Hilton Grand Vacations Inc. (NYSE:HGV) the premier vacation ownership and experiences company, announced it has purchased the Citiadines Kyoto Karasuma Gojo in Kyoto, Japan. This will be the company’s first property in Kyoto and its third property in Japan.

“Building on our history as the leading vacation ownership company in Japan, we’re thrilled to expand our portfolio to offer even more vacation experiences to our members,” says Mark Wang, CEO of Hilton Grand Vacations. “Kyoto is a world-famous cultural destination for travelers, filled with history, heritage and elegance, and we’re excited to engage with new members and guests seeking cultural immersion.”

Kyoto Prefecture is an internationally renowned destination for travelers from around the world. In 2023, Kyoto saw a record 75 million tourists, representing a 13% increase from the previous year and comparable to Orlando’s 74 million annual visitors. It is further expected that 2024 will set a new record for visitors to Kyoto.

Ideally situated in the historic Kyoto tourism and business district, HGV plans to fully renovate the property into 63 modern one-bedroom timeshare units, each equipped with kitchens. Planned resort amenities include a fitness center. Restaurants, shopping, entertainment and must-see historic landmarks are a short walk from the property, making it an ideal base to explore Kyoto and its UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Renovation is anticipated to begin in the second quarter of 2025, with project completion expected in the first quarter of 2026. The start of sales for the property is expected to begin in the second quarter of 2025.

Purchasing Citadines Kyoto Karasuma Gojo project is part of HGV’s continued efforts to expand its presence in Japan. This project will demonstrate the company’s ongoing commitment to investing in Japan. Since 2012, HGV has seen year-over-year member growth, with the current member exceeding 72,000 in Japan. While Hawaii remains a highly sought-after destination among Japanese members, this property will also appeal to those who prefer domestic destinations.

HGV’s most recent property in Japan was The Beach Resort Sesoko, a Hilton Club, which opened in October 2021. Its first property in Japan, The Bay Forest Odawara, a Hilton Club, opened in 2018.

JLL assisted in brokering the transaction. 

“We continue to see strong appetite from global investors for Japanese hotel assets with vacant possession and upside capital expenditure potential. The attractiveness of the Japanese hotel market is a defining story for cross-border investors in 2024 and we expect momentum to remain high. We’re proud of our role in this latest landmark transaction, reinforcing JLL’s standing as Japan’s unmatched hotel investment advisor,” said Charlie Macildowie, Executive Vice President, Investment Sales, Asia Pacific, JLL Hotels & Hospitality Group.

The proposed acquisition of lyf Funan Singapore announced last week demonstrates CLAS’ ability to enhance value for Stapled Securityholders by using proceeds from our divestment of Citadines Mount Sophia Singapore at an exit EBITDA yield of 3.2% towards the proposed acquisition of lyf Funan Singapore at a higher yield of 4.7%.  In 1H 2024, CLAS also completed the acquisition of Teriha Ocean Stage, a rental housing property in Fukuoka, Japan and fully acquired Standard at Columbia, a student accommodation property in the United States of America.  The acquisitions will strengthen our income stream, creating sustainable value for our Stapled Securityholders,” said Ms Serena Teo.

To further enhance the quality of CLAS’ portfolio, it has completed asset enhancement initiatives (AEI) for four properties in 1H 2024.  CLAS has four additional properties in its AEI pipeline that are expected to complete between 2H 2024 and 2026.  These AEIs will better position CLAS’ properties to capture lodging demand, raise their value and drive higher returns.

“The divestment of Citadines Karasuma-Gojo Kyoto is in line with CLAS’ active portfolio reconstitution strategy. We plan to redeploy the divestment proceeds into higher-yielding investments to further grow our returns to Stapled Securityholders. Japan remains a key market for CLAS and is one of our strongest performing markets. We continue to seek opportunities to strengthen our portfolio in Japan” said Ms Serena Teo, Chief Executive Officer of the Managers of CLAS.

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