ONDA Becomes First Korean Company Named Airbnb Preferred Partner

ONDA Becomes First Korean Company Named Airbnb Preferred Partner

- First in Korea, third in Asia to earn Preferred Partner status

- Airbnb bookings through ONDA grew 800% over past three years

- Plans to strengthen serviced accommodation business and deepen partnership with Airbnb

(Press Release — September 7, 2021) ONDA has become the first Korean company to be selected as an Airbnb Preferred Partner.

ONDA, a hospitality B2B platform, announced on the 7th that it has been selected as a Preferred Partner by Airbnb, the world's largest accommodation-sharing company — the first Korean company and fourth in Asia to receive this recognition. "Airbnb Preferred Partners" must provide services that exceed Airbnb's technical and performance standards for API-based software connectivity.

Currently, only 31 travel tech companies worldwide are registered as Airbnb Preferred Partners. ONDA was officially registered as an Airbnb Software Partner in April 2020 and earned Preferred Partner status just 16 months later.

ONDA and Airbnb have collaborated closely in the rapidly evolving online accommodation ecosystem. In late 2018, 168 properties sold rooms on Airbnb through ONDA; by the end of July 2021, that number had grown to 746. Over the same period, Korean property revenues through ONDA grew roughly eightfold.

This success stems from ONDA's robust technical capabilities and meticulous customer service protocols built into its channel manager (CMS). Properties using ONDA's channel manager can manage multiple Airbnb listings from a single dashboard. Real-time synchronization of inventory and pricing across sales channels prevents issues like double bookings, earning recognition as the best Airbnb sales management service available.

When unexpected issues arise for properties using the channel manager, ONDA's specialist support team is on standby during business hours to provide immediate assistance. The support team works as one unit with the CMS development department to quickly resolve technical problems.

ONDA and Airbnb also formed a partnership in March to expand Korea's travel infrastructure by selling and operating serviced accommodations. Recently, ONDA launched its own brand, SoTA Collection, operating approximately 200 serviced accommodation units in Busan's Gwangalli and Yeosu. The company plans to contract for 2,000 units by year-end and expects these new serviced accommodations to perform strongly on Airbnb.

"We're deeply grateful that Airbnb has recognized ONDA's technical excellence and our commitment to mutual success with our accommodation partners," said Oh Hyun-seok, CEO of ONDA. "We'll do our utmost to help Korea's wonderful properties connect with more travelers through Airbnb."

"Having an outstanding domestic software partner like ONDA is a tremendous asset to Airbnb," said Sohn Hee-seok, Country Manager of Airbnb Korea. "We hope to contribute to the growth of Korea's tourism industry through mutually beneficial relationships with excellent startups."

ONDA is a hospitality B2B platform startup that simultaneously operates a property management system (PMS), global distribution system (GDS), hotel management (HM) services, and SoTA Collection, its serviced accommodation brand. It currently supplies accommodation products to over 30 companies including Airbnb, Google, Yanolja, Yeogi Eottae, Naver, Coupang, 11st, Agoda, Hotels.com, and Expedia.

[Image] ONDA Becomes First Korean Company Named Airbnb Preferred Partner