Nearly Half of Overseas Accommodation Booking Users Suffer Damages: Seoul City Pushes for System Improvements

A significant portion of consumers booking accommodations abroad are facing problems, with nearly one in two users experiencing damages, a survey by Seoul city and the consumer group 'Consumers Union' has revealed. The monitoring of six major platforms, Agoda, Airbnb, Expedia, Booking.com, Trip.com, and Hotels.com, uncovered issues such as prices excluding taxes and fees being displayed initially, only for the final amount to increase at the payment stage. Consumers also reported that crucial information regarding cancellation fees and non-refundable conditions was often hidden in small print or placed inconspicuously.

The investigation also found that these platforms were inadequate in mediating disputes between consumers and accommodation providers. In many cases, users were directed to resolve refund or penalty issues directly with the overseas lodging businesses rather than receiving direct assistance from the booking platform. This lack of platform intervention exacerbates consumer damages, especially given the complexities of applying current consumer dispute resolution standards to international transactions.

An accompanying survey of 1,000 consumers who had used overseas booking platforms within the last three years showed widespread dissatisfaction. Forty-one percent expressed 'dissatisfied' or 'very dissatisfied' with their service. The primary reasons cited were false or exaggerated advertisements about accommodation facilities (26%), refund and penalty issues (26%), and unclear pricing information like excluding taxes and fees (24%).

Seoul city plans to request enhanced management and supervision from the Fair Trade Commission and platform registration authorities regarding the consumer protection obligations of online intermediaries under the Electronic Commerce Act. The city also proposed establishing a regular "Overseas Accommodation Booking Platform Consumer Protection Obligation Survey" to inspect and disclose compliance results, aiming to bolster consumer safeguards in the burgeoning market of international online travel bookings.