Kevin Oh / CEO, ONDA
Founded Haninstel, a booking service for Korean-run guesthouses abroad, in 2008 and ran it for ten years. Founded ONDA in 2016 and is leading the digital transformation of the lodging industry.
Published posts10
Korean pensions at 30: the owner's homemade gimbap, handed over for breakfast
An amendment to the Rural-Urban Exchange Act passed by the National Assembly in October 2026 changes rural homestays to a registration-based system. Breakfast has been permitted since 2015. What stopped pensions from offering breakfast wasn't the law — it was the time constraints of owners caught up in expanding channels and costs.
20 Million Inbound Tourists. Are We Ready to Keep Them Coming Back?
A small Japanese town turns hot springs and floor mats into 1.4M annual visitors. Korea hit 20M inbound tourists in 2024, but repeat rate tells a different story.
How to Get Your Hotel Recommended by AI: 36% of Korean Travelers Already Ask ChatGPT
TL;DR In May 2026, Google, OpenAI, Anthropic, Booking.com, Expedia, Airbnb, and TikTok all pointed the same direction. Hotel bookings are moving inside AI. When guests know your hotel's name, AI recommends it 97% of the time. When they don't and ask for suggestions, your odds drop to 10–15%. Your pipeline of new guests is closing. 36% of Korean travelers already use AI to plan trips—faster adoption than the US (25%). The way forward is clear: make AI...
Five Principles to Survive the Burst: How to Build a Resilient Accommodation Business
Korea's hospitality industry follows a predictable cycle: external shocks drive demand swings, supply surges follow, then prices collapse. In Part 2 of our series on the balloon effect, we outline five principles for weathering the bust—even when the boom feels unstoppable.
Fuel Surcharges Are Soaring. Here's What It Means for Your Property
Lessons from COVID and the second balloon. April 2026. Oil prices are spiking. The balloon is inflating again. Geopolitical instability in the Middle East is rocking global oil markets, and international fuel surcharges just jumped from level 6 to level 18 in a single month. Airfares to the Americas and Europe are up double digits year-over-year. Korean Air's one-way fuel surcharge to the U.S. alone...
Rediscovering Motels Part 3 – Serving Foreign Guests
In Part 2, I promised to share real success stories. Here it is: What happens when a motel drops daytime rentals and lists on global channels? One floor, one experiment. A Seoul motel started small—and within three months decided to transform the entire property. Here's how it worked...
Running your property can be simpler
The channel work you repeat every day ends with a single connection.
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