--- title: "ESSAY: From Guesthouse Staff to Owner 08" description: "What standards should guesthouses meet? Why the lack of clear definitions is holding the industry back—and what we're doing about it." published: 2019-07-30T00:00:00+00:00 author: "ONDA 편집팀" category: "Insights" image: "https://zqcfqfqgiyckyhazcfrk.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/blog-images/webflow/6316f3f75130788ec2d762dd/65a9e12cc345ae7004b1dbc1_62e76776a26fe37921b104bc_5e942941241fd814907dcc00_eni-bakare-youpxjl0bki-unsplash.jpeg" canonical: https://global.onda.me/en/blog?slug=essay-geseuteuhauseu-seutaepeueseo-sajangggaji-08 locale: en --- # ESSAY: From Guesthouse Staff to Owner 08 ### **08. The Guesthouse Standard** **Writer: CHLOE, Operations Lead at Sukso Power Plant (**[**https://brunch.co.kr/@merrychloemas**](https://brunch.co.kr/@merrychloemas)**)** **Editor: ONDA Manager Somora** ![](https://zqcfqfqgiyckyhazcfrk.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/blog-images/webflow/6316f3f75130788ec2d762dd/65a8b25fad9e93892404ee19_62e76776a26fe303bbb104c0_5e942941459693609375b14e_screenshot.png) ![](https://zqcfqfqgiyckyhazcfrk.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/blog-images/webflow/6316f3f75130788ec2d762dd/65a8b25fad9e93892404ee33_62e76776a26fe31041b104be_5e942940f70fbb1b1d0fd12b_screenshot-1.png) **CHLOE, Operations Lead at Sukso Power Plant** Hello. I'm CHLOE, co-founder and operations lead at Sukso Power Plant—a company specializing in guesthouse operations management and training. I started out as guesthouse staff. Over time, I broadened my perspective as a general manager at a franchise guesthouse chain, then through sales and partner support work at ONDA, a unified booking management service. Now I'm back in operations, fully immersed in the world of guesthouses once again. Drawing on my experience in various roles and managing properties with different concepts, I want to share the operational know-how I've built—widely and freely. ![](https://zqcfqfqgiyckyhazcfrk.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/blog-images/webflow/6316f3f75130788ec2d762dd/65a9e12cc345ae7004b1dbc1_62e76776a26fe37921b104bc_5e942941241fd814907dcc00_eni-bakare-youpxjl0bki-unsplash.jpeg) Photo by Eni Bakare on Unsplash ### **The Guesthouse Standard** Last time, we talked about what makes a property successful: **manuals**. But not every property uses the same manual—situations vary. Even so, there are minimum conditions every guesthouse should meet. Since guesthouses are a type of lodging business, **they must fulfill the baseline requirements of any lodging business.** But why look for guesthouse standards within the broader lodging industry category? ### **What "Guesthouse" Actually Means** In Korea, two major regulations govern lodging businesses: the Public Health Control Act and the Tourism Promotion Act. But if you read through them, you won't find the word "guesthouse" anywhere. The guesthouse market has grown to the point where travelers actively choose guesthouses—yet **guesthouse remains an unofficial term.** What we casually call a guesthouse covers everything from B&Bs to hostels to dormitory-style accommodations for backpackers—basically any budget-friendly lodging. Despite the thousands of guesthouses operating nationwide, the laws and systems needed to support this rapid growth simply haven't materialized. This is likely due to **1) low barriers to entry, 2) a fad-like wave of guesthouse startups, and 3) competing interests in the lodging sector**—all unresolved issues. ### **Misuse of the Term "Guesthouse"** When you actually visit properties named "OO Guesthouse," their business registrations are all over the map. Some are registered as general lodging facilities. Others as hostels. Still others as foreigner-only tourist homestays. Technically, even if they share the name "guesthouse," they're different types of lodging businesses operating under different rules. Yet they all use the same word. There's no official definition of "guesthouse" in the lodging industry—and no checklist of requirements for using the term. It's gotten so out of hand that when guesthouses became trendy, even existing pension operators started adding "Guesthouse" to their signs. Visit any tourist hotspot and you'll see absurd signs reading "OO Guesthouse Hotel Minbak Pension." Whenever I saw these, I'd think, "Wow, the guesthouse boom is real"—followed by, "How long before this fad fizzles out?" ![](https://zqcfqfqgiyckyhazcfrk.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/blog-images/webflow/6316f3f75130788ec2d762dd/65a8b25fad9e93892404ee4e_62e76777a26fe3824eb104d4_5e9429416390006ad9d8b01f_wildwood-392754_1920.jpeg) They all use the same word: "guesthouse." (Source: Pixabay) ### **The Reality of Guesthouse Startups** That worry became reality. As of 2019, the guesthouse startup boom is fading. Guesthouses are the smallest-scale segment of the lodging industry—yet people are discovering the hard way that the grueling labor involved doesn't match the modest returns. Many who started as side gigs or passion projects scaled up when they saw decent pocket money rolling in, only to hit a wall. They rushed into expansion without proper preparation and ended up burned. On top of that, the guesthouse market has been plagued by bad press. The THAAD crisis cut off Chinese group travelers—a core guesthouse demographic. Then came safety incidents: sexual assaults, murders. The Gangneung pension fire led to stricter regulations for rural homestay licenses—the registration category many provincial guesthouses rely on. Expansion ground to a halt. But here's the thing: guesthouse closures aren't outpacing new openings. Why? ### **What Happens When There's No Standard** New guesthouses keep popping up because **there's no guesthouse standard.** Translation: the bar for starting a guesthouse is low. Anyone can become a guesthouse owner. Aspiring operators are everywhere—but there's no one to properly guide them. No systems. No regulations. No real support. There's no franchise model like you'd find with cafes or chicken joints. A few guesthouse franchise brands exist, but no one picks a guesthouse because of the brand name. Think about it: you can walk into any Starbucks and get the same drink, same vibe, same service. Want cheese balls? Head to BHC. But guesthouses? No brand delivers a consistent experience across locations. **Neither the government nor the market treats guesthouses as a serious professional category.** So most guesthouse owners wing it—learning on the job. When I first took over guesthouse operations, I had zero reference material. I learned by trial and error. Eventually, I could define what a guesthouse was and establish operational rules. In 2015, I wrote my first guesthouse manual from scratch—but I had no way to verify if it was correct, legally sound, or safe. All I had was firsthand experience and some accumulated know-how to share with others. ![](https://zqcfqfqgiyckyhazcfrk.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/blog-images/webflow/6316f3f75130788ec2d762dd/65a8b25fad9e93892404ee38_62e76776a26fe399d4b104bf_5e94294196104637757f2f10_kristian-egelund-wwqrpsnbpq4-unsplash.jpeg) No one picks a guesthouse because of the brand. (Photo by Kristian Egelund on Unsplash) ### **Why I Started Studying Guesthouse Standards** That's why I studied so hard to nail down what a proper guesthouse standard should be. The push came from countless property operators asking for help. When I worked at ONDA (formerly ZARI), a booking management software company, I communicated with users—lodging hosts—every day. I heard what each property needed most. And it wasn't just booking tools. They needed help hiring and training staff, cleaning properly, choosing good linens and amenities, marketing their properties—**everything related to running a lodging business.** Since I'd operated properties myself and wrestled with the same questions, I wanted to tackle these problems head-on. After leaving ONDA, I co-founded **Sukso Power Plant**, a company dedicated to professional guesthouse operations. We've been fortunate—many guesthouses reached out asking us to manage their properties. We started with a 22-room guesthouse in Chungmuro, Seoul, and kept wrestling with operational challenges from there. From July 2017 to now—over two years—we've operated seven guesthouses. Each one was different: location, scale, concept, room types, interior design—everything. It's been incredibly diverse. And every time we got a new inquiry, the same thought returned: **guesthouses desperately need a standard.** ### **Why Guesthouse Standards Matter** Unfortunately, many current and aspiring guesthouse hosts aren't prepared to be lodging operators. Some plan to operate illegally from the start. Others already running properties wonder how to filter guests by nationality. Hearing these things is disheartening. I wish operators would ask instead: *How can we create a better lodging culture? How can we provide a better guest experience?* That mindset shift—guided by **guesthouse standards**—could change everything. ![](https://zqcfqfqgiyckyhazcfrk.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/blog-images/webflow/6316f3f75130788ec2d762dd/65a8b25fad9e93892404ee0f_62e76776a26fe307cab104bd_5e94294096104623007f2f0f_frederick-tubiermont-fjsrg-r7lui-unsplash.jpeg) Guesthouses need a standard. (Photo by Frederick Tubiermont on Unsplash) Fortunately, the Korea Tourism Organization launched the **Korea Quality Certification** system in 2017 to manage tourism quality. But even this has limitations. The certification is rooted in the Tourism Promotion Act—so it doesn't apply to guesthouses registered under other laws (general lodging, rural homestay, etc.). Korea still lacks a clear definition, legal foundation, and cultural understanding of what a "guesthouse" is. It needs sorting out. The most frustrating part of operating guesthouses? Most people don't really understand them. And one day passing new laws won't magically raise awareness. Building proper recognition takes sustained effort. ![](https://zqcfqfqgiyckyhazcfrk.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/blog-images/webflow/6316f3f75130788ec2d762dd/65a8b25fad9e93892404ee41_62e76777a26fe32ad0b104d3_5e942942efc8a013f9608155_teemu-paananen-bzdhc5b3bxs-unsplash.jpeg) Building proper recognition for guesthouses takes sustained effort. (Photo by Teemu Paananen on Unsplash) ### **What Sukso Power Plant Is Doing** That's why **Sukso Power Plant** is trying multiple approaches to build a healthier guesthouse culture. We offer **free operations training** for aspiring guesthouse operators. We run **guesthouse operator meetups** and a **YouTube channel dedicated to lodging professionals**. Through various channels, we're working to define and elevate the guesthouse standard. Just as we've shaped and shared what a good guesthouse looks like, we'll keep at it. I hope everyone working in lodging—including all the guesthouse operators reading this—will join us in building and upholding a strong guesthouse standard. **\[Series Index\]** **(The People Behind Guesthouses)** [01. Prologue + I Am a Guesthouse Staff Member](https://onda.me/magazine/25/post/1957) [02. A Guesthouse Staff Member's Day: 25-Hour Close-Up](https://onda.me/magazine/26/post/2085) [03. Why Did "Guestaff" Become a Thing?](https://onda.me/magazine/27/post/2202) [04. The One Thing Guesthouses Need Most: People](https://onda.me/magazine/28/post/2252) **(Guesthouse Operations)** [05. What Guesthouse Owners Worry About](https://onda.me/magazine/29/post/2285) [06. The World Is Full of Good Guesthouses—and Bad Ones](https://onda.me/magazine/30/post/2365) [07. Well-Run Properties Have "That Thing"](https://onda.me/magazine/31/post/2407) **08. The Guesthouse Standard** **(Starting a Guesthouse)** 09. Is a Guesthouse a Lodging Business, a Service Business, or a Real Estate Play? 10. The DNA of a Guesthouse Operator 11. "The Right People Succeed"? Or "The Right Properties Succeed"? 12. Even So, I Love Guesthouses ![magazineon_vol29_smartinn](https://zqcfqfqgiyckyhazcfrk.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/blog-images/webflow/6316f3f75130788ec2d762dd/65a8b22d2e26aeb25b982b30_62e766b886728d17780c879f_5e8a8a53fbc2c078e5dc1098_magazineon_vol29_smartinn-1.jpeg) ## [**Read the Full Magazine <<**](http://bit.ly/magazineon32) ## [**Subscribe to the Magazine <<**](http://bit.ly/magazinesub)