigo Hotel REIT (¥16.14 million) and Hoshino Resorts REIT (¥26.99 million), and its average of 124 rooms per property is on the small side among the seven. The legacy group alone, at ¥30.22 million, is close to Invincible’s ¥31.32 million, while the new group alone, at ¥18.42 million, is close to Ichigo Hotel REIT. With two layers, it combines in a single stock the character of both a high-priced ryokan portfolio and an efficient urban business hotel portfolio — that is where this investment corporation stands today. For price per room re-aggregated by asset type (ryokan, business hotel and so on) rather than by REIT, see Ryokan Lead REIT Per-Room Prices at ¥49.6mn: 285 Properties by Type.
Investment Perspectives — Implications for J-REIT Investors and Owners Considering a Sale
J-REIT investors
Fixed rent accounts for 91.8% of rent in the new group and 80.7% in the legacy group, so distributions rest on fixed rent. Upside comes from the ryokan group’s GOP-linked variable rent (+¥39 million in the period ended May 2026) and APA Hotel sales above the base amount; read results bearing in mind that RevPAR improvements reach rent with a one-year lag.
Owners considering a hotel sale
Acquisitions since December 2024 have centered on station-front business hotels of 109–180 rooms at ¥6.30–36.06 million per room, and sellers now extend beyond the sponsor (Hotel Vista Atsugi and rental housing). An acquisition scheme combining the asset manager’s own network with the APA Group’s bridge function serves as a buyer for third-party properties.
What to watch next
Against the target of 60–70% hotels, etc. at ¥100 billion in assets, the total hotel acquisition price is ¥48,088 million. If the next preferential negotiation rights are disclosed, the past two rounds suggest closing two to five months later. Results for the period ending November 2026 (expected to be released in January 2027) will show the full-period contribution of the seven new hotels and the trend in variable rent.
Finally, we summarize points investors may want to check alongside the financial reports. Each is grounded in the investment corporation’s disclosures and is meant less as a negative than as a guide to “which numbers to look at.”
| Point | Current status (source: earnings release, disclosures) | How to read it |
|---|---|---|
| Rates and finance | Interest-bearing debt of ¥32,956 million at end-May 2026; LTV 46.8%. All borrowings are unsecured and unguaranteed; JCR long-term issuer rating A− (stable) | The next issue is how to secure acquisition capacity on the way to ¥100 billion in assets |
| Local market for the two Osaka hotels | Estimated settled ADR in Osaka’s Chuo-ku and Naniwa-ku is in a correction of just over 30% versus the prior-year month, which fell during the Expo (September 2026) | A lease structure with fixed rent at over 90% of income buffers operating swings |
| Variable rent calculation period | Variable rent for Oedo Onsen facilities is based on adjusted GOP for the most recent 12 months, so operating results feed through with a lag | The RevPAR rise (+17.6% in the period ended May 2026) is reflected in variable rent gradually from the next period onward |
| Portfolio weighting targets | Policy targets 60–70% hotels, etc. and 30–40% rental housing, etc. on reaching ¥100 billion in assets | Additions of business/city hotels and a lower ryokan weighting are expected to proceed together |
To sum up, Nippon Hotel & Residential Investment Corporation’s hotel portfolio has changed into one where the nine hot-spring ryokan support earnings depth through appraisal values and variable rent, while the seven urban hotels acquired since December 2024 make up 51.4% of rooms and add geographic diversification and fixed-rent stability. Of the 84,021 domestic rooms the sponsor publishes, the REIT holds 859; with a track record of closing two to five months after obtaining preferential negotiation rights now established, “where” the next acquisitions will come from is already visible. The remaining questions are “when and at what price,” and the yardstick for measuring that is price per room.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. How many hotels and rooms does Nippon Hotel & Residential Investment Corporation own?
A. As of end-May 2026, 16 hotels, etc. (seven business/city hotels and nine hot-spring and spa-related facilities) with a total of 1,991 rooms. Their total acquisition price is ¥48,088 million on an earnings-release basis (the simple sum of property-level prices is ¥48,083 million), 69.7% of the entire portfolio (31 properties, ¥68,991 million).
Q. What is the acquisition price per room?
A. ¥24.15 million per room across all 16 hotels. The nine hot-spring ryokan acquired in 2016–17 come to ¥30.22 million per room and the seven urban business hotels acquired since December 2024 to ¥18.42 million per room, so the level differs by acquisition period.
Q. How are acquisitions from the sponsor, the APA Group, progressing?
A. Under the December 2023 sponsor support agreement, the REIT is granted preferential negotiation rights to hotels owned or developed by the APA Group that meet its investment criteria. It took about four and a half months from obtaining rights in July 2024 to closing in December 2024, and two to three months from rights obtained in August–October 2025 to closing in December 2025; six APA Hotels have been acquired so far.
Q. How are the nine hot-spring ryokan performing?
A. According to the earnings release for the period ended May 2026, RevPAR across all Oedo Onsen facilities rose from ¥26,938 a year earlier to ¥31,667 (+17.6%), and variable rent from hotels, etc. increased from ¥105 million to ¥144 million. The nine properties’ total period-end appraisal value is ¥31,720 million, ¥6,442 million above book value.
Related Articles
- 7 Hotel REIT Sponsors: 300 Assets, ¥1.8T — Where Next Deals Come From
- Ryokan Lead REIT Per-Room Prices at ¥49.6mn: 285 Properties by Type
- Hotel REIT Appraisals Hit 1.25x Cost: Cap Rates Across 298 Assets
- REIT-Acquired Hotels Reprice in Year Two: +12.8pt vs Market, 46 Assets
- One REIT’s 7 Hotels Cost ¥30.9M a Room: ADR-Led Buys, GOP-Linked Rent
- Kasumigaseki Capital FY8/2026 Op. Profit ¥27.9bn; 401A Holds 726 Rooms
- Hotel Occupancy Sep 2026: Okinawa 86.7%, Osaka 80.4%, Kanagawa 84.2%
- Kinugawa-Kawaji Onsen: 3,574 Rooms, 60.8% in 14 Large Ryokan Hotels
References and Sources
■ Data sources
Property-level acquisition prices, room counts, appraisal values, book values, rent assumptions and RevPAR are from Nippon Hotel & Residential Investment Corporation’s disclosures (earnings release for the period ended May 2026, annual securities report for the 20th fiscal period, and notices on acquisitions, preferential negotiation rights and monthly disclosures). Estimated settled ADR for the host municipalities (September 2026 and September 2025) and estimated occupancy for the host prefectures (September 2026, based on OTA-listed inventory) are MetroEngines Research aggregates. Other REITs’ price per room is from each investment corporation’s IR disclosures as recorded in our REIT holdings data (as of October 19, 2026; Ichigo Hotel REIT as of September 14, 2026).
■ Estimation assumptions
Annualized rent / acquisition price is our estimate: the operating revenue assumption for the period ending November 2026 (half-year) doubled and divided by acquisition price. Acquisition headroom is ¥100,000 million in assets (acquisition-price basis) x a 60–70% hotels, etc. weighting, minus the hotels, etc. acquisition price of ¥48,088 million at end-May 2026; room conversions use the new-group average of ¥18.42 million and the other per-room prices cited in the text, and indicative annualized rent uses the new group’s 5.3%.
■ Limitations
Estimated settled ADR and estimated occupancy are market levels (medians / estimates) at the municipal or prefectural level, not the settled rates or occupancy of the individual properties held. Municipalities with few properties covered are marked as reference values in the tables. The headroom estimate mechanically applies the asset-allocation targets set by the investment corporation and does not forecast the timing, price or yield of acquisitions. The simple sum of property-level acquisition prices (¥48,083 million) and the earnings-release total (¥48,088 million) differ because of rounding.
■ Market data
- MetroEngines Research & Consulting — Estimated settled ADR by municipality (September 2026 and September 2025), estimated occupancy by host prefecture (based on OTA-listed inventory, September 2026), REIT holdings data (as of October 19, 2026)
■ REIT disclosures (Nippon Hotel & Residential Investment Corporation, in Japanese)
- Earnings release (REIT) for the period ended May 2026 (July 22, 2026)
- Annual securities report, 20th fiscal period (EDINET, filed August 26, 2026)
- Notice concerning acquisition of preferential negotiation rights (October 3, 2025)
- Notice concerning acquisition of preferential negotiation rights (July 22, 2024)
- Notice concerning acquisition and leasing of domestic real estate trust beneficiary interests (November 18, 2024)
- Notice concerning acquisition of domestic real estate trust beneficiary interests (APA Hotel Gifu-Hashima-Ekimae) (July 4, 2025)
- Notice concerning monthly disclosure for April 2025 (May 27, 2025)
- Notice concerning termination of APA Holdings Co., Ltd.’s guarantee of the investment corporation’s borrowings (May 29, 2026)
- Notice concerning additional acquisition of the investment corporation’s units by APA Holdings Co., Ltd. (September 11, 2026)
- Nippon Hotel & Residential Investment Corporation website (portfolio list, monthly operating status)
■ News and press releases (in Japanese)
- Nippon Hotel & Residential acquires eight properties including three APA Hotels (estie real estate portal, November 14, 2025)
- Second consecutive opening in Saitama: opening ceremony for APA Hotel Saitama-Ageo-Ekimae (APA Group, PR TIMES, June 11, 2026)
- Monecle (Monex, Inc.) — Commentary on the sponsor change and name change of Ooedo Onsen Reit Investment Corporation
