We sat down with the owner of Stay Seorae — running her first property, yet already thriving — to learn what's working.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?