Explera DMC Japan sees Japanese hotels selling to overseas buyers through three main routes: wholesale bedbanks, overseas online travel agencies and destination management companies. New 2026 data shows lodging operators lean most on overseas OTAs. For a group, a contracted block through a DMC is still the route that holds rooms, rates and terms together.
Two pieces of trade news in late September and early October 2026 show how this works. Travel Voice interviewed James Park, chief executive of Rakuten Travel Xchange, the Singapore-based wholesale arm of the Rakuten Group. Separately, the Japan Association of Travel Agents (JATA) published its fifth survey of businesses that receive inbound visitors, carried out by JTB Research & Consulting.
What is a bedbank, and what does Rakuten's look like?
A bedbank buys or connects hotel inventory and resells it to travel companies, usually through an API. Rakuten Travel Xchange says it handles more than 500,000 hotels and over 200,000 vacation rentals, with about 20,000 under direct contract, and sells into about 200 countries. Half its revenue comes from selling Japanese and East Asian inventory, much of it from Rakuten Travel, to travel companies abroad. It offers an API, a portal for smaller agencies and a white-label website. Park told Travel Voice that sales of luxury hotels had grown by about 80 per cent year on year, and that the company wants to help ryokan sell abroad, using AI to translate complex Japanese room and plan names.
Which channels do Japanese hotels use?
JATA's survey received 1,096 responses between 25 June and 2 August 2026 from lodging operators, travel agencies, transport companies, attractions and local tourism bodies. Asked which channels bring their inbound business (up to three answers), lodging operators named overseas OTAs most often, at 71 per cent, followed by overseas travel agencies at 64 per cent and Japanese travel agencies at 57 per cent. Transport companies and attractions, by contrast, rely most on Japanese travel agencies. The same survey found labour shortages to be the most common problem, cited by 37 per cent.
What does it mean for group quotes?
- Single rooms are easy to find; blocks are not. A bedbank or OTA is built for one or two rooms at a time. A group of twenty needs an allotment with its own release dates and cancellation terms; see our guide to hotel allotments and contracting.
- Ryokan need a conversation. Room types, meal plans, futon versus beds and dinner times vary by inn, and many details are lost in translation on a screen. We confirm them with the inn before quoting.
- Staff shortages show up on the ground. When a hotel is short-staffed, early check-in, luggage handling and group dinners need arranging in advance, not on arrival.
- Domestic demand still matters. Japanese travellers book the best inventory early, as our note on Japan-side booking channels explains.
Where a DMC fits
For individual travellers, a bedbank or OTA rate is often fine. For groups, incentives and programmes with several hotels, transport and guiding, we contract directly, hold the rooms against the itinerary and handle changes with the hotel in Japanese. See how our net rates work.
Sources: Travel Voice interview with Rakuten Travel Xchange, 6 October 2026 and Travel Voice report on JATA's fifth inbound survey (Japanese).
FAQ
What is Rakuten Travel Xchange? The wholesale travel business of the Rakuten Group, based in Singapore. It distributes hotel and vacation-rental inventory, much of it from Japan, to travel companies worldwide through an API, an agent portal and white-label websites.
Which sales channel do Japanese hotels use most for inbound guests? In JATA's 2026 survey, 71 per cent of lodging operators named overseas online travel agencies, the most common answer, ahead of overseas and Japanese travel agencies.
Can a group be booked through a bedbank? Small numbers of rooms can, but group blocks with release dates, rooming lists and meal arrangements are usually contracted directly with the hotel, which is what a DMC does.
Does Explera contract ryokan for groups? Yes. We confirm room types, meal plans and dinner times with each inn before quoting, and hold the rooms against the programme.
Quoting hotels in Japan for a group? Write to b2b@explera.jp, message the trade desk on WhatsApp at +66 93 656 8090, or register on the B2B portal. Proposals within 24 hours. IATA TIDS 96215733, ASTA member 900408341.
