--- title: "How to Never Fail in Hospitality: Lessons from a First-Time Operator" description: "We sat down with the owner of Stay Seorae — running her first property, yet already thriving — to learn what's working." published: 2024-07-02T10:00:00+00:00 author: "ONDA 편집팀" category: "Interviews" image: "https://zqcfqfqgiyckyhazcfrk.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/blog-images/webflow/6316f3f75130788ec2d762dd/6683a44dda7a7edcf3131931_.png" canonical: https://global.onda.me/en/blog?slug=sugbageob-cangeob-jeoldaero-silpaehaji-anhneun-beob locale: en --- # How to Never Fail in Hospitality: Lessons from a First-Time Operator What makes a property succeed? Room quality. Service. Pricing strategy. The list goes on. When you're running solo, you can't do it all. Success means knowing what your property *needs* — and what *you're* good at — then focusing ruthlessly on that. Today we're talking to the owner of Stay Seorae, who launched her first hospitality business earlier this year and is already outperforming most veterans. ![](https://zqcfqfqgiyckyhazcfrk.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/blog-images/webflow/6316f3f75130788ec2d762dd/677bc8f9b3d096a0e6358ebd_6683a45c5f1a8cec5fbc364b_EC_84_9C_EB_9E_98_EC_8A_A4_ED_85_8C_EC_9D_B4_20_EC_BD_98_ED_85_90_EC_B8_A0_201.jpeg) ### **Meet Stay Seorae** Hi, I'm the owner of Stay Seorae 😄 We're a 23-room property in Banpo-dong, Seocho-gu — right near Gangnam Express Bus Terminal and Gangnam Severance Hospital. We reopened this past March after a full remodel: 16 double rooms, 2 singles, 5 twins. Our location draws business travelers and hospital visitors. Seorae Village nearby also brings international guests. We get a lot of extended-stay bookings, so we've built out communal amenities: shared kitchen, washer/dryer, coffee machine, oven. ![(Stay Seorae shared kitchen & laundry)](https://zqcfqfqgiyckyhazcfrk.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/blog-images/webflow/6316f3f75130788ec2d762dd/677bc8f9b3d096a0e6358ec1_6683a5a846510420eb9439f5_EC_84_9C_EB_9E_98_EC_8A_A4_ED_85_8C_EC_9D_B4_20_EC_BD_98_ED_85_90_EC_B8_A0_202.jpeg) Apart from housekeeping, I run everything myself. I did the interior design, placed the furniture, manage operations and reservations. Check-in is contactless: kiosk + mobile key. **We have no front desk.** Guests with reservations get a mobile key via SMS. Walk-ins use the kiosk to issue their key. No front desk means I can focus on service. We have open amenity shelves guests can grab from anytime. I'm always thinking: how do we make the stay smoother? ### **Act Two: My First Property** Until last year, I was a salaryman. I left to build something of my own — and landed in hospitality. First-time operator nerves were real. A friend who runs a hotel told me sitting at the front desk all day "turns your brain to mush" 😅 So from day one, **I knew I wanted a property with no front desk.** ![(Stay Seorae check-in kiosk)](https://zqcfqfqgiyckyhazcfrk.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/blog-images/webflow/6316f3f75130788ec2d762dd/677bc8f9b3d096a0e6358eba_6683a6350ea31c7f8a59fb73__EC_84_9C_EB_9E_98_EC_8A_A4_ED_85_8C_EC_9D_B4_20_EC_BD_98_ED_85_90_EC_B8_A0_203_20_1_.jpeg) I spent months in hospitality forums on Naver Cafe — tons of helpful advice there. I met with several tech vendors. I chose OaTec. **The deciding factor: their system would free me up to improve rooms and think about guest experience instead of sitting idle at a desk.** It felt like the most automated option. And the price was reasonable. ### **Week One: Meltdown. Week Five: Mastery.** The first stretch was rough. Facilities. HVAC. Interior upkeep. Operations. I remember thinking: *Why did I do this to myself?* Even after installing OaTec's system, I fumbled for about a week. But they offer 24/7 support and stuck with me through onboarding. By month two, I had it down. Now I'm glad I made the leap. **Without automation, I'd be glued to the front desk instead of focusing on service and room quality.** Initially I didn't connect OTAs. Then one day I got a booking notification *while driving 100 km/h on the highway.* I pulled over to log it manually. Did that for a week. That's when I realized I needed channel management. Recently I added Agoda and Airbnb. International OTAs now make up ~15% of revenue. Guest mix is roughly 70% domestic, 30% international. That 15% is pure incremental — didn't exist before I went live on global channels. For international guests, I leave English notes by the kiosk and send OTA messages. I kept iterating on what they need — and earned Airbnb Superhost 👍 ### **Win-Win: Guests and Me** A lot of operators worry about contactless check-in. I did too. And yes, issues came up. One guest left a review: *"Annoyed I had to queue at the kiosk at 8 PM."* First negative review — stung. I thought hard about how to fix it. The answer was obvious: **send mobile keys early.** Now I issue keys before check-in time and text instructions in advance. **★ Stay Seorae Mobile Key Guide** - Mobile key arrives via SMS to your phone. - If you didn't receive it, use the kiosk on 3F (enter your booking number). - If you have your mobile key, go straight to your room. - Keys are sent before check-in time. If you haven't checked in past your arrival window, we'll resend it — please check your messages! - The key includes usage hours and only works during that window. - Tap the lock icon in the URL to unlock. The passcode is also included. - Share the message with your travel companion — they can use it too! OaTec's PMS lets you customize reservation and check-in SMS templates. **Since I set this up, guest inquiries dropped sharply — and I can focus on what matters: delivering a great experience.** For elderly guests, I set door codes to the last digits of their phone number. No kiosk, no mobile key — just punch in the code. Way easier for them. They love it. Guest feedback? Overwhelmingly positive 😄 Every time someone mentions in a review how convenient contactless check-in was, I know we made the right call. ![](https://zqcfqfqgiyckyhazcfrk.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/blog-images/webflow/6316f3f75130788ec2d762dd/677bc8f9b3d096a0e6358ec5_6683a6eaa2959edee7ed50fc_EC_84_9C_EB_9E_98_EC_8A_A4_ED_85_8C_EC_9D_B4_20_EC_BD_98_ED_85_90_EC_B8_A0_204.jpeg) ### **First-Timer Success: What's the Secret?** Stay Seorae hasn't always been smooth sailing. Early June we saw bookings drop suddenly. Lasted a few days. I realized: can't get complacent. I doubled down on room checks. Any stray hairs? TV setup correct? I started catching things I might've missed before. Revenue bounced back 😅 To me, **the most important thing in hospitality is guest service.** If I hadn't gone contactless, I'd be stuck at the front desk. Automation gave me time — and I reinvested that time into guests. I still do extra walkthroughs. I check in with guests to see if they need anything. Constantly iterating to make the property better. ![](https://zqcfqfqgiyckyhazcfrk.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/blog-images/webflow/6316f3f75130788ec2d762dd/677bc8f9b3d096a0e6358ecb_6683a70791815bfc16112220_EC_84_9C_EB_9E_98_EC_8A_A4_ED_85_8C_EC_9D_B4_20_EC_BD_98_ED_85_90_EC_B8_A0_205.jpeg) --- That's the story of Stay Seorae — a first-time operator who's already thriving. The most important thing in hospitality? **Genuine care for guests.** What helped this owner focus on guests? **OaTec's automation platform.** Curious about the system that made this possible? [Get in touch](https://www.oapms.com/requests/main?utm_source=onda&utm_medium=blog&utm_campaign=seoraestay_contents)