‘Diversifying market necessitated the name change’

Grandvrio Resort Saipan general manager Akira Takaoka stand beneath the new logo and name of former Hafa Dai Beach Hotel. (Jayson Camacho)

In an effort to diversity its clientele, the owners of the erstwhile Hafadai Beach Hotel are changing the Garapan landmark’s name to Grandvrio Resort Saipan beginning today, April 1.

General manager Akira Takaoka, through interpreter Takatoshi Namima, said the rebranding effort started as long as six months ago and was also made to reflect parent company Kinki Nihon Tourist’s merger with the Route Inn Group.

“We used to mainly accommodate Japanese tourists. However, along with the entire CNMI tourism industry we have started to accommodate other market areas. The tourist industry has globalized and we have started to accommodate a wider range unlike before and we plan to promote our hotel plans under Route Inn Group, of which the Grandvrio hotel brand is under. We could meet some schedule for some targeted changes together with the hotel name,” Takaoka told Saipan Tribune yesterday.

Takaoka said that Route Inn Group sometimes acquires old hotels and then decides either to keep its old name or immediately change it, based on the operational needs of the property.

KNT owns Hafadai Beach Hotel and about 10 years ago Route Inn merged with KNT.

“So we took over the hotel from KNT but the name had not been changed and now the hotel name was incorporated with the Route Inn Group brands. It is not fully and globally recognized but we will promote the brand. However, Route Inn is fully recognized nationwide in Japan,” he said.

“We would like to expect foreign traffic from other countries. I believe we will have an increase gradually. We have not implemented any kinds of major renovations for any of the premises but are planning certain renovations for the restaurant outlets and certain repair works,” he said.

Takaoka noted that they will include famous restaurants and outlets under the Route Inn brand into Grandvrio Resort Saipan as well.

“As of now, this is the only hotel situated in a different country among hotels under Route Inn Group and we’re planning to expand it to other countries as well,” he said.

Takaoka said the new name will make a bigger impression in Japan when tourists see that they have a Grandvrio on Saipan.

Route Inn has 9,986 properties as of Feb. 1, 2015. They have 284 facilities that include hotels, restaurants, golf courses, and skiing facilities. Of the 284 facilities, 250 are hotels.

Takaoka said the names given to the three buildings of the former Hafadai Beach Hotel would remain the same.