Skip to main content

[Yanolja Research Insights] Vol.16 Analysis of Seoul Airbnb Quality and Satisfaction Through Customer Reviews

 What Do Airbnb Guests Really Think About Staying in Seoul?

As travel continues to rebound, Seoul’s Airbnb scene is booming—and evolving. But what do guests really value? Where do they prefer to stay, and what makes or breaks their experience?

Here are the key insights shaping today’s Airbnb landscape in Seoul:


📈 A Rapidly Growing Market

  • Airbnb listings in Seoul surged 45% year-over-year, nearing full recovery to pre-pandemic levels.

  • Growth isn’t limited to tourist hotspots. Less-traveled districts like Dobong-gu and Geumcheon-gu saw the highest increases in listings, signaling wider interest across the city.



🌍 Who’s Booking and Where They’re Staying

  • Guests came from over 120 countries—with Koreans, Americans, and Chinese leading the way.

  • Foreign tourists favor central districts like Myeong-dong and Hongdae.

  • Local guests tend to book outside tourist hubs, suggesting different travel purposes such as business trips or personal gatherings.



💬 What Do Guests Care Most About?

Across thousands of reviews, these factors stood out:

  • 🧼 Cleanliness ranked as the most critical factor in overall satisfaction.

  • 💰 Value for money and 📋 Accuracy (how well listings match reality) also heavily influenced guest ratings.

  • 📍 Surprisingly, location was the least important factor after the stay—what happens inside matters more than what’s nearby.



🌐 Locals vs. Foreigners: Different Priorities

  • Local guests focus on interior details: facilities, amenities, and atmosphere.

  • Foreign guests emphasize cultural immersion, host communication, and proximity to attractions.

  • This highlights the need for personalized approaches depending on guest background.


🚀 The Road Ahead

As Seoul’s Airbnb ecosystem matures, quality will be key to sustainable growth—especially with increasing inbound tourism. Improving service standards, especially in communication and cleanliness, is essential to make every guest stay memorable.


✨ Want to see which districts are rising fast or where satisfaction scores are highest?
📲 Visit Yanolja Research website for in-depth insights and interactive data.

Yanolja Research Insights Vol.16


Labels:
Location: Seoul, Korea

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

[Yanolja Research Insights] Vol.1 Digital Transformation and Globalization Strategy for the South Korean Tourism Industry

The South Korean tourism industry has substantial growth potential, but it still lags behind global counterparts in terms of its contribution to GDP. While tourism globally accounts for 10.3% of GDP, Korea’s tourism contribution is only 2.8%. To achieve similar growth seen in countries like Japan, Korea needs to prioritize digital transformation (DX) in its tourism sector, focusing on rapid adoption of technological innovations. Key Changes and Trends in the Tourism Industry: Automation and Technology Integration : The industry is moving towards automated, contactless services, transforming sectors like airports, hotels, and tourist centers into high-value operations. Growth of Tourism Solutions : Specialized solutions, such as cloud-based management systems, are improving operational efficiency and service quality for hotels and tour companies. Hyper-Personalization : Using big data, tourism services are increasingly tailored to individual preferences, exemplified by servic...
Post a Comment
Read more

[Yanolja Research Insights] Vol.3 Current Status of the Seoul Airbnb Market

  ✨Airbnb Market Trends in Seoul(As of April, 2023) Airbnb hotspots are centered around tourist and commercial areas. Mapo-gu had the highest number of listings and OCC, while Jongno-gu had the highest RevPAR. Airbnb rooms account for 18.7% of Seoul's lodging market in 2022. 📈Post-Pandemic Recovery Number of Bookings: 987,082 (2019) → 404,320 (2021) → 589,993 (2022) Transaction Volume: 237.3 billion KRW (2019) ➔ 78.9 billion KRW (2021; a decrease of -66.8% compared to 2019) ➔ 150.7 billion KRW (2022; an increase of +91.0% compared to the previous year) 🌍Seoul vs. New York vs. London Number of Rooms(As of December 2022): London(106,752) > New York(53,292) > Seoul(17,257) Airbnb market share in the accommodation market: London (41.5%, as of March 2023) > New York (27.4%, as of March 2023) > Seoul (18.7%, average for 2022) In Seoul, multi-unit hosts (operators managing multiple properties) dominate the market. In New York and London, single-unit hosts (operators man...
Post a Comment
Read more

[Yanolja Research Brief] Vol. 2 Inbound & Outbound Tourism S. Korea in the 2024 H1

South Korea’s Tourism in 2024 H1: A Dynamic Recovery with New Opportunities Foreign Visitors Bounce Back Strongly, But Spending Dips The number of foreign tourists visiting South Korea surged to over 7.7 million in the first half of 2024, reaching 91.2% of the pre-pandemic peak in 2019-a remarkable 73.8% increase from the same period last year. Notably, tourists from long-distance regions like the Americas, Europe, Africa, and Oceania grew significantly, with countries such as the U.S., Germany, France, and Australia showing impressive gains. However, key Asian markets like China, Japan, and Thailand saw declines, leading to an overall drop in Asian visitors compared to 2019. Despite more visitors, average spending per tourist fell sharply to around $1,000, down 18.3% from 2019. This resulted in only a modest 8.3% increase in total tourism income compared to 2023, still 25.4% below 2019 levels. South Koreans Travel Abroad More, But Spend Less Outbound travel also rebounded strongly, wi...
Post a Comment
Read more