Seibu Prince Hotels Worldwide Inc.
Representative Director, President and CEO Yoshiki Kaneda

Aiming to become a global hotel chain chosen by people all over the world

Representative Director and President, Seibu Prince Hotels Worldwide Inc.　Yoshiki Kaneda　(Yoshiki Kaneda)

■ Profile

Born in 1961. Graduated with a Master's degree from Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration. Previously held positions including Director of Finance at Tokyu Hotels International Co., Ltd. and Pan Pacific Hotels and Resorts Co., Ltd. (headquartered in Singapore), and Executive Vice President of Pan Pacific Hotels and Resorts America, Inc. In 2010, he joined Seibu Holdings Co., Ltd., and in 23 became a Director of Seibu Holdings, and Representative Director, President and Executive Officer of Seibu & Prince Hotels Worldwide (both positions he currently holds). His motto is "No progress without challenges." His hobbies are watching sports and traveling.

Seibu Prince Hotels Worldwide Co., Ltd. is a hotel management company boasting one of the largest scales in the industry. It continues to be loved by many people as a hotel that is close to its customers throughout their lives. We spoke with President and CEO Yoshiki Kaneda about his global experience to date, the company's diverse business development, and its future goals.

I've loved traveling since I was a student, and I would save up money from part-time jobs and travel abroad. When I was in my third year of university, I wanted to study abroad, so I took a leave of absence and went to Malaysia to study abroad. At university in Malaysia, I studied intercultural communication.
I had always wanted to work overseas in the future, so when I was job hunting, I looked for work that would allow me to work overseas. At the time, I had the impression that manufacturers offered a lot of overseas work, but I wanted to do work that was different from other people's, and work in hospitality, so I got a job at a hotel.
In my first year, I learned the basics of management in Japan. From my second year, I gained practical experience in hotels overseas. From then on, I worked in various countries for about 20 years. Taking on new challenges and working in unfamiliar environments every day was very stimulating. Of course, there were many difficult times. Even in Japanese, there are times when you don't understand what the other person is thinking or your feelings aren't conveyed. In a foreign language, it is even more difficult to communicate smoothly. I learned firsthand the importance of communicating in a way that is appropriate to the culture of the country. From these experiences, I always try to maintain the determination to never give up, no matter how difficult the situation. Even when negotiations with the other party are not going well, I never give up. I make it a point to read between the lines of what the other person is saying and always try to think from their perspective.

■ Diverse business development leveraging brand power

Seibu Prince Hotels Worldwide Co., Ltd. operates multiple Prince Hotel brands in Japan, including the flagship brand "The Prince" targeting the luxury segment, as well as "Grand Prince Hotels," "Prince Hotels," and the accommodation-specializing "Prince Smart Inn." Overseas, in addition to the Prince Hotel brand, the company operates multiple brands, including the luxury brand "The Prince Akatoki," as well as "Policy," "Park Regis by Prince," "Park Proxi," and "Leisure Inn." I believe that our ability to provide optimal hospitality to meet the various needs of our customers is a unique appeal of our company.
We are also focusing on the MICE business, focusing on international business events. Until now, large international conferences held in Japan have been held in cooperation with several hotels, but for the G7 Summit in May 2023, we will be solely managing the Hiroshima Summit, the Climate, Energy and Environment Ministers' Meeting in Sapporo, and the Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Karuizawa, Nagano Prefecture. Our hospitality and management know-how, which take advantage of our strengths as a chain, have been well received by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
We also focus on programs for gaining experience, such as overseas training and a program to develop future general managers. In the hotel industry, which provides services, people are a very important resource. For people to grow, they need to gain a lot of experience, and being in a stimulating environment gradually helps them develop adaptability and allows them to grow. Our company has an environment where you can try out a variety of experiences, so I think it's the perfect environment for people who are interested in a wide range of things. There is no success without challenge. We want to hire people who are always positive and willing to take on new challenges.
In addition to the hotel business, our strength lies in the fact that we operate a large number of amusement facilities. By combining our diverse management resources with the accommodation business, such as snow resorts and golf courses, we strive to provide unique experiential value. By doing so, we hope to increase customer satisfaction and encourage repeat business.

■We want to establish a global chain originating from Japan!

In the future, we hope to become a global hotel chain originating from Japan. Our company began aggressively expanding overseas in 2017. We acquired StayWell, a hotel chain primarily in Australia, and now operate 28 hotels in 10 areas (as of January 2024). In fiscal 2024, we plan to open new hotels in Thailand, Egypt, Dubai, and other countries. We would like to continue our aggressive expansion overseas. Currently, many inbound tourists stay at foreign-owned hotels, but we would like to make the hotels we operate into hotels that international guests can also enjoy. We believe tourism is an important industry that will support Japan's economy in the future, so we are focusing on attracting inbound tourists and aiming to become a hotel of choice for international guests.

■Message to university students

While you are a student, I hope you will develop an interest in many things and broaden your horizons. Traveling to various places, both domestically and internationally, will lead to new discoveries and broaden your horizons. In recent years, it feels like Japan's presence as a country has been fading. I hope you will learn as much as you can while you are a student, take pride in being a respected and trustworthy Japanese person, and aim to become a person who can be active on the global stage.

Interviewed by Student Newspaper Online on July 21, 2023 by Rikkyo University fourth-year student Narina Ogata