Photo/Illutration A yoga session organized at the Royal Park Canvas - Osaka Kitahama (Provided by Royal Park Hotels and Resorts Co.)

"Lifestyle hotels" are popping up in the Kansai region catering to travelers and other guests seeking not only a room for the night, but also a chance to get some work done, socialize and perhaps even sharpen their pool skills.

Charging reasonable rates, such accommodations hold various communal events and have a number of common facilities in the hope of distinguishing themselves from regular accommodations and drawing young people and tourists from overseas.

The Lively Honmachi Osaka started operating in a business district in Osaka’s Chuo Ward in August. While room rates start from around just 10,000 yen ($91.80) per night, the facility is equipped with a bar and a delicatessen where guests can enjoy snacks.

The bar and the delicatessen are not only aimed at attracting guests, but also enabling those working nearby to easily drop in.

A pool table is set up in the lounge near the lobby for guests, and a co-working space is available that will also be made accessible to non-staying guests in the future.

Global Agents Co., which operates the lifestyle hotel, runs 10 such facilities across Japan. They have proven to be so popular among foreign visitors that non-Japanese guests from Taiwan, Australia and elsewhere account for two-thirds of the bookings, according to representatives.

“Various encounters and discoveries can be made by creating an atmosphere of freedom,” said Takeshi Yamasaki, CEO of Global Agents.

Luxury accommodation facility operator Royal Park Hotels and Resorts Co. is also one of the companies adopting the business concept, successively opening lifestyle hotels in Nagoya, Tokyo and Osaka under a new brand name from spring last year. New hotels are also scheduled to open in Kyoto and Kobe next year or later.

The accommodations mainly target young customers in their 20s to 30s.

The Royal Park Canvas - Osaka Kitahama, which opened in June in Osaka’s Chuo Ward, keeps its guests entertained by organizing events, such as a guitar concert, a yoga session and a local sake tasting event, at its cafe-equipped lounge.

Such elements are designed also to appeal to non-guests and are expected to encourage them to stay at other hotels operated by Royal Park Hotels and Resorts throughout the nation.

According to leading real estate service provider CBRE KK, lifestyle hotels have become especially popular in the United States. Major operator Ace Hotel is planning to open its first accommodation facility in Japan next spring in Kyoto.