Why are private pool villas trending? The endemic era prioritizes vibe over value in travel.
An 18-Year MICE Veteran's Take on the Hotel & Travel Industry
03. The Endemic Era: From Value to Vibe
Writer: Shin Sung-chul, CEO, Moment Studio
Editor: ONDA Manager Lee Chae-eun
In our last piece, we covered how COVID-19 shifted travel trends. Remember the surge in luxury travel demand? Today we'll dig into how the shift from value-driven to vibe-driven travel is reshaping Korea's accommodation market.
Why Did Demand for Premium Properties Spike?
Travelers who used to go overseas pivoted to domestic high-end stays
According to 2021 accommodation data released by B2B booking platform ONDA, private pool villas — the luxury tier of Korea's pension market — saw 120% revenue growth year-over-year. Yeogi Eottae also reported that five-star-caliber hotels, resorts, and villas priced above ₩300,000/night grew 137%.
The consensus? Grounded international travel drove Koreans to redirect spending toward domestic luxury.
To quantify this, Moment Studio commissioned OpenSurvey to study average Korean travel spend per trip. Results: for domestic trips, the average was ₩500,000 to ₩1 million per person. For international trips, it was closer to ₩2 million.
Pre-COVID, travelers took one domestic trip and 2–3 international trips annually. Post-pandemic, those international trips converted to domestic — with budgets intact.
Translation: travelers who used to spend ₩2M+ on international trips simply redeployed that budget to five-star hotels, resorts, and pool villas at home.
Low-density properties in nature-rich areas gained favor
Airbnb's Jeju data showed that entire-home rentals represented 47.7% of bookings in 2021. While this doesn't include hotels or condos, it reveals the pull of privacy.
Combine low-density, scenic locations with premium pricing — that's the pattern emerging post-COVID.
Gen Z and Millennials want Instagrammable stays
Travel is inherently social — people share it during and after. Ratings and social proof now matter more than ads. Top properties use influencer-driven viral marketing to build awareness and maintain high review scores.
For travelers, "Will this get likes on Instagram?" became part of the decision matrix. This is especially true for Gen Z and Millennials, who prioritize "Instagrammability" over raw value.
Private pool villas hit the sweet spot for this cohort — scenic, photogenic, and premium.
What About Standard Accommodation?
If luxury properties boomed, what about mid-tier pensions?
According to ONDA, standard pensions grew 60% in 2020 — a healthy number, just overshadowed by the 120% surge in villas. Overall, the travel sector grew across the board during COVID.
But it's time for standard properties to rethink strategy. COVID created a tailwind. Now preferences have shifted. Travelers who once prioritized value are upgrading to "vibe" — properties worth posting, even at a premium.
Mid-tier operators should benchmark competitors and explore repositioning.
One tactic: conduct deep guest interviews. Skip binary ratings. Use 10-point scales with open-ended questions. Real guest feedback is the fastest path to product-market fit (yes, startup principles apply to hospitality).
If you identify gaps, iterate fast. Most properties invest upfront, then coast. Reinvesting is expensive, sure — but ask yourself: would I rather stay at a 5-year-old property that hasn't changed, or one that continuously improves for guest comfort?
Think like a guest occasionally.
When International Travel Reopens Fully?
We're moving from pandemic to endemic. Korea recently lifted quarantine for incoming travelers. Outbound international travel is accelerating. In an oversupplied domestic market, what happens when overseas options return?
Themed properties and premium villas will be fine. But mid-tier operators need to think ahead.
Guest feedback loops will help. But there's another lever: capturing inbound international demand.
Imagine: you list your property on Airbnb. A foreign guest books. They arrive — but there's no English signage, no multilingual support, no one to answer their pre-arrival questions.
Result? Bad reviews. Your foreign bookings dry up.
The endemic transition is now. How you prepare determines your next chapter. Define what makes your property unique. Equip your team to serve international guests. Build systems that don't lose revenue when borders reopen.
Get ready to welcome the world — or at least respond to their DMs.
📖 Series Index
01. How Do You Define Your Property?
02. How COVID-19 Shifted Travel Trends
03. The Endemic Era: From Value to Vibe