"Free Abroad... Domestic Hotel Staycation Guests Puzzled by 'Swimming Pool Fee'"

Domestic Hotels Increasing Paid Swimming Pools
Guests Also Pay 'Entrance Fee' to Use Pools
"Famous Overseas Hotels Offer Free Access" Growing Complaints

As demand for summer hotel vacations (hotel stays) rises, controversy has grown among some consumers on the 8th over the fees for using 'outdoor swimming pools' attached to hotels. Since last year, domestic hotels have been switching to paid outdoor swimming pools and increasingly charging fees for related services.

Hotel operators say this policy is to respond to the surging demand while maintaining high-quality services, but some critics argue that "famous overseas hotels also offer pool use for free."

The 'pool fee system,' where guests must pay a separate fee to use outdoor swimming pools, has recently been spreading rapidly among domestic hotels. For example, Hotel A in Jung-gu, Seoul charges an entrance fee of 120,000 KRW per adult for using the outdoor pool. Hotel B also sets the pool entrance fee at 82,500 KRW. It is reported that such pool entrance fees are spreading beyond Seoul to regional hotels as well.

Hotel swimming pool. Photo is not related to any specific expression in the article. [Image source=Pixabay]

It is known that the domestic hotel industry began actively introducing paid services for pools around the time of the COVID-19 pandemic. During 2020-2021, when the infectious disease spread was severe, social distancing regulations limited the number of users allowed in hotel outdoor pools.

At that time, many hotels divided pool usage into three or four shifts to limit the number of people entering at once, and this led to the launch of high-priced accommodation packages emphasizing unlimited pool use. From 2022 onward, more hotels started converting pool use to paid services or increasing existing fees.

Hotels explain this as a measure to improve service quality. It is also reported that the sharp rise in prices and labor costs after COVID-19 influenced the fee system.

However, dissatisfaction among users is growing. When a hotel in Seoul switched its outdoor pool to paid use last year, online communities related to hotel vacations in Korea reacted with comments such as "It's not worth going at that price," "If you are going to charge, shouldn't you first provide entertainment or service quality similar to other paid pools?" and "I wonder what will be charged next."

One netizen pointed out that famous overseas hotels do not charge separate pool fees. The Sheraton Waikiki Hotel in Hawaii offers two outdoor pools free of charge to guests. Singapore's iconic hotel, Marina Bay Sands, also provides free access to its SkyPark pool for guests.