Tokyo, February 21, 2018 - Rakuten LIFULL STAY, Inc., a Rakuten Group company providing vacation rental services, and Crowd Realty, Inc., provider of a platform for real estate crowdfunding, today reached an agreement to form a business collaboration focused on developing and supplying accommodation properties using crowdfunding.
The purpose of this agreement is to develop accommodation properties for Rakuten STAY, the operational support and branding service for vacation rentals and budget hotel facilities supplied primarily by Rakuten LIFULL STAY. Crowd Realty plans to utilize its peer-to-peer real estate crowdfunding service to raise capital for acquiring and renovating properties, while Rakuten LIFULL STAY plans to undertake property selection, design supervision and property management. Properties developed through this agreement will be branded with one of Rakuten STAY’s sub-brands, which cover a range of different property types.
Based on this agreement, Crowd Realty is scheduled to begin calling for investments in a project to restore “Kyoto machiya” - traditional wooden townhouses in Kyoto City - from March 2018. Once appropriate properties have been acquired and developed, it is planed that they will be managed as vacation rentals by Rakuten LIFULL STAY under the Rakuten STAY brand. Other types of properties will follow.
Both companies hope that by utilizing the power of crowdfunding they will invigorate the flow of funds and contribute to regional revitalization and the revitalization of the accommodation market by making it possible to invest small sums in vacant homes and underutilized real estate.
Rakuten STAY
Offered jointly by Rakuten, Inc. and Rakuten LIFULL STAY, Inc., Rakuten STAY provides branding and comprehensive operational support, from construction consulting to property management, to real estate owners interested in operating vacation rentals. Properties that have adopted the Rakuten STAY service, will offer users the peace of mind of knowing that facilities, amenities and incidental services will be provided in accordance with a consistent concept. By giving travelers who might not have ever tried vacation rentals the confidence to try them out for the first time, Rakuten is aiming to expand the vacation rentals market itself.
In addition, Rakuten STAY is scheduled to develop sub-brands according to the accommodation type, ranging from single-room facilities to entire houses, including standalone houses, classic Japanese-style houses, apartments and condominiums.
