--- title: "2025 Golden Holidays & New Hospitality Regulations" description: "Everything you need to know about 2025's major holiday breaks and the policy changes affecting accommodation businesses this year." published: 2025-01-06T00:00:00+00:00 author: "ONDA 편집팀" category: "Weekly ON" image: "https://zqcfqfqgiyckyhazcfrk.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/blog-images/webflow/6316f3f75130788ec2d762dd/677bc6014bb3f437574b41e6_WeeklyON_vol143_webflow_cover_1200px.png" canonical: https://global.onda.me/en/blog?slug=weeklyon-vol-143 locale: en --- # 2025 Golden Holidays & New Hospitality Regulations ⚠️ All rights reserved. Cite this piece as 'ONDA (온다)' when quoting. --- #### **In This Issue** 🏨 2025 Golden Holidays & New Hospitality Regulations 💡 Yeogi Eottae Tops Travel Platform Satisfaction ⌨️ #UAE Joint Venture #Alibaba·Shinsegae #Crisis After Crisis #Nol Universe #TMON/WeMakePrice Compensation --- **🏠 Industry Focus** ### **2025 Golden Holidays & New Hospitality Regulations** 2024's wild ride is over. Welcome to 2025, the Year of the Blue Snake. Wishing all Weekly ON readers a prosperous new year🙂 This first issue of 2025 covers **the year's best holiday stretches for bookings and the new regulations accommodation operators need to know**. Let's start with the holidays. This year brings a rare 10-day break—if you take just one day off. ![(Source: Naver Calendar)](https://zqcfqfqgiyckyhazcfrk.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/blog-images/webflow/6316f3f75130788ec2d762dd/6778c26b5dd5f292e0448d04_6778c16b1dd56b4f9ef54b26_1.png) As the calendar shows, early October stacks National Foundation Day, Chuseok (Mid-Autumn Festival), substitute holidays, and Hangeul Day into a natural 7-day break. Take Friday, October 10 off, and you're golden for ten straight days. Flight prices for that period are already climbing. Here's hoping domestic accommodation sees the same surge. According to [Youth Daily](https://youthdaily.co.kr/news/article.html?no=175303), 2025 offers five more 3+ day holiday stretches (for five-day workweek schedules): ▲ Jan 28–30 (Lunar New Year, 3 days) ▲ Mar 1–3 (March 1st Independence Movement Day + substitute holiday + Sunday, 3 days) ▲ May 3–6 (Children's Day, Buddha's Birthday, substitute holiday + weekend, 4 days) ▲ Jun 6–8 (Memorial Day + weekend, 3 days) ▲ Aug 15–17 (Liberation Day + weekend, 3 days). Mark your calendars and plan ahead. Now let's look at the policy changes coming in 2025. ### 👉[**<2025 Golden Holidays & New Hospitality Regulations>**](https://www.onda.me/blog/2025nyeon-hwanggeum-hyuil-iljeong-dalrajineun-sugbageob-jeongcaeg?utm_source=stibee&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter-2025_01_06) --- **💡 Hospitality Trends** ### **Yeogi Eottae Tops Travel Platform Satisfaction** [**👉\[full story\]**](https://www.kca.go.kr/home/sub.do?menukey=4002&mode=view&no=1003799992&searchKeyword=%EC%97%AC%ED%96%89) **TL;DR:** Korea Consumer Agency rates major travel platforms—Yeogi Eottae wins. Price matters most; customer service scores lowest. **The story:** A recent Korea Consumer Agency survey of major domestic travel platforms found high marks for product range and app usability, but customer service and privacy protection lagged. Among 1,600 consumers surveyed, **Yeogi Eottae scored highest overall at 3.8** out of 5. Consumers ranked **price as the top factor** in platform choice, and **poor customer support topped the complaint list**. ![(Source: Korea Consumer Agency)](https://zqcfqfqgiyckyhazcfrk.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/blog-images/webflow/6316f3f75130788ec2d762dd/677bc734880fcde2ec6e05a8_17122_2492087_1735968737446804248.png) **Average booking values:** ₩161,000 per person for domestic travel, ₩635,000 for international—per trip, excluding on-the-ground expenses like meals or shopping, and payments made through other platforms. When choosing a platform, **price (47.9%) dominated**. Among those who switched platforms, 43.5% did so **for lower prices**. Of 1,600 evaluations collected across four platforms, **price and fee complaints accounted for 15.2%** (243 mentions). --- **⌨️ News Roundup** **1️⃣ UAE Joint Venture** [👉\[full story\]](https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241227469954/en/ONDA-Sets-up-Joint-Venture-in-UAE-to-Speed-up-Expansion-into-the-Middle-East) **TL;DR:** ONDA accelerates Middle East expansion with UAE joint venture **The story:** ONDA, Korea's leading AI-driven hospitality tech company, has formed a joint venture with UAE-based SeeD Group to enter the Middle East market. The partnership will bring ONDA's core products—ONDA HUB (online distribution platform), CRS (central reservation system), and PMS (property management system)—to the region, strengthening the company's foothold in hotel digital transformation. **2️⃣ Alibaba·Shinsegae** [👉\[full story\]](https://www.popcornnews.net/news/articleView.html?idxno=70886) **TL;DR:** Can Shinsegae and Alibaba challenge Naver and Coupang? **The story:** Shinsegae Group has partnered with Alibaba. Industry watchers are asking if this alliance can shake up the market currently dominated by Coupang (which owns e-commerce and logistics) and Naver (which controls Korea's biggest data trove via its portal). **3️⃣ Crisis After Crisis** [👉\[full story\]](https://www.hankyung.com/article/202412317806g) **TL;DR:** TMON/WeMakePrice crisis → martial law & FX spike → Jeju Air disaster—Korea's travel sector can't catch a break **The story:** Just as year-end peak season approached, political turmoil and a surging exchange rate dampened travel sentiment. Then the Jeju Air disaster hit. Travelers are canceling or rescheduling trips en masse, citing safety fears about flying. **4️⃣ Nol Universe** [👉\[full story\]](https://news.bizwatch.co.kr/article/mobile/2024/12/27/0030) **TL;DR:** Korea's biggest travel and leisure platform 'Nol Universe' launches **The story:** Yanolja Platform and Interpark Triple are merging to form **Nol Universe**, a unified entity covering flights, accommodation, packages, tickets, entertainment, culture, and the arts. The goal: evolve beyond leisure into a comprehensive lifestyle platform spanning community, dining, and shopping. **5️⃣ TMON/WeMakePrice Compensation** [👉\[full story\]](https://www.joongang.co.kr/article/25303739) **TL;DR:** TMON/WeMakePrice dispute heads to court—travel agencies reject 90% liability ruling **The story:** After Korea Consumer Agency issued a mediation decision on TMON/WeMakePrice travel disputes, travel agencies and payment gateway (PG) firms are pushing back, calling the liability allocation excessive. Consumers, exhausted by delays, want fast refunds—but the standoff looks headed for litigation. **The fight?** Consumers argue travel agencies and PG firms should refund customers first, then pursue TMON/WeMakePrice through subrogation. Travel agencies counter: "We're victims too. KCA is telling us to pay on TMON/WeMakePrice's behalf." ---