By Bae Ji-sook
Many foreigners visiting Korea may have felt puzzled that there isn’t a good online reservation system for budget hotels in English language.
In fact, there is.
Visit www.benikea.co.kr if you are a Korean; www.benikea.jp for Japanese; www.benikea.cn for Chinese; and www.benikea.com for English and you will be able to book rooms at 45 small- to mid-sized quality hotels nationwide.
The hotels are members of BENIKEA (Best Night in Korea) founded by the Korea Tourism Organization. Still at the toddler stage two years after its launch, the organizers are aiming at developing the brand into a Korean version of Best Western, Ibis, Toyoko Inn and other world market leaders.
The rooms are clean, traffic is convenient and the service is above average. Some of them are situated next to the beach, some have hot springs while others are next to airports, train stations or bus terminals. Most of all, rates are less than 100,000 won per night, except for holiday peak seasons.
The team has managed to guide hotels with hidden benefits find their strength and better their weaknesses.
It encouraged the members to refurbish their facilities; conduct stricter training programs for staff, supported by the KTO; greet some “mystery shoppers” who rush in out of the blue; and undergo many other major transformations.
The results are quite visible. For instance, the Onyang Hot Spring Hotel, which used to see thousands of visitors to its famous hot spring in its heyday decades ago, has recently refurbished its facilities to transform itself into a convention-tourism hotel.
The Songjung Tourists’ Hotel in Busan is also planning some partial renovation after its summer holiday peak is over to welcome high-end guests.
With all the undergoing changes, BENIKEA has managed to arrange bookings of 2,300 rooms through its websites 10 months from the start of technical operations.
“Hotel owners know that we are watching over and evaluate them all the time. It was important to find those who could deliver the BENIKEA spirit of ‘reasonably priced yet great service,’ and maintain services and facility quality,” said Park Byoung-nam, director of the project.
The BENIKEA team, consisting of field experts with decades of experiences, has a lot more to achieve. It needs more promotion and aggressive marketing to reach various demographics.
“We have just joined hands with Rakuten, the largest online tourist agency in Japan, to attract more Japanese tourists to BENIKEA hotels. We are also holding joint promotions with Seoul city government on the Seoul Grand Sale season. I think it’s not bad at all,” he said.
“We knew this would be a long term business and there is no need to rush. It took more than 16 years for Best Western to create its reputation,” he added.