Beyond Related Package Products and Promotions
Trend of Content Diversification Including Profile Photography
Market Activation Expected with Increase in Pet Households
The hotel industry has begun competing from the start of the year to attract pet families (households that raise pets as family members). Previously, the hotel industry viewed the steadily growing pet market as a new business opportunity, installing dedicated rooms and offering related package products and promotions. Now, they are diversifying content further by including exhibitions, profile photo shoots, and more.
From Profile Photo Shoots to Exhibitions... Diversifying Content
Rescape, operated by Chosun Hotel & Resort, has launched its signature pet package "Memorable Moments for 2024 New Year" to celebrate the new year. The photo shows an image cut of the Rescape pet-exclusive room. Photo by Chosun Hotel & Resort
According to the industry on the 7th, The Escape, operated by Chosun Hotel & Resort, a subsidiary of Shinsegae Group, launched a signature pet package called 'Memorable Moments for 2024 New Year' to welcome the new year. This package features pet-dedicated room accommodations along with a profile photo shoot voucher for dogs. A representative from Chosun Hotel & Resort said, "To help create memories with dogs for the new year, we included a profile photo shoot voucher as part of the package benefits."
The dog profile photo shoot voucher includes the original images, final edited photos, a frame, and image files. Customers can choose from four shooting options: life-style photoshoot, silhouette photoshoot, vivid photoshoot, and white background photoshoot. However, the voucher is only provided when staying in a suite-type room. If guests choose deluxe or grand deluxe types, they receive a 30,000 KRW photo shoot voucher and must cover the remaining cost themselves.
Sono Pet Club & Resort (Sono Pet), operated by Daemyung Sono Group's Sono International, is currently running the 'Merry and Day' exhibition. This exhibition was planned to remind people of the warmth between humans and their pets. Visitors can see 19 works by artist Drawing Merry (Lee Min-kyung) in the first-floor lobby, corridors, and the pet-friendly restaurant 'Thinking Dog.' Special works featuring Sono Pet’s mascot character 'Sonyaer' and a rescue dog named 'Yeoreumi,' adopted by Sono Pet, are also on display.
Pet-Friendly Hotel Growth Is Still ING
Earlier, as the number of single-person households increased and demographic changes occurred, the hotel industry began to pay attention to the pet family market. They installed rooms for guests accompanied by dogs and strengthened pet-dedicated services. These pet-friendly hotels grew even larger during the COVID-19 pandemic. The creation of pet-dedicated rooms at Vivaldi Park in Hongcheon, Gangwon, Sono Calm Goyang in Gyeonggi, and Signiel Busan also happened around this time.
Even after the transition to an endemic phase, the pet market within the hotel industry continues to grow. For example, Ananti opened 'Village de Ananti' last year, creating reservation-based pet-friendly rooms with gardens where pets can run freely. The profile photo shoots and exhibitions currently being held at The Escape and Sono Pet also reflect the market’s growth.
However, the pet hotel market is still largely concentrated in provincial areas. Especially in Seoul, hotels with pet-dedicated rooms, including The Escape near Hoehyeon Station on Seoul Subway Line 4, remain very few.
The industry expects the pet market to have ample growth potential in the future, as demand continues to rise. According to the '2023 Korea Pet Report' recently released by KB Management Research Institute, the number of pet-owning households was 5.52 million in 2022, a 2.8% increase compared to 5.36 million in 2020. An industry insider said, "Pet-friendly rooms used to be exclusive to foreign-affiliated hotels, but now the situation is different. The number of hotels installing pet-dedicated rooms is gradually increasing, and the content is expected to diversify as well."
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