--- title: "Why Your Property Needs to Be on KakaoTalk Booking" description: "In 2023, major platforms and services launched hospitality offerings. KakaoTalk Booking became one of ONDA's fastest-growing new channels. Here's why it matters." published: 2024-01-23T00:00:00+00:00 author: "ONDA 편집팀" category: "Weekly ON" image: "https://zqcfqfqgiyckyhazcfrk.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/blog-images/webflow/6316f3f75130788ec2d762dd/65b0b15fa478bf4894c57300_65af2783f9e303d424607f00_WeeklyON_vol108_webflow_cover_1200px.png" canonical: https://global.onda.me/en/blog?slug=kakaotog-yeyaghagie-sugsoreul-noculhaeya-haneun-iyu locale: en --- # Why Your Property Needs to Be on KakaoTalk Booking Join the 2024 Lodging Sale Festa! We're recruiting participating properties. Korea's first cold wave advisory of the year has arrived, bringing freezing temperatures. Stay warm, and let's dig into this week's hospitality news with Weekly ON. ⚠️ All rights reserved. Cite this piece as 'ONDA (온다)' when quoting. --- #### **In this issue** 🏨 Why your property needs to be on KakaoTalk Booking 📬 Join the 2024 Lodging Sale Festa—now open for applications ⌨️ #NewYearTravelTrends #TmapMotelSearches #JejuTourismSpending #JapanTourismRevenue #InboundTourismMarketing --- **🏨 Industry story** ### **(Sponsored) Why your property** ### **needs to be on KakaoTalk Booking** In 2023, major platforms and services started selling hospitality products at scale. Mobility apps connected travel and lodging. Portals built seamless UX from map search to booking. Vertical commerce platforms—especially in kids and pet travel—sold curated vacation rentals. **Amid all this experimentation, one of ONDA's biggest wins last year was KakaoTalk Booking.** We became an official KakaoTalk Booking partner in April. By year-end, **bookings had grown over 20x** from launch. ![](https://zqcfqfqgiyckyhazcfrk.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/blog-images/webflow/6316f3f75130788ec2d762dd/65d6ecea150d3f075205a944_vol108_1.jpg) This was only possible because partners trusted us with their inventory. Let's revisit what KakaoTalk Booking is—and why it matters. ### **What is KakaoTalk Booking?** KakaoTalk users can discover and book services across the app—in channels, chats, messages, and more. ![(Source: Kakao)](https://zqcfqfqgiyckyhazcfrk.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/blog-images/webflow/6316f3f75130788ec2d762dd/65d6ed03ac87295b05aa2eb3_vol108_2.gif) For example: open KakaoTalk, tap "More," then "Bookings." You'll land on the Bookings homepage—where hospitality inventory lives alongside other services. **To list your property there, you work with an official partner like ONDA.** Guests also discover properties through Kakao Map, the official Bookings channel, and individual property KakaoTalk channels—where they can book directly. This **direct-to-consumer (D2C) channel**—where hotels and guesthouses own the guest relationship—sets KakaoTalk Booking apart from other OTAs. 2023 was the launch year. Growth came mostly from Kakao's network effects—the homepage, official channels, and ecosystem reach. But to fully leverage KakaoTalk's scale, properties need **D2C marketing**: staying in touch with guests who discovered you once, turning them into repeat bookers. You can send updates, promotions, and campaigns through your official KakaoTalk channel. Big hotels do this. But so can small guesthouse operators—it's relatively accessible. Kakao plans to double down on Bookings this year with new promotions and product improvements. ### **Guests now encounter travel products everywhere** The mobile era gave platforms direct access to consumers. Lodging apps, car-sharing services, navigation tools, food delivery—all became direct channels between providers and smartphone users. What's interesting: these platforms are racing to add **travel and lodging** inventory. That tells you something about the size and growth of the market. It's also reshaping Korea's online booking landscape, long dominated by a few major OTAs. KakaoTalk Booking was one of our strongest new channel launches. Want to learn more? Hit the button below to talk to an ONDA expert. ### [👉](https://www.onda.me/hotel-plus?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=stibee&utm_campaign=hotelplus_230123) --- **📬 ONDA update** ### **(Sponsored) 2024 Lodging Sale Festa** ### **Applications now open** The 2024 Lodging Sale Festa is coming. This is the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Korea Tourism Organization's flagship lodging discount program. **This year, the program supports regional tourism—so Seoul, Gyeonggi, and Incheon are excluded. All other regions qualify.** ![(Source: Korea Tourism Industry Portal Touraz)](https://zqcfqfqgiyckyhazcfrk.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/blog-images/webflow/6316f3f75130788ec2d762dd/65d6f4536b007731b3a3e65b_vol108_3.png) Eligible property types include tourism lodging, vacation rentals, hanok stays, general lodging, and rural homestays. **In other words: guesthouses, hotels, motels, resorts, and pensions are all eligible.** But residences, foreigner-only urban homestays, camping sites, caravans, and glamping are excluded. The discount: ₩30,000 off any domestic lodging booking over ₩50,000. Three rounds are planned. First: February 7–25 (covering the Lunar New Year holiday), with 90,000 coupons. Second: February 27–April 7 (celebrating Travel Month in March), with another 110,000 coupons. Third: June (dates TBA). ### **Does this program actually help lodging operators?** In ONDA's November industry survey, operators ranked this as the **most helpful government support program**. ![](https://zqcfqfqgiyckyhazcfrk.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/blog-images/webflow/6316f3f75130788ec2d762dd/65ae221715989fb3f51e54ef_Frame_104.jpg) A separate [survey of past participants](https://www.edaily.co.kr/news/read?newsId=01771206635837864&mediaCodeNo=257&OutLnkChk=Y) found 54% made travel plans because of the program, and 46% visited a new destination—proof it drives real domestic travel demand. This is a real opportunity to attract new guests. For details, visit the ONDA website. We're looking forward to your participation. ### [👉](https://bit.ly/3vBVWhR) --- **⌨️ News in brief** 1️⃣ **New Year travel trends** [👉\[Full story\]](http://www.hotelrestaurant.co.kr/news/article.html?no=13142) **TL;DR:** Inbound flight searches up, five-star hotels in demand **The story:** According to HotelsCombined and KAYAK data, flight searches by inbound tourists rose 12% YoY. Top sources: the US, Japan, and Taiwan. **Hotels?** Unlike Korean travelers who hunt for value, international visitors prefer five-star properties. Top searched destinations: Seoul, Busan, Incheon, Jeju, Suwon. 2️⃣ **Tmap motel searches** [👉\[Full story\]](https://www.hani.co.kr/arti/economy/it/1125092.html) **TL;DR:** "Motel" was the #3 most-searched keyword on Tmap in 2023 **The story:** Last year's top Tmap searches: restaurants, lottery retailers, motels. Tmap's lodging booking feature grew 3x month-over-month on average since launch. **What's next?** As navigation and car-sharing apps add booking features, the online lodging market is fragmenting fast. **3️⃣ Jeju tourism spending** [👉\[Full story\]](https://www.chosun.com/national/regional/2024/01/19/E5GJULP6DFEZ5MR5TCRLAHQBVM/) **TL;DR:** Chinese visitor spending in Jeju down to half of pre-COVID levels **The story:** Per-capita spending by Chinese tourists in Jeju has fallen nearly 50% from pre-pandemic levels, driven by China's economic slowdown and shifting travel preferences. **Visitor numbers?** Last year, [710,000 international visitors came to Jeju](https://www.chosun.com/national/regional/2024/01/18/KFCHRVUG5VG4PMNWYHKRFI7IAY/)—40% of 2019 levels. **4️⃣ Japan tourism revenue** [👉\[Full story\]](https://www.fnnews.com/news/202401181115062395) **TL;DR:** Japan's 2023 tourism revenue hit an all-time high **The story:** Last year, Japan's annual tourism revenue surpassed ¥5 trillion (₩48 trillion)—a record. Total visitor numbers recovered to 80% of pre-COVID levels. **Korea?** Korean outbound travel has surged, but inbound tourism lags. As of November 2023, [Korea's travel balance posted its worst November deficit in five years](https://www.joongang.co.kr/article/25221132). **5️⃣ Inbound tourism marketing** [👉\[Full story\]](https://news.mt.co.kr/mtview.php?no=2024011908471969456) **TL;DR:** Ministry to hold inbound tourism events in 25 cities worldwide **The story:** The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism is launching the "Korea Tourism Mega Roadshow" in 25 cities to hit 20 million inbound visitors. The strategy: hyper-localized marketing, reflecting the rise of individual travelers. **2023 numbers?** Korea welcomed ~11 million inbound visitors last year—63% of 2019 levels. China recovered only 33%. ---