--- title: "5 Things You've Been Wondering About Airbnb" description: "Last week, Airbnb Korea published a fascinating booklet called 'Five Truths About Airbnb.' Let's look at how they're addressing the five biggest misconceptions about their platform in the Korean market." published: 2024-09-30T00:00:00+00:00 author: "ONDA 편집팀" category: "Weekly ON" image: "https://zqcfqfqgiyckyhazcfrk.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/blog-images/webflow/6316f3f75130788ec2d762dd/66fcb3c238421c7fa887d1ae_WeeklyON_vol139_webflow_cover_1200px.png" canonical: https://global.onda.me/en/blog?slug=vol-139 locale: en --- # 5 Things You've Been Wondering About Airbnb ⚠️ All rights reserved. Cite this piece as 'ONDA (온다)' when quoting. --- #### **In This Week's Edition** 🏨 5 things you've been wondering about Airbnb 💡 Korea's 'Autumn Travel' campaign to boost domestic tourism ⌨️ #TemporaryHoliday #ChineseGoldenWeek #InboundTouristFood #PublicHygieneActRevision #HotelInvestment --- **🏠 Industry Story** ### **5 Things You've Been Wondering About Airbnb** Last week, Airbnb Korea published a fascinating booklet. The title alone catches your attention: "Five Truths About Airbnb." And it lives up to the name—packed with interesting facts and explanations. You can download the full booklet [here](https://news.airbnb.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2024/09/Five-Truths-about-Airbnb-KOR.pdf). So what are these five misconceptions Airbnb has been dealing with in the Korean market? #### **■ The Legality Question** This July, Airbnb announced a "mandatory compliance measure" requiring all listings to complete proper business registration under relevant regulations. Unregistered properties will be removed in phases starting October. By October 2025, only listings with verified business registration information and certificates will be searchable on the Airbnb platform. You can find detailed Q&A [in this article](https://v.daum.net/v/20240924131813327). Here's the most striking part from an interview with Seo Ga-yeon, Country Manager at Airbnb Korea: > Airbnb Korea's voluntary enforcement of business registration requirements is unprecedented. When asked about this, Manager Seo explained: "We wanted to clear up the 'unregistered lodging' misunderstanding and establish legitimate roots in Korea, an important market for us." She continued, "Yes, hosts will feel the pain first, and guests might struggle with fewer available properties when they visit Korea. But we believe this policy creates solid ground for growing the business. Once we clean and strengthen the foundation, we hope it will lead to new regulatory reforms." — Kyunghyang Shinmun interview, 09/24 The booklet also covers Airbnb's impact on traditional accommodation businesses and Korea's tourism industry. Read more details on the ONDA blog! ### 👉[****](https://www.onda.me/blog/eeobiaenbie-daehan-5gaji-jinsil?utm_source=stibee&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter-2024_09_30) --- **💡 Hospitality Trends** ### **'Autumn Travel' Campaign to Boost Domestic Tourism** [**👉\[Full story\]**](https://www.yna.co.kr/view/AKR20240925057100030?input=1195m) Q4 is traditionally the low season for travel. ONDA data shows **Q4 accommodation revenue last year (Oct-Dec) hit only about 68% of summer peak season levels (Jun-Aug)**. And that was with the fall accommodation sale festival. In 2022, Q4 revenue reached just 61% of that year's summer peak. In response, the government announced 'Autumn Travel, Every Corner of Korea'—a plan to sustain domestic travel demand through Q4. The thinking: **second-half domestic demand revival efforts need strong domestic tourism backing to actually work**. Once again, the focus is on non-capital regions, with discounts on accommodation, transportation, and travel packages. Accommodation perks include **500,000 discount vouchers for non-capital region stays and discounts at quality-certified properties** (general lodging, residential lodging, hanok experience, etc.). Population-declining regions will also get accommodation benefits, plus various other travel discounts and events. --- **⌨️ Keyword News** **1️⃣ Temporary Holiday Travel** [👉\[Full story\]](https://www.sukbakmagazine.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=62064) **TL;DR:** 80% of travelers plan trips around temporary holiday designation **The story:** Survey data shows 48.3% of respondents are planning trips during the first week of October. Of those, 80.7% made new travel plans after the temporary holiday was designated. **Where to?** 86.5% of those planning trips chose domestic destinations. Top picks: Gangwon-do (25.1%), Busan (15.1%), Jeju (10.8%). Preferred accommodation types: hotels (40.6%) and pensions (28.9%). **2️⃣ Chinese Golden Week** [👉\[Full story\]](https://www.sedaily.com/NewsView/2DEGE20Y84) **TL;DR:** ~120,000 Chinese tourists expected during Golden Week holiday **The story:** About 120,000 Chinese tourists are expected to visit Korea during this year's Golden Week holiday (Oct 1-7). That's 85% recovery compared to 2019 pre-COVID levels. **Chinese tourists?** Through July this year, Korea received about 9.11 million foreign tourists total. Chinese visitors accounted for about 2.68 million—roughly 30%. **3️⃣ Inbound Tourist Food Preferences** [👉\[Full story\]](https://www.hankyung.com/article/202409243335g) **TL;DR:** Inbound tourists drawn to everyday Korean life thanks to Hallyu content **The story:** Yakgwa has become the new 'K-dessert' hit with foreign tourists. Among regular foods, fried chicken and Chinese food remain popular, but ganjang gejang (soy sauce marinated crab) is rising fast. **Why?** Hallyu content has shifted inbound travel trends toward experiencing actual Korean daily life. More travelers say they became interested in Korea after consuming Hallyu content. **4️⃣ Public Hygiene Act Revision** [👉\[Full story\]](https://news.kbs.co.kr/news/pc/view/view.do?ncd=8068820&ref=A) **TL;DR:** Lodging owners deceived by minors exempt from penalties **The story:** The Public Hygiene Management Act revision passed the National Assembly plenary session. Under the new rules, lodging operators won't face administrative penalties if they couldn't identify a guest as a minor due to forged/altered/stolen IDs, or if violence or threats prevented proper ID verification. **What's next?** The revised bill passed the plenary session will go through a Cabinet meeting next month before being promulgated. This is expected to protect diligent lodging operators who exercised proper care. **5️⃣ Hotel Investment Interest** [👉\[Full story\]](https://www.mk.co.kr/news/stock/11122408) **TL;DR:** Transactions and investment growing for premium metropolitan hotels **The story:** As Korea's hotel industry enters a boom cycle, interest in hotel investment is surging. Transactions and listings for premium metropolitan hotels have increased noticeably this year. **Boom cycle?** A survey of real estate investment and management firms found 87% view the hotel industry as in recovery/boom—higher than data centers (81%), offices (64%), or retail (19%). ---