BenStay Blog

Hospitality

2 articles

Building a Brand Identity for Your Japan Short-Term Rental Property

· 6 min read Intermediate

I want to tell you about two properties I visited recently. The first was a clean, well-priced apartment in Shinjuku — great photos, good location, solid reviews. The second was “Yuki House,” a renovated machiya in a quiet alley near Nishiki Market in Kyoto. Both charged similar rates. One had a 70% repeat guest rate. The other was fighting for every booking.

The difference wasn’t the property itself. It was whether the host had decided to build something — or just to list something.

short-term rentalbrandingJapanSTRdirect bookingshospitality

GK vs KK in Japan: Which Company Structure Should You Choose?

· 6 min read Intermediate

The first time someone asked me whether BenStay was a 株式会社 or 合同会社, I panicked a little. I’d spent weeks researching and had made a decision I was pretty confident in — but something about being asked out loud made me second-guess everything.

That was a few years ago. Since then, I’ve talked to enough other small hospitality operators and foreign founders to know that this decision causes a disproportionate amount of stress. So here’s the clear-headed breakdown I wish I’d had.

business setupcompany structureJapanLLCGKKKhospitalityforeign founders