Japan's JR-East railway company is planning to invest in the five-star Hotel Metropolitan Premier Taipei, which is expected to open in 2021.
To mark and strengthen the friendship between Japan and Taiwan, East Japan Railway Company (東日本旅客鐵道), also known as JR-East, takes over the Westin Taipei Hotel (台北威斯汀六福皇宮). The Westin closed in 2018 and the new owners plan to transform it into the high-end Hotel Metropolitan Premier Taipei (JR東日本大飯店台北).
Masayuki Satomi (left) at the press event announcing the new hotel. (Taiwan News/Lyla Liu photo)
The President of Nippon Hotel Co., Ltd Masayuki Satomi (里見雅行) said that Taipei is the first overseas location for JR-East’s hotel business. It opened the Atre shopping center at Breeze Nan Shan (微風南山) in Taipei's Xinyi District, in January.
Satomi added that JR-East operates 49 hotels in Japan. The brands include The Tokyo Station Hotel (東京站大飯店), Metropolitan Hotels (大都會大飯店), Hotel Mets, and more.
Satomi said that among the highlights of the Hotel Metropolitan Premier Taipei will be the spacious rooms, exclusive guest service and fine Japanese dining. The target customers will be businessmen and tourists from Japan, as well as locals.
According to Satomi, the opening of the new hotel will create 300 to 400 working opportunities. Furthermore, there are also plans to open more hotels in Taiwan.
The former Chairman of Howard Hotel Group (福華飯店集團) Liao Dong-han (廖東漢), who has worked behind the scenes on the investment, said Howard Hotel Group and JR-East signed cooperation deals last year. He also noted the ambitious JR-East was eager to make further investments in Taiwan.
Liao pointed out there are nearly 20 million JR Group members. He said discounts to stay at the Hotel Metropolitan Premier Taipei or Howard Hotel (福華飯店) would be a strong attraction for them.
Hotel Metropolitan Premier Taipei is 1,756 square feet, and will have 288 rooms. It will feature authentic Japanese restaurants and buffets, and is scheduled to open in the spring of 2021.
