South Korea has overhauled its national hotel rating system as part of a broader push to protect travellers from price gouging, while raising accommodation standards across the country.
The reforms, which took effect on 1 July, follow growing public scrutiny over steep hotel price increases during peak demand periods, including major events where room rates reportedly surged several-fold. A recent example was K-pop group BTS' Busan tour when hotel prices flipped up to four-fold.
Under the new framework, hotels found charging unfairly excessive rates now face significantly tougher penalties that could ultimately affect their star rating.
Stricter review and penalties
Despite calling the new protocol a “single, integrated system”, different evaluation criteria apply to one-, two- and three-star hotels, versus four- and five-star hotels.
Hotels will continue to undergo a two-stage evaluation process.
An initial scheduled inspection reviews facilities and operational standards based on information submitted by the property, followed by an undercover review to determine the final ranking of the hotel establishment.
The penalty for unfair pricing has been increased from 10 points to 30 points. With only a 100-point gap separating four- and five-star classifications, the deduction is substantial enough to influence a hotel's final rating.
Beyond pricing, the updated criteria also place greater emphasis on guest safety, hygiene, fire prevention, facility management, personal data protection and environmentally responsible operations.
Hotels receiving a lower rating than requested may either accept the result or apply for a re-evaluation. Those scoring above the category they applied for may opt for a higher rating, although properties applying for one- to three-star classifications cannot be automatically upgraded into the four- or five-star categories.
Additionally, hotels hosting medical travellers will be assessed on capabilities such as coordination with healthcare providers and providing specialised guest services.