Korea's eco-movement is hitting lodging hard. Green Stay rewards guests for skipping linen changes and single-use plastics—saving water, energy, and brand reputation in one move.
'Green Stay': The eco-friendly lodging trend taking off
Have you heard of 'Green Stay'? The name says it all — enjoy great facilities and service while cutting unnecessary waste for the environment. Think of the "green card" hotels leave on beds asking guests staying multiple nights to reuse linens and towels instead of requesting fresh ones daily. As staycations become mainstream, Green Stay is only going to grow.
Over the past few years, Korean consumers have felt firsthand the effects of fine dust and extreme heat. Environmental issues are no longer abstract — they're survival. We've moved past "eco-friendly" into what people now call pilhwan-gyeong (必環境) — "necessity-environmentalism." As value-driven consumption rises, purchasing habits and cultural norms are shifting with it. Nowhere is this more visible than in hotels. Unlike smaller lodging types, hotels operate 24/7 at scale — burning through energy, single-use amenities, and linens. The environmental footprint is massive.
According to industry reports, skipping the wash of just one sheet per room saves 250 liters of water, 540 watts of energy, and 10 grams of detergent. Beyond the environmental win, that's real cost savings — money hotels can redirect into better service or community initiatives. If you were running a hotel, wouldn't you try it?
Green Stay isn't just good karma for guests. It also builds brand goodwill and competitive differentiation. That's why hotels worldwide — and increasingly in Korea — are leaning hard into it. Common tactics include rewarding guests with "green coins" (redeemable or donated) for skipping amenities, swapping plastic for biodegradable alternatives, replacing bathroom disposables with refillable pumps, and upgrading building systems for energy efficiency.
Green Stay started in hotels, but it won't stay there. With "monthlong stays" and "weekly living" trends on the rise, long-term travelers are primed for this mindset. If operators across lodging categories get creative with how they implement Green Stay, the movement could take many forms.
If you're running a property, why not pilot something? It's a win for the planet, a win for your operating margin, and a win with eco-conscious travelers — the kind who tell their friends. Going green doesn't have to be complicated. Start small. The ROI might surprise you.
[Dong-A Ilbo, 2019.09.23, Eco-Friendly Lodging Culture 'Green Stay' on the Rise]
Airbnb under fire for withholding property addresses until check-in
Airbnb — the world's biggest home-sharing platform — is in hot water in Korea. Busan Metropolitan Police recently asked the Fair Trade Commission to issue corrective action, citing the company's practice of hiding detailed property info (street addresses, business registration numbers) until right before check-in.
Currently, unless a host volunteers the info upfront, Airbnb only texts the exact address and door code the day before arrival. Until then, guests navigate with a vague map pin and little else. Experts say this happens because many hosts don't want their addresses public — and because a significant chunk of listings on Airbnb operate in legal gray zones (or outright illegally).
Police argue this violates consumer protection law. Under Korea's E-Commerce Act, online marketplace operators must provide seller contact info — address, phone, business name, representative name, email — before a transaction is confirmed. If enforced, this rule would make it easier to root out illegal listings (like one-room apartments and officetels operating as unlicensed lodging), reduce crime risk, and restore some transparency to the platform.
But it's unclear whether the recommendation will stick. The crux is when a booking becomes binding. Airbnb requires payment within 24 hours of a host accepting a reservation. If that moment counts as "transaction confirmation," then Airbnb is indeed in violation. Legal experts lean this way — especially given that guests who encounter issues at illegal properties have almost no recourse.
Airbnb's defense? Addresses and contact details are host PII (personally identifiable information), and privacy protections mean they can only be shared after booking is finalized.
It's been five years since Airbnb launched its Korea office in 2014. The platform now commands over 90% of the domestic accommodation-sharing market. As Airbnb has grown, so have the conflicts between its global model and Korea's regulatory reality. Whether this corrective action goes through — and how Korea balances consumer transparency with host privacy — remains to be seen.
[The Elec, 2019.10.03, Airbnb Under Fire for Not Disclosing Property Addresses — Busan Police Request FTC Corrective Action]
Rural revitalization startup shuttered by regulation: Korea's sharing economy, trapped
"We support shared lodging using vacant rural homes — but only if someone actually lives there." Sound contradictory? That's exactly the regulatory bind that killed Dajayo, a Korean sharing-economy startup.
Founded in 2015, Dajayo leased abandoned rural homes for free, renovated them, and turned them into guesthouses. The model tackled rural depopulation, revitalized local economies, and gave regional communities new character. Local governments, homeowners, and travelers loved it. It was hailed as a model for inclusive growth and urban regeneration.
But Korean law had no category for it. Authorities shoehorned Dajayo into the "rural guesthouse" (nongeomin minbak) classification — which, by law, requires a homeowner-occupant. The whole point of Dajayo was to revive vacant homes. The rule made no sense. After four years of regulatory limbo — including police investigations — Dajayo shut down.
Airbnb's legal troubles are similar. According to the company's own data, 69% of its Korea bookings are domestic travelers. But Korea's Foreign Tourist Urban Homestay Business Law technically restricts lodging to foreign guests only. Hosting Koreans? Illegal. The regulation stifles growth and frustrates operators, even as global sharing-economy platforms generate billions in value and spawn entire ecosystems of derivative businesses.
The government says it's open to change — but that sectors involving safety and human welfare (like lodging) require caution. Fair enough. But innovation moves fast. Markets evolve. If you never give new ideas room to breathe, you'll never get a WeWork, Uber, or Airbnb of your own. Korea has already lost too many promising models to regulatory inertia. It's time for smarter policy — before the next wave of innovation gets strangled in the crib.
[Segye Ilbo, 2019.10.05, Shared Lodging Using Rural Vacant Homes… Gov't Says 'Occupant Required' [In-Depth Report]]
View full magazine >>
Subscribe to the magazine >>
⚠️ All rights reserved. Cite this piece as 'ONDA (온다)' when quoting.