In mid-June, APA Holdings, the hotel ownership division of Tokyo-based APA Group, acquired 100% of the shares of Ishin Hotels Group for an undisclosed price.

APA Group, Japan’s largest hotel company, manages a portfolio of 954 hotels totaling 134,847 rooms through development, ownership, operations, and franchising. According to its website, the company has equity capital of approximately 328.2 billion yen (about $23 billion).

Growth and partnership in hospitality

Established in 2001 and headquartered in Tokyo, Ishin specializes in urban hotels across Japan. Sixteen of its 17 properties—totaling 2,508 rooms—operate under the upper-midscale B Hotels brand, with one independent hotel: the 135-room Hotel Centmain Nagoya.

According to a company news release, APA Group is pursuing its expansion goal by focusing on direct management and franchising to grow its branded hotel portfolio. However, the company acknowledges that these strategies alone are insufficient and sees the need to incorporate rental agreements and mergers and acquisitions as additional approaches to opening new hotels.

APA operates 47 hotels in the U.S. and Canada, with 46 under the Coast Hotels brand and one under the APA name—the 200-room APA Hotel Woodbridge in Iselin, New Jersey’s Metropark Corporate Center. Ishin, which follows a purely franchise-based business model, will remain a wholly owned subsidiary of APA, with its president and CEO, Kong Lingyong, continuing in his leadership role.