[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Junhyung] The accommodation reservation application (app) 'Kkulstay,' which charges no advertising fees or commissions, will start its service in the Seoul metropolitan area from the 17th. To celebrate the launch of services in the metropolitan area, Kkulstay is offering a benefit of waiving the monthly usage fee for six months to all partner stores in the metropolitan area. App users will receive discount coupons worth 8,000 KRW.
Kkulstay launched its beta service in Daegu last August under the slogan "Kind Accommodation App." Currently, more than 300 partner stores in regions such as Daegu, Ulsan, and Gyeongbuk are using Kkulstay. In Daegu, it has caught up to 70% of the number of partner stores held by existing accommodation apps.
Kkulstay eliminated the reservation commissions and advertising fees that existing accommodation apps charged and introduced a monthly flat-rate usage fee policy based on the number of reservations. Under this policy, Kkulstay does not charge any fees other than a monthly flat-rate usage fee ranging from a minimum of 100,000 KRW to 500,000 KRW, even if the number of reservations at partner stores increases significantly.
Because there are no reservation commissions or advertising fees, partner stores are actively promoting Kkulstay, rapidly replacing existing accommodation apps, according to the company. Hong Seokjin (61), who operates an accommodation business in Daegu, said, "The accommodation industry is more severely dominated by monopolistic platforms than the delivery industry," adding, "Kkulstay, which has no advertising fees or commissions, is bringing many changes to the accommodation industry in Daegu."
The goal of Kkulstay is to convert the win-win results generated by such policies into consumer benefits. Jaeung Chae, CEO of Kkulstay, stated, "We will faithfully perform the functions of a reservation platform by providing lists based on distance and price rather than advertising order exposure, so that direct benefits can be delivered to consumers." CEO Chae added, "We will also do our best to narrow the gap between customers and partner stores through special offers and loyalty mileage accumulation."
Meanwhile, Kkulstay began recruiting partner stores in the metropolitan area from January and has currently signed contracts with about 350 partner stores. Based on industry response, Kkulstay plans to steadily increase the number of partner stores.
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