"Account Transfer for 2+ Nights... Excessive Cancellation Fees" Camping Site's Over-the-Top Abuse

Investigation into 5 Camping-Related Platforms
Unfair Fees Charged for Reservation Cancellations
34 out of 100 Sites Accept Only Cash and Bank Transfers

The number of people enjoying camping has reached 6 million, establishing it as a representative national leisure activity. Among them, it has been revealed that major camping sites nationwide are effectively forcing 2-night reservations and only accepting payments via bank transfer, engaging in unfair practices, prompting relevant government departments to take action. On the 18th, the Korea Consumer Agency announced the results of an investigation into five camping-related platforms?Yanolja, Yogi-otdae, Thank You Camping, Camping Talk, and Campit?and 100 camping sites registered with these companies, including these findings.

The camping population has reached 6 million and has established itself as a representative national leisure activity. However, it has been revealed that major campgrounds nationwide are effectively forcing 2-night reservations and only accepting payments via bank transfer, engaging in unfair practices, prompting relevant government departments to take action. The photo is not related to the specific content of the article. [Photo by Pixabay]

According to the results released by the Consumer Agency, among 78 auto camping sites surveyed in February and March, 68 sites (87.2%) implemented a priority 2-night reservation system. Thirty sites (38.5%) allowed 1-night reservations starting 7 days before the intended use date, and one site accepted 1-night reservations only one day before the intended use date. Four sites accepted only 2-night reservations. In particular, a survey of 500 people who had used auto camping sites in the past year found that among 139 respondents, 59 (42.4%) wished to use the site for 1 night but were forced to book 2 nights due to unreasonable conditions.

Restricting payment methods to bank transfers and unfairly charging fees upon reservation cancellations were also identified as problems. Among the 100 camping sites surveyed, 34 only allowed bank transfers, causing inconvenience to 60.2% (212) of the 352 consumers who used those sites. Additionally, 18 sites charged cancellation fees ranging from a minimum of 500 won to a maximum of 10,000 won under the name of bank fees, despite the requirement to fully refund cancellations.

The Consumer Agency plans to recommend that businesses adjust the 1-night reservation availability from 7 days prior to 15 days prior and add payment methods other than bank transfers. Furthermore, for camping sites without penalty fee regulations or with inadequate ones, they plan to establish related regulations referencing dispute resolution standards. Meanwhile, the Fair Trade Commission confirmed that the five camping platforms have unfair contract terms, such as excessively calculating penalty fees for reservation cancellations or uniformly exempting business operators from legal responsibilities, and intends to conduct a thorough investigation through an ex officio probe.