Nov. 30–Berjaya Land Bhd (BLand) will build a Four Seasons hotel and hotel residences on the 100-acre site in Okinawa after it launched its first Four Seasons hotel in Kyoto, Japan.

The Four Seasons in Okinawa is expected to be completed in four years for an undisclosed price, but will mirror the concept of the hotel built in Kyoto, which features a number of private residences that will be sold to wealthy individuals.

"We just finished a presentation by an American architect. We bought the land around the same time in 2008," said Berjaya Group founder Tan Sri Vincent Tan of the project in Okinawa.

Tan said the land where the Okinawa Four Seasons would be built was acquired around the same time as the site where the Four Seasons in Kyoto now stands, and that the project in the south of Japan would be lucrative for Berjaya.

"We paid very little for the land and people have offered to buy the land at 10 to 12 times the amount we paid, but we are not selling," he said. "We will probably build more rooms, villas and residences for sale. It will probably be the best hotel there."

The carrying cost of the land in Okinawa for BLand is RM82.8mil.

Tan was speaking to reporters ahead of the opening of the Four Seasons Hotel and Hotel Residences in Kyoto which was built for US$380mil, which includes a land cost of US$50mil.

The Four Seasons in Kyoto, which is the 100th Four Seasons hotel built, is a trophy hotel for the Berjaya Group.

The hotel is owned by Kyoto Higashiyama Hospitality Assets TMK, which is a subsidiary of Berjaya Kyoto Development (S) Pte Ltd. Berjaya Kyoto is a 50:50 joint venture between Berjaya Corp Bhd and BLand.

Located in a strategic and historic site of Kyoto, the 2.04ha where the Four Seasons stands was formerly a hospital, which Tan acquired in 2008 in the midst of the effects of the Global Financial Crisis.

Tan was captivated by the 800-year-old garden and pond on the grounds of the hospital and after realising the asking price was less than half of the land in the Golden Triangle in Kuala Lumpur, decided it was a good buy.

"This was in 2008 and on a per-sq-ft basis, it was half, or even less, than the price of land in the Golden Triangle in KL. But the hotel rates (in Kyoto) were three to four times the rate in KL. The numbers looked good," Tan said on the rationale for purchasing the land.

Berjaya, which has 20 hotels worldwide with Sheraton and Intercontinental hotels in Hanoi, knew it needed a top name in the hotel industry to persuade officials in Kyoto to allow for a hotel to be built on the site.

Tan expected the payback period on the Four Seasons in Kyoto to be short, as the sale of 57 units of residences to private buyers would help in generating a return for Berjaya.

The hotel has 123 rooms, giving the location a total key count of 180.

The residences are being sold for between US$5,000 and US$6,000 per sq ft, and should Berjaya sell all those units, which are between 890 sq ft and 2,045 sq ft, it would generate enough money to defray much of the development costs of the Four Seasons in Kyoto.

"Without the (sales of the) residences, it will take a long time," said Tan on the payback period of the Four Seasons in Kyoto.

About half of the residences had been sold and Tan said the remaining half might cost more for future buyers. The residences had been on sale since June and most of the buyers had been Japanese and Taiwanese.

The four-storey Four Seasons Hotel and Hotel Residences in Kyoto was launched yesterday.

Johor ruler Sultan Ibrahim Ibni Almarhum Sultan Iskandar and mayor of Kyoto, Daisaku Kadakawa, were the guests-of-honour at the opening ceremony of the hotel.

With Berjaya planning the sale of similar residences in its Four Seasons in Okinawa to help lower overall costs and improve returns, Tan said the hotel in Okinawa would also benefit from the clear waters and large number of tourists.

"Picture Tioman and Redang. The water at Okinawa is like that. The difference is that there is a big population, an international airport and good infrastructure.

"It receives 10 million to 11 million visitors a year and about eight million are Japanese and the foreign visitors from Hong Kong, Taiwan and China," said Tan.

The Four Seasons Hotel and Residences in Kyoto is expected to register an average occupancy of 65% in the first year of operations, with room rates costing more than US$1,000 a night, said general manager Alex Porteous.

Occupancy levels and rates are expected to climb after the first year.

"This is a hotel you have to see to understand what people are saying about it," said Four Seasons founder and chairman Isadore Sharp.

With 34 more Four Seasons hotels under development, Sharp said the company's future is global but Asia has the greatest growth potential for the hotel operator. "Asia will dominate our future."

Kyoto received around 54 million visitors in 2014, with international visitors numbering 1.9 million.

The only rival hotel in terms of stature to the Four Seasons in Kyoto is said to be the Ritz-Carlton.

The hotel business for BLand is said to be enjoying a rise in the first six months of the year.

BLand hotels and resorts division CEO Hanley Chew said revenue for the first six months of the year was up 6% from the same period a year ago with operating profit up 11%. The hotel and resorts division is looking at a revenue of RM330mil for its current financial year ending April 30, 2017.

The group is looking at a consolidation phase for the hotels under the group and the direction will look towards more strategic hotels and enhancing the value of the current hotels. Berjaya has been positioning itself in the mid-range hotel business. When it comes to luxury properties, it will work with other operators, depending on the location.

Chew said Berjaya Hotels would be coming out with a new brand called Ansa, which would cater to the younger travellers by offering a minimalistic concept. "We have another brand which is called the Living Room, which is even more basic."