New Solution for the Severely Understaffed Hospitality Industry ~Okura Act City Hotel Hamamatsu Builds Buddycom Operational Foundation to Maintain "Omotenashi Quality" with Limited Staff~

Science Arts Inc. (Headquarters: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Ryutaro Hiraoka) announces that "Buddycom," a live communication platform connecting frontline workers, has been introduced at Okura Act City Hotel Hamamatsu (Location: Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka Prefecture; Operated by: Okura Act City Hotel Management Co., Ltd.; President and CEO: Takaaki Ninai).

While the working population in the hospitality industry*1 is 580,000 (2025), not recovering to pre-COVID levels (2019: 650,000), the number of inbound foreign visitors to Japan is expected to reach a record high in 2025, leading to a severe labor shortage. Amidst this situation, Okura Act City Hotel Hamamatsu introduced Buddycom to maintain and improve service quality with limited staff, implementing measures against structural challenges unique to high-rise hotels.

■Social Challenges and Solutions in the Accommodation and Travel Industry In the accommodation and travel industry, in addition to the deepening labor shortage, operations are becoming more diverse and complex. Especially in hotels, multiple departments such as front desk, banquets, dining, and catering operate simultaneously, requiring the maintenance of high service quality with limited staff. On the other hand, information sharing and instruction transmission between departments tend to be person-dependent and fragmented, leading to increased burden on the frontline as a challenge.

In response to this situation, establishing a communication infrastructure that connects frontline staff in real-time, enabling immediate judgment and collaboration, is gaining attention as a common solution for the industry.

■Background of Buddycom Introduction at Okura Act City Hotel Hamamatsu The hotel is a high-rise, large-scale hotel located in front of Hamamatsu Station, with major functions such as guest rooms, banquet halls, and dining areas spread vertically. Therefore, frequent movement across floors and inter-departmental collaboration occur, making rapid information sharing and on-site decision-making directly linked to overall operational efficiency and service quality.

Under these circumstances, communication via telephone or person-to-person contact often led to delays and misunderstandings, burdening the frontline. Therefore, the hotel introduced Buddycom as a means to connect multiple departments such as front desk, banquets, dining, and catering in real-time, enabling immediate collaboration among frontline staff.

■Effects of Introduction After the introduction of Buddycom, real-time information sharing across departments and floors became possible, achieving efficient instruction and confirmation based on vertical movement. Particularly in catering operations, sharing progress and staff assignments became smoother, improving on-site responsiveness. In dining operations, immediate sharing of food replenishment status also became possible, leading to stabilization of service provision and reduction of workload.

Case Study Page: https://buddycom.net/case/case-85/ Case Study Video: