A tourist walks past a souvenir shop at Akihabara district in Tokyo on Aug 2, 2017. (Reuters photo)
TAIPEI: AsiaYo, Taiwan’s largest vacation rental service, and Rakuten Lifull Stay signed a partnership agreement on Tuesday.
AsiaYo, operator of AsiaYo.com, and Rakuten Lifull Stay, the joint venture for vacation rental launched by Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten Inc and Lifull Co, hope to capitalise on Japan’s new law that will allow private homes to be rented out to tourists.
“This is a win-win partnership,” said Cheng Chao-Kang, chief executive officer of AsiaYo.
Estimating that Japan’s vacation rental market will reach $2 billion in 2020, Mr Cheng said he is honoured to team up with Rakuten Lifull Stay.
Through the collaboration, the two companies will promote travel to Japan from Asia, including Taiwan.
Lifull Stay will provide property listings from its tentatively titled “Vacation Stay” rental service to AsiaYo.com, making it possible for users of AsiaYo.com to reserve private lodging facilities listed on Vacation Stay.
Munekatsu Ota, representative director of Rekuten Lifull Stay, said Lifull Stay has more than 8 million vacation rental places and 2,400 franchise stores that AsiaYo customers can take advantage of when they travel to Japan.
With the new partnership, Mr Ota said the new online booking platform will be officially launched next year, when the new Japanese law takes effect.
AsiaYo.com operates not only in Taiwan, but in South Korea and Thailand as well, with plans to expand into other Asian countries and regions.