Cashing in on Japanese tourists.Cashing in on Japanese tourists A recession may be looming in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. but that hasn't kept the Japanese from visiting. And one Los Angeles-based company that is cashing in on the inbound travel is Japanese Assistance Network, which was established in January and began operations in May. So far, the company has about 50 clients, which include some big hotels from Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. to Washington, D.C. "We have about 50 clients. That's close to our expectations but we were hoping to do a little better," said Glen Nordstrom, vice president of sales. "Although we thought we would have more we're satisfied because when you start a new company there are things that happen that you don't expect that cause you to back up a little and reorganize." Some of the company's clients include the Westin Bonaventure and Biltmore hotels in downtown Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles is the central business district of Los Angeles, California, located close to the geographic center of the metropolitan area. The sprawling, multi-centered megacity is such that its downtown core is often considered just another district like Hollywood or , the Las Vegas Hilton The Las Vegas Hilton is a hotel, casino, and convention center in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is a joint venture between Colony Capital, which owns 60 percent, and New York City-based REIT Whitehall Street Real Estate Funds, which owns the remaining 40 percent. and Caesars Palace Caesars Palace is a luxury hotel and casino located on the Las Vegas Strip in Las Vegas, Nevada. Caesars Palace is owned and operated by Harrah's Entertainment. Caesars is located on the west side of the Strip, between the Bellagio and the Mirage. in Las Vegas Las Vegas (läs vā`gəs), city (1990 pop. 258,295), seat of Clark co., S Nev.; inc. 1911. It is the largest city in Nevada and the center of one of the fastest-growing urban areas in the United States. , and the J.W. Marriott in Washington, D.C. Japan Assistance Network provides translation, marketing and food services food services Hospital services A 24/7 department in a hospital that provides for the nutritional needs of inpatients–eg, those needing special diets, preparing meals and transporting them to the floor and, through the cafeteria, the hospital staff and to hotels which in turn offer them to their Japanese guests. Currently, the company is providing a translation service for Japanese guest who speak no or very poor English. For a basic monthly charge of $250, hotels can subscribe to Verb 1. subscribe to - receive or obtain regularly; "We take the Times every day" subscribe, take buy, purchase - obtain by purchase; acquire by means of a financial transaction; "The family purchased a new car"; "The conglomerate acquired a new company"; the translation service that is provided by telephone. Guests pay a $1-a-minute line charge. In addition to the translation service, Japan Assitance Network offers marketing support for subscriber hotels. The network promotes the hotels to retail agents that sell travel to the United States from Japan. When the company initially started operations, officials also touted plans for a Japanese food service that would be available at subscriber hotels. Nordstrom said the food service is now scheduled to be available early in 1991 and will offer Japanese breakfasts and snacks. Now that the company has a sizable client list, Nordstrom said the next step is to win a corporate account, which could put the service into a chain of hotels. He said JAN is optimistic about its future because the Japanese are continuing to visit the United States in droves for both business and pleasure. Nordstrom pointed out that 11 million Japanese currently visit the United States each year, but that figure is expected to reach 20 million by the year 2000. Japanese Assistance Network is a division of Unix Enterprises, a California corporation that produces television commercials in Japan using well-known Americans. |
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