Last week's biggest story in global travel? The total solar eclipse visible across the U.S. for the first time in seven years. Travel demand surged along the path of totality—and hotels cashed in. How much did room rates and occupancy actually spike?
Hi there — this is Weekly ON, your hospitality industry newsletter. Last week's biggest story in global travel? The total solar eclipse visible across the U.S. for the first time in seven years. Travel demand surged along the path of totality—and hotels were the biggest winners. How much did room rates and occupancy actually spike?
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In This Issue
🏠 How Tourism Events Impact the Hospitality Industry
💡 Global OTAs Double Down on Korea
⌨️ #LongstayTravel #CampingHoldsSteady #HotelPrivateLabel #JejuInbound #PeakSeasonPricing
🏨 Industry Deep Dive
How Tourism Events
Impact the Hospitality Industry
Last week's biggest story in global travel? The total solar eclipse visible across the U.S. for the first time in seven years. With the next one not arriving for another two decades, travel demand surged along the path of totality.
CBS estimated the "eclipse effect" would generate roughly $1 billion in economic impact—most of it flowing to hotels and the tourism sector.
Hotels were the biggest winners. Search volume for Airbnb listings along the eclipse path jumped 10x. Properties near the viewing corridor hit near-100% occupancy.
Prices climbed sharply too. AAA data shows hotel rates in top eclipse cities rose 48% year-over-year. A Wyndham hotel in Illinois that normally charges $95/night sold rooms for $949 during the eclipse—a 10x markup.
A similar pattern played out during Taylor Swift's U.S. tour last year. The tour hit 20+ cities, and hotels near concert venues posted their highest revenues since COVID, spiking both rates and bookings to record levels.
During this year's Asia leg, air and hotel demand jumped ~30% around concert dates. A luxury Singapore hotel's $50,000 Taylor Swift package sold out instantly.
The travel industry is placing more value on unique, once-in-a-lifetime experiences than ever before. We saw this play out domestically during Korea's cherry blossom season—hotels near Yeouido, Gyeongju, and Geoje hit near-full occupancy as travelers flocked to peak viewing spots.
What this means: tracking upcoming tourism events and tailoring pricing strategies through Revenue Management (RM) is more critical than ever for maximizing occupancy and revenue.
👉Why Revenue Management Matters
💡 Hospitality Trends
Global OTAs
Double Down on Korea
In 2023, global OTAs like Booking.com, Expedia, and Airbnb rebounded fast from COVID—many posting record revenues. Now in 2024, they're eyeing the Asia-Pacific travel market, with Korea at the center of their expansion plans. Why the sudden focus?
This year, major players like Rakuten Travel, Hotels.com, Trip.com, and Fleagy are launching or expanding aggressively in Korea. The reason? Korea's travel market is recovering faster than its neighbors. From January to February, 5.28 million Koreans traveled abroad—96% of 2019 levels.
While Korea's outbound market is nearly back to normal, Japan and China are lagging. Japan's outbound travel in 2023 was only 47% of 2019 levels. China's economic slowdown has kept most travel domestic. In Japan, valid passport ownership has dropped to just 17% of the population—a long-term decline accelerated by COVID.
Korea is expected to surpass its all-time outbound record (28.71 million in 2019) this year. As more global travel companies enter Korea, competition among OTAs is about to get fierce.
See the full story below.
👉Read the Full Article
⌨️ Keyword News
1️⃣ Longstay Travel 👉[Full Story]
TL;DR: Mid-to-long trips (5–14 nights) gaining popularity
The story: In February, 35.8% of Korean outbound trips lasted 5–14 nights—the largest share. Short trips (1–2 nights) accounted for 8.9%, 3 nights for 26.6%, 4 nights for 24.1%, and 15+ nights for 3.7%.
Domestic? For domestic longstays, ocean-view standalone properties in Jeju and Gangwon-do are popular. Two-person bookings (35%) and family bookings with children (31%) dominate.
2️⃣ Camping Holds Steady 👉[Full Story]
TL;DR: Nationwide campsites surpass 3,700 in 2023
The story: As of Q4 2023, there were 3,747 registered campsites nationwide—up 14.2% YoY. Camping demand, which exploded during COVID, has continued growing post-pandemic.
Where? Gyeonggi (898 sites) leads, followed by Gangwon (776), Gyeongbuk (448), Gyeongnam (377), Chungnam (340), Chungbuk (274), and Jeonnam (193).
3️⃣ Hotel Private Labels 👉[Full Story]
TL;DR: Hotels expand beyond rooms and F&B into PB products
The story: Korean hotels are ramping up private-label offerings—diffusers, bedding, kimchi, ready-to-eat meals, and more. Demand for PB products is surging, especially among consumers seeking "small luxuries."
Why? The "affordable luxury" trend resonates with Gen Z and Millennials. Hotel branding lends trust—so consumers are willing to pay premium prices.
4️⃣ Jeju Inbound Tourism 👉[Full Story]
TL;DR: Foreign visitors to Jeju top 100K for 3 months straight
The story: International arrivals to Jeju surpassed 100,000 for three consecutive months—5x last year's numbers. This is the first time Jeju has hit this milestone three months in a row since February 2020.
Outlook? By late April, weekly international flights to Jeju will exceed 150. Chinese cruise group tours are also restarting. Expect Jeju's inbound recovery to accelerate.
5️⃣ Peak Season Pricing 👉[Full Story]
TL;DR: Pool villas see the biggest seasonal price swings
The story: Pool villas showed a 60% gap between peak and off-peak rates in 2023—the largest spread across all accommodation types. Pensions (44%) and hotels (47%) also saw big swings. Motels had the smallest variance at 27%.
Takeaway? Managing peak vs. off-peak pricing is key to minimizing vacancy. During low season, aggressive discounts and channel-specific promos are essential strategies.
️📬 ONDA News
On April 11, ONDA and Mypycar co-hosted a media seminar. We were thrilled to see travel startups, hoteliers, and industry professionals join us. Thank you to everyone who attended—stay tuned for the next one! 😄