JAL Hotels Co., Ltd. (Head Office: Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo, President: Shosuke Machida) announced that Hotel Nikko Palau, located at Koror Island, the Republic of Palau, will close on May 31, 2002. (Check-out on June 1, 2002)

Owned by Nihon Anodizing Co., Ltd. (Head Office: Toyonaka-shi, Osaka, President: Harukichi Kurachi), the two-story cottage-style resort hotel, with 49 rooms in total, has been managed by JAL Hotels Co., Ltd. since its opening in October, 1981. Standing on a hilltop in the midst of magnificent nature, the hotel has offered comfort and gracious hospitality to its guests. However, the hotel has suffered environmental deterioration over the years, including damage from last summer`s typhoon. The decision was therefore made to close the hotel and consider rebuilding it.

JAL Hotels Company Ltd. has a capital of 4.272 billion yen, and its 2000 sales amounted to 129 billion yen. The company operates two hotel groups: Nikko Hotels International and Hotel JAL City, with a total of 51 hotels (32 in Japan and 19 overseas) and 16,020 rooms. In April 2000, JAL Hotels entered into a strategic alliance with Le Meridien to form a global luxury hotel network, which now covers a total of 169 hotels in 63 countries worldwide.

This year, two hotels have been added to the Nikko Hotels chain: Hotel Nikko Kochi Asahi Royal on April 15, and Hotel Nikko Bayside Osaka on April 27. In addition, the 191-room Hotel Nikko Kumamoto is expected to open on May 31, and on November 1, Hotel JAL City Miyazaki, with 210 rooms, will be opened. The company plans to open Hotel Nikko Niigata on May 2, 2003, as well as JR Tower Hotel Nikko Sapporo, with 350 rooms, in the spring of 2003.
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