Rakuten : LIFULL STAY and TAKUTO Holdings to Collaborate on Vacation Rental Business

Tokyo, April 24, 2018 - Rakuten LIFULL STAY, Inc., a Rakuten Group company providing vacation rental services, and TAKUTO Holdings Co.,Ltd., which engages in a wide range of real estate-related business activities including real estate management, broking, and development, today announced that the two companies have reached an agreement to form a business collaboration in the vacation rental business.

In the collaboration, TAKUTO Holdings will sublease*1 apartments from real estate owners for use as vacation rentals, and Rakuten LIFULL STAY will provide 'Rakuten STAY'*2 branding and operational support services for these apartments. This will reduce the burden of property management on real estate owners, while providing them with an asset management option that will enable them to receive a fixed amount of rental income each month.

TAKUTO Holdings will be targeting building owners in the Tokyo Metropolitan area and the cities of Osaka and Kyoto for this sublease application. Rakuten LIFULL STAY began accepting applications for the Rakuten STAY service from real estate owners last year, and has begun providing the service to a variety of different properties in advance of the Private Residence Lodging Business Law which is due to come into effect in June 2018.

TAKUTO Holdings already has a proven track record in property management, managing approximately 24,000 rental residential properties (including approximately 9,600 subleased properties as of March 2018), and has maintained high occupancy rates. Through its collaboration with Rakuten LIFULL STAY, TAKUTO Holdings will be making a full entry into the vacation rental field, which will allow the company to provide a wider range of real estate solutions to owners.

Rakuten LIFULL STAY and TAKUTO Holdings will contribute to the development of the real estate and vacation rental markets by leveraging the expertise of TAKUTO Holdings in the real estate industry and the knowhow of Rakuten LIFULL STAY in vacation rentals.

*1 In addition to sublease contracts, building maintenance (cleaning of shared spaces and regular maintenance of elevators, water storage tanks, firefighting equipment, and so on) will also be contracted out to TAKUTO Holdings.

*2 Rakuten STAY ( https://stay.rakuten.co.jp/ ) is a branding and management service for vacation rental properties and budget lodging facilities. To real estate owners, including companies and individuals, who wish to manage vacation rental properties and budget lodging facilities, Rakuten lends usage of the Rakuten STAY brand, and Rakuten LIFULL STAY-with help from subcontracting companies-provides comprehensive operational support, from construction consulting to property management.