NOT A HOTEL rebrands as NOTA and expands into housing and mobility
In short
NOT A HOTEL, the Tokyo-based operator of shared villas and hotels, said on 5 October that it will enter the housing business and changed its corporate name to NOTA as of 2 October. It has set up subsidiaries for housing, mobility and city-building — NOT A HOUSE, NOT A GARAGE and NOT A CITY — and announced the sale of a NIGO-designed Gulfstream G500 private jet plus a land, sea and air subscription with a ¥198,000 monthly fee. The company said it had 10 locations, 1,357 owners and about ¥94 billion in cumulative contract value as of 1 October.
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NOT A HOTEL, a Tokyo-based operator of shared villas and hotels, said on 5 October that it will enter the housing business and that its corporate name changed to NOTA as of 2 October. Nikkei reported the company aims to broaden its business areas into housing and town-building to raise profitability. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
Under the change, NOT A HOTEL becomes the core of a group with three new units: NOT A HOUSE for housing, NOT A GARAGE for mobility and NOT A CITY for city-building, according to ASCII.jp and Impress Watch. Nikkei reported that the housing business will be run by a newly established subsidiary led by CEO Shin Mai, a former president of game-centre operator GENDA; ASCII.jp said separate CEOs head NOT A GARAGE and NOT A CITY. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
The company said that as of 1 October it had opened 10 locations nationwide, had 1,357 owners and had reached about ¥94 billion in cumulative contract value. Impress Watch reported that the model sells villa stays as owned assets, with a 10-night-a-year share corresponding to 1/36 ownership, and that purchases are freehold and can be sold or inherited. [ 2 , 3 ]
In mobility, NOT A GARAGE began selling the Gulfstream G500 “NIGO JET”, with creative direction by NIGO and described as the first Gulfstream G500 to be introduced for operation based in Japan. Impress Watch reported the jet will be based at Narita Airport, has a range of about 9,800 km and is to start operating in December 2027 under an eight-year ownership period, with crewing, maintenance and insurance handled by NOT A GARAGE and an operating company and bookings made through the NOT A HOTEL app. The same outlet reported the cabin has three living areas, a galley and a lavatory. On 5 October the company also started NOT A GARAGE CLUB, which it said gives unlimited use of helicopters, cruisers and cars for a monthly management fee of ¥198,000, an initial cost of ¥15.9 million and fuel billed separately. ASCII.jp reported that Toyota and Toyota Invention Partners, described as partners and shareholders of NOTA, are involved in developing infrastructure for the mobility business. [ 2 , 3 ]
Impress Watch also reported a project called NOT A MUSEUM for temporary use of the former site of the Imperial Hotel Plaza Tokyo. The company announced a villa project with architect Tadao Ando in the Kinki region and one with Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron in Okinawa, released new visuals for NOT A HOTEL YAKUSHIMA by Ateliers Jean Nouvel, and said it aims to announce 30 locations by 2030, according to ASCII.jp and Impress Watch. [ 2 , 3 ]
Why it matters
The rebrand turns a villa-sharing operator into a group that also spans housing, private aviation and city development, a test of whether Japan’s shared-ownership hospitality model can be extended to other asset classes. The mobility business brings in Toyota-linked shareholders and a Gulfstream G500 described as the first based in Japan, tying a domestic lifestyle brand to international private aviation. Financial terms of the reorganisation were not disclosed, and most of the plans are company-specific.
Key facts
- NOT A HOTEL announced on 5 October that it will enter the housing business and said its name changed to NOTA as of 2 October. [ 1 , 2 ]
- New units NOT A HOUSE, NOT A GARAGE and NOT A CITY cover housing, mobility and city-building. [ 2 , 3 ]
- Nikkei and ASCII.jp reported that NOT A HOUSE is headed by CEO Shin Mai, a former president of game-centre operator GENDA; ASCII.jp said separate CEOs head NOT A GARAGE and NOT A CITY. [ 1 , 2 ]
- As of 1 October the group had 10 locations, 1,357 owners and cumulative contract value of about ¥94 billion, the company said. [ 2 , 3 ]
- NOT A GARAGE began selling the Gulfstream G500 “NIGO JET”, with creative direction by NIGO, under shared ownership with operations planned to start in December 2027. [ 2 , 3 ]
- The NOT A GARAGE CLUB subscription for helicopters, cruisers and cars started on 5 October. [ 2 , 3 ]
- The group announced villa projects with Tadao Ando in the Kinki region and with Herzog & de Meuron in Okinawa, and released new visuals for NOT A HOTEL YAKUSHIMA by Ateliers Jean Nouvel. [ 2 , 3 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- The company name changed to NOTA as of 2 October and the business is expanding from hotels into housing, mobility and city-building. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- Subsidiaries NOT A HOUSE, NOT A GARAGE and NOT A CITY were established for the new business areas. [ 2 , 3 ]
- The group reported 10 locations, 1,357 owners and about ¥94 billion in cumulative contract value as of 1 October. [ 2 , 3 ]
- A mobility subscription covering land, sea and air transport began on 5 October at ¥198,000 a month. [ 2 , 3 ]
Still unclear
- Details of the housing business, including the “POD” housing product and its pricing. The housing section appears only in a truncated part of the ASCII.jp text, and Nikkei’s article is limited to subscribers, so the terms are not fully described.
- The “NOT A MUSEUM” project at the former site of the Imperial Hotel Plaza Tokyo. Only Impress Watch mentions it, and only briefly, so its scope and duration are unknown.
- The financial terms of the reorganisation and how much revenue the new businesses are expected to contribute. No document gives investment amounts, ownership ratios or revenue targets.