"Non-Refundable"... 'Yogi-otte' Tops Consumer Complaints on Accommodation Platforms

78% Dissatisfied with Cancellation Penalty Fees

About half of the consumer damage relief applications related to accommodation facility use over the past three years were from users of accommodation platforms such as Yanolja and Agoda. The platform with the most consumer complaints was Yanolja.

The Korea Consumer Agency announced on the 30th that there were 4,118 consumer damage relief applications related to accommodation facility use received over the past three years (2021?2023). By year, there were 1,047 cases in 2021, 1,428 in 2022, and 1,643 last year, showing an increasing trend each year.

Of these, more than half, 2,374 cases, were contracts made through seven major accommodation platforms: Yanolja, Agoda, Yanolja, Naver, Airbnb, Booking.com, and Tmon. Yanolja had the highest number with 523 cases, followed by Agoda with 505, Yanolja with 502, Naver with 358, Airbnb with 309, Booking.com with 111, and Tmon with 105 cases.

Except for Airbnb, all six platforms showed an increasing trend in the number of applications. In particular, Agoda increased more than double for two consecutive years, from 50 cases in 2021 to 131 in 2022, and 324 last year. Booking.com nearly doubled from 29 cases in 2022 to 56 last year. Tmon, which recently caused an unsettled payment incident, recorded 35 cases in 2021, 34 in 2022, and 36 last year.

There was also a significant difference in settlement rates by platform. Airbnb had the highest settlement rate at 89.3%, while Booking.com had the lowest at 39.6%.

Regarding damage relief applications, complaints about cancellation penalties accounted for the largest share at 78.5% (3,234 cases). Some accommodation facilities refused refunds unconditionally regardless of the timing of the cancellation request, citing prior notice of a no-refund policy.

The Act on Consumer Protection in Electronic Commerce, etc. stipulates that withdrawal of subscription is possible within 7 days from the contract date. However, if cancellation occurs close to the intended use date, withdrawal may be restricted due to reasons such as inability to resell.

Following complaints about cancellation penalties, applications related to hygiene, safety, and auxiliary facilities accounted for 11.9% (492 cases), and insufficient information provision related to accommodation use accounted for 6.2% (256 cases).