- 14 Mar 2002
- 21,050
- 18,903
Perhaps not news, but a rare attack on one of the pillars of the Japanese travel industry, the ryokan. How dare they.
A video on the Hilton Japan YouTube channel on 24 October opens with a young couple standing at the front desk of a ryokan, where an employee checks them in and also rattles off a lengthy list of rules and restrictions. "Next, the baths are open from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m.," she says, showing that there was even more to the explanation before we joined the scene. "Dinner will be brought to your room at 6 p.m., so no matter what, please make sure that you have finished eating by 9 o'clock," she continues, as the couple's faces grow increasingly tense and unhappy at the continuing barrage. "Breakfast is from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m., with the last chance to order at 9:30. At around 8 o'clock, the dining room gets very crowded. Checkout is at 10 a.m. Here is your room key."
Initially, the video, which is entirely in Japanese and appears to have been created by the Hilton Japan marketing team, did not attract much attention. As time went by, though, it started drawing adverse reactions on Japanese social media from viewers who saw the video as insulting to traditional Japanese inns, and on 15 November, Hilton removed the video from its YouTube channel. The Hilton group has also apologised, with a spokesperson saying, "We produced the video to spotlight warm hospitality, but it upset viewers and members of the ryokan industry. Taking into consideration those negative reactions, we have taken down the video…We will try not to repeat [this sort of thing, and] we deeply apologize."
japantoday.com
A video on the Hilton Japan YouTube channel on 24 October opens with a young couple standing at the front desk of a ryokan, where an employee checks them in and also rattles off a lengthy list of rules and restrictions. "Next, the baths are open from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m.," she says, showing that there was even more to the explanation before we joined the scene. "Dinner will be brought to your room at 6 p.m., so no matter what, please make sure that you have finished eating by 9 o'clock," she continues, as the couple's faces grow increasingly tense and unhappy at the continuing barrage. "Breakfast is from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m., with the last chance to order at 9:30. At around 8 o'clock, the dining room gets very crowded. Checkout is at 10 a.m. Here is your room key."
Initially, the video, which is entirely in Japanese and appears to have been created by the Hilton Japan marketing team, did not attract much attention. As time went by, though, it started drawing adverse reactions on Japanese social media from viewers who saw the video as insulting to traditional Japanese inns, and on 15 November, Hilton removed the video from its YouTube channel. The Hilton group has also apologised, with a spokesperson saying, "We produced the video to spotlight warm hospitality, but it upset viewers and members of the ryokan industry. Taking into consideration those negative reactions, we have taken down the video…We will try not to repeat [this sort of thing, and] we deeply apologize."
Hilton Japan apologizes for 'disrespectful' ad disparaging traditional Japanese inns
A big question for travelers in Japan is whether to spend the night in a modernly styled hotel or in a ryokan, as traditional Japanese inns are called. Obviously, Hilton would prefer that you choose a hotel, since that’s the category the company belongs to. But while nobody begrudges Hilton’s...
japantoday.com
