What kind of hotels do you usually use?

I’m Saito, a columnist♪ I’m not sure how to put it, but it’s interesting to see how a woman’s demeanor changes depending on the hotel’s class. Even women who confidently stroll through the Ritz become more refined and demure when they’re at Aman Tokyo. Haha.

I’ll answer too—Maezawa from the CEO’s Office. Thanks for your question. People with plenty of money tend to choose luxury hotels. Those who have the money but still prefer love hotels usually go for upscale ones. (Personally, I consider a love hotel upscale if even a short stay costs over ¥10,000.) People without much money probably use ordinary love hotels. As Papuwa-san also mentioned, there are plenty of places where you think, “What is this run-down love hotel?” If anything, my impression is that there aren’t many genuinely clean love hotels. That said, you can usually tell from the appearance and reputation, so I think men should do their research properly. If you research places where even a short stay costs over ¥10,000, you can probably weed out the dirty ones. Incidentally, if you get caught, you can always claim you were “just having a business meeting” at a regular hotel. Even if someone thinks it’s 90% likely to be a lie, they may still think, “Well, maybe they really were just having a meeting,” so it gives you an excuse. But with a love hotel, even if you really were only talking inside, people will think, “There’s no way that’s all they were doing.” It becomes conclusive evidence. When you think about it that way, perhaps people with money to spare choose luxury hotels partly as a form of risk management. For some people, it’s important that even if something happens, it doesn’t become definitive proof.

I’m Kazu, a male member. It’s 100% five-star hotels. Sometimes I feel like going to a love hotel, but if I suggested one, she’d probably start reading too much into my intentions and feel uneasy, so I can’t really change things now.

I’m Chikuwa, a male member. When I’m seeing someone locally, booking and checking into a hotel is way too much of a hassle, so I use a love hotel. When I’m out of town, though, it would feel too sad to have a girl come to a cramped business hotel, so I stay at a mid-range hotel costing around ¥10,000–20,000. I sometimes splurge more, but then I’m shocked when I see my credit card bill. Papa-katsu is tough for someone on a tight budget… Several hundred thousand yen disappears every month…

I’m Flagmaker, a columnist. It’s almost always a love hotel. Every now and then, we’ll go to a hot spring resort or a city hotel, but that’s rare. Basically, we don’t do overnight dates, and since I don’t want to waste money, I stick with love hotels. That said, I do choose ones that are clean and on the nicer, more expensive side.