JR East will open Japan’s first Suica-powered smart hotel, Hotel B4T Iwaki (1 Tamachi, Taira, Iwaki, Fukushima), in January 2023.
Hotel B4T features a “Suica Smart Lock” that allows guests to use their Suica or mobile Suica as a guest room key. The hotel will realize manpower-saving operations and provide comfortable stays at affordable prices to the digital native segment of the population.
The first Hotel B4T Iwaki is adjacent to Iwaki Station, the core station of the Joban Line network, which was damaged by the Great East Japan Earthquake and will be fully opened to traffic in March 2020. The hotel has a total of 227 guest rooms (113 single rooms, 15 twin rooms, 1 deluxe twin room, 2 universal rooms, and 96 cabin type rooms), and procedures from reservation to check-in and check-out can be completed with a handheld Suica and smartphone. The building will also include commercial facilities, contributing to the revitalization and further reconstruction of the areas along the rail line.
In the spring of 2023, Hotel B4T Akabane (1-4-18 Akabananishi, Kita-ku, Tokyo) and Hotel B4T Tabata (1-17-20 Higashitabata, Kita-ku, Tokyo) will open near their respective JR stations.
© Source travel watch