"Not a luxury hotel... Tourist shock over paying 11 million KRW for one night in Jeju-do"

"Thought It Was 50,000 Won Per Night"
Chinese Tourist Mistook It for Korean Won Display

A Chinese tourist mistakenly paid over 60,000 yuan (approximately 11 million KRW) per night when booking accommodation in Jeju Island through the lodging reservation platform Airbnb, confusing the price displayed in yuan with Korean won.

According to the South China Morning Post (SCMP) recently, Mr. Xiao, who lives in Jiangsu Province in eastern China, booked accommodation on Airbnb on the 13th of last month for a trip to Jeju Island with a friend. The accommodation was priced at about 50,000 KRW per night.

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However, after returning to China, he discovered that 60,904 yuan (approximately 11.78 million KRW) had been withdrawn from his account. The Airbnb payment details showed the accommodation fee per night was 51,944 yuan, with additional charges of 8,000 yuan for service fees, 800 yuan for taxes, and 160 yuan for cleaning fees.

Mr. Xiao said, "Since the place I stayed was not a luxury hotel, I thought the price was listed in Korean won."

He believed the hotel had mistakenly displayed the currency and entered the lodging price incorrectly, so he requested a refund from the hotel. The hotel responded that they would refund if Airbnb approved it.

However, Airbnb rejected Mr. Xiao's request, stating that the hotel did not offer a full refund. After several protests from Mr. Xiao, Airbnb sequentially refunded 44,000 yuan and 6,700 yuan, and finally decided to refund the full amount.

According to Airbnb's accommodation reservation cancellation policy, refunds can be requested before the date specified by the host. Refunds after the stay are generally at the host's discretion.

There are criticisms that Airbnb's cancellation policy is unreasonable in situations where travel plans frequently change. Lawyer Chen Qian from Henan Jiejin Law Firm explained, "The legal responsibility for currency misunderstanding lies with the consumer, but if the seller mislabels the price, the consumer has the right to request contract cancellation."