With Travel Curtailed, Hotels in Japan Are Packed

 

The impact of the Sendai earthquake could be seen and felt as far away as Tokyo.

With the earthquake and subsequent tsunami stranding tens of thousands of visitors to Japan, hotels in Tokyo and other major metropolitan centers were completely booked up.

Once flights began to be canceled, visitors with scheduled departures stayed put in their rooms.
That would have been fine, since no new arrivals were coming in by air anyway. But in Tokyo, once the subway and rail system was shut down, there was suddenly a whole city’s worth of people stranded at train stations, cab lines and every open public space.

None of the major hotel companies reported any serious damage to their properties in Japan, and most sent their condolences and offers of assistance to the Japanese people. There were reports of a hotel collapse in Sendai and people were feared buried in the rubble, but no official word yet.

“All guests and associates at Hyatt hotels in the Tokyo area are currently safe and accounted for” read a statement from that company, while Marriott International, with nine hotels in Japan, also reported no damage and said in a company statement, “Our thoughts and prayers go out to those impacted by today’s devastating earthquake in Japan.”