[NE Coffee Chat] Travelmakers "Blurring the Boundaries Between Life and Travel"

Interview with Byungjoo Kim, CEO of Travelmakers
Hotel Long-Term Stay Booking Platform 'Hotelesalm'
Considering Expansion to Overseas Markets Including Vietnam and Japan

What would it be like to live in a hotel for a month? A life that feels like a journey, an experience where the boundaries between daily life and travel blur. It's something anyone might dream of?just thinking about it is exciting. However, taking the plunge is not easy. Time is a factor, but above all, the cost is often seen as a significant barrier. Travelmakers is a startup that turns this dream into reality. Through its platform 'Hotelesalm,' it connects hotels seeking to increase room occupancy with the growing demand for long-term stays.

On May 29, Byungjoo Kim, CEO of Travelmakers, said, "When your living environment changes, your daily life changes, and your lifestyle can change as well. Hotelesalm is a service that provides time for such transformation." Kim explained that staying in a hotel?a unique space offering various services from room cleaning to fitness club access?allows people to have more time for themselves. However, the question of "how" always follows. The high cost associated with hotel services remains a significant hurdle. Hotelesalm addresses this issue by specializing in long-term stays, which is where its competitiveness lies.

Byungjoo Kim, CEO of Travelmakers, is explaining the 'Hotelesalm' service. Travelmakers

Kim explained, "Hotel rates vary depending on room occupancy, but for long-term stay customers, reservations usually occur about a month in advance on average. For hotels, attracting long-term guests helps fill a certain level of occupancy, which in turn extends the period during which they can sell rooms at relatively higher prices." In contrast, hotel bookings through online travel agencies (OTAs) typically happen just two to three days in advance, leaving hotels with little time to increase occupancy and raise room rates. For this reason, hotels themselves have a need for long-term stay guests.

Targeting this need, Travelmakers has created long-term stay packages through direct contracts with hotels, allowing customers to receive discounts of up to 20-30% compared to booking directly. This structure benefits both hotels and customers. Kim said, "If customers book long-term stays directly with hotels, there is almost no price reduction. Hotelesalm can offer greater discounts to customers by negotiating dedicated long-term stay rates with hotels in advance."

Currently, around 70 hotels nationwide are offering long-term stay packages in partnership with Hotelesalm. The service began with four- and five-star hotels in Seoul but has since expanded to the greater Seoul area, Jeju, Gangwon, and Gyeongsang regions. The categories are also expanding to include not only hotels but also resorts, residences, and co-living spaces. With strong support from customers seeking long-term stays, the service, which launched in 2020, has sold over 400,000 room nights cumulatively through last year. Reservations can be made for stays of one week or longer, but bookings of about a month are the most common. There are currently about 40,000 members, and around 30,000 people visit the platform each month. These users represent potential customers with an average transaction value of over 2 million won.

Travelmakers plans to begin targeting the global market this year. There are two main directions: partnering with overseas hotels to offer long-term stays, and providing long-term stays in Korea to foreigners. Kim said, "We are discussing service expansion with local hotels in Vietnam, and Japan is also under consideration as a potential market. At the same time, we will fully focus on attracting global customers by offering services to foreigners coming to Korea through an English-language version of the platform."