The foreign-affiliated hotel “Canopy by Hilton Osaka Umeda,” which opened on September 6, 2024, is located right in front of Osaka Station, within Grand Green Osaka. The photo shows a corner suite room (63㎡) bedroom (PHOTO: Canopy by Hilton Osaka Umeda). The occupancy rate is the highest in the country. What we learned from comparing prices of business hotels in Osaka. The current accommodation rates for major business hotel chains in Osaka are as follows. The comparison is between weekdays and weekends (December 11th, Wednesday / December 14th, Saturday, 1 room for 1 person per night. Extracted from Expedia / Unless noted otherwise, data was collected on November 20th): Toyoko INN Umeda Nakatsu 1: 7965 yen / ※No vacancies in Osaka Prefecture Dormy Inn Osaka Tanimachi: 14,529 yen / 26,477 yen APA Hotel & Resort : 11,069 yen / 20,827 yen Via Inn Umeda: 13,538 yen / 27,239 yen Super Hotel Premier Osaka Honmachi Station: 11,530 yen / 23,903 yen For business trips, companies typically have a regulation such as “up to 9,000 yen per night” or “up to 12,000 yen per night.” While it’s still possible to find something within this range during weekdays, weekends become quite difficult. “Toyoko INN” is popular, especially among business travelers, because its rates do not spike as much on weekends compared to other hotels. As a result, reservations at urban Toyoko INN locations tend to fill up quickly, making it harder to secure a booking. By the way, the occupancy rate for accommodations, including business hotels, is the highest in the country. According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism’s report (July 2024 2nd Preliminary Report), Osaka’s 76.3% surpasses Tokyo’s 76.1%, ranking 1st nationwide. Although this is a 1.9% decrease from July 2019, it is an 8.9% increase from July 2023, reflecting the high growth rate compared to other urban areas. This data also indicates “Osaka’s popularity.” With just six months to go until the World Expo, the publicity efforts both domestically and internationally have raised the profile of Osaka. The high hotel prices in Osaka are due to several factors, one of which is the upcoming “Osaka-Kansai Expo” scheduled to open in about six months. This Expo is expected to attract visitors from around the world to Osaka. According to the “Osaka-Kansai Expo Visitor Transportation Action Plan,” the estimated number of visitors is around 28.2 million, with approximately 24.7 million domestic visitors (88%) and about 3.5 million international visitors (12%). Of the domestic visitors, approximately 15.59 million (63%) will come from the Kinki region, while about 9.11 million (37%) are expected from outside the region. Many of the domestic and international visitors will stay in Osaka. In addition to the city’s increased publicity, Osaka’s profile is rising internationally as it is soon to host the World Expo. Unprecedented hotel opening boom… but are business travelers and common people left out in the cold? In conjunction with the Expo, hotels are opening one after another, mainly in Osaka City.