Rakuten teams up with OTA to launch vacation rentals in Japan
Japan’s leading e-commerce company Rakuten Group is forming a business collaboration with Booking.com to list vacation rental properties online.
Rakuten’s Lifull Stay Inc unit will make its Japanese vacation rental properties instantly bookable on Booking.com’s soon to launch Japanese subsidiary.
It will go live from June 2018 and the two companies will collaborate on joint marketing activities to boost inbound tourism to Japan.
"We are delighted to partner with Rakuten Lifull Stay. Japan is a very important market for us, and has grown remarkably as one of the most popular travel destinations in the world," said Gillian Tans, CEO of Booking.com.
"Through this partnership, we are able to offer an even greater selection of vacation rental properties which provide exciting opportunities for Booking.com customers from all over the world to experience more of Japan."
Rakuten Lifull Stay officially debuts its marketplace for vacation rentals in June as new home sharing laws In Japan roll out.
Rakuten has already inked similar partnership agreements with China’s answer to Airbnb Tujia, and Expedia owned HomeAway.
"We will work closely with Booking.com to promote Japan as an exciting travel destination to international travelers and to expand inbound demand. We look forward to offering more diverse accommodation options as we add more homes and apartments to our platform in the future," said Munekatsu Ota, Representative Director of Rakuten Lifull Stay.
TravelMole Editorial Team
Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
Have your say Cancel reply
Subscribe/Login to Travel Mole Newsletter
Travel Mole Newsletter is a subscriber only travel trade news publication. If you are receiving this message, simply enter your email address to sign in or register if you are not. In order to display the B2B travel content that meets your business needs, we need to know who are and what are your business needs. ITR is free to our subscribers.

































Qatar Airways offers flexible payment options for European travellers
Airlines suspend Madagascar services following unrest and army revolt
Phocuswright reveals the world's largest travel markets in volume in 2025
Digital Travel Reporter of the Mirror totally seduced by HotelPlanner AI Travel Agent
Strike action set to cause travel chaos at Brussels airports