> Now the paper company got into the hotel business seems a far better example. No idea how that happens.

That's easy. They have corporate visitors to their corporate offices and the available hotels are insufficient. They decide to just make their own hotel.

There are many corporate campuses with an embedded hotel. Some run by the corporation itself, some with significant management contracting with the corporation, and some independently managed.

Large corporation has a small travel business is very common.

And don't the Japanese railways make all their money from the real estate around their lines, or some such?