Asian hotels press ahead with expansions despite pandemic

France's Accor adding 94 hotels in China alone this year

20200413 Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Otemachi

The Four Seasons Tokyo at Otemachi, scheduled to open three weeks before the now-postponed 2020 Olympics, is sticking to its launch schedule despite the coronavirus's toll on the tourism industry. © Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts

DYLAN LOH and NANA SHIBATA, Nikkei staff writers

April 13, 2020 04:31 JST

SINGAPORE/TOKYO -- As flagship hotels go, the 190-room Four Seasons Tokyo at Otemachi sparkles like any other in the luxury hotel chain's collection.

But instead of a cavalcade of guests swarming the five-star property on the scheduled July 1 opening day --- three weeks ahead of the intended start of the 2020 Olympics -- its marble-clad lobby will likely be eerily empty.