Sep 8, 2024

Yanolja and Yeogi Eottae temporarily reduce 10% “brokerage fee” for companies with low transaction volume 0 comments The Fair Trade Commission will hold a presentation on self-regulatory measures for accommodation platform operators at the K Hotel in Seoul on October 5. Journalist Kim Se-hoon Accommodation platforms Yanolja and Yeogi Eottae have introduced a self-regulatory plan to temporarily lower intermediary fees for stores by 1 percentage point. This is the first time that all platforms participating in the self-regulatory consultation have decided to reduce intermediary fees. They also decided to form an independent dispute resolution council early next year and continue to communicate with stores in the future. On the 5th, the Fair Trade Commission held a presentation on self-regulatory measures for accommodation platforms containing these details at the K Hotel in Seoul. The presentation was attended by operators from Yanolja, Yeogi Eottae, the Korea Federation of Hospitality Industries, the Federation of Small Business Owners, and other store officials. This is the third self-regulatory plan announced, following last year’s self-regulatory plan for delivery platforms and open markets. Yanolja and Yeogi Eottae announced that they will reduce brokerage fees by 1 percentage point for affiliated stores in the last 40% of transaction volume for 1 year and 6 months and 1 year, respectively. The brokerage fee will be reduced from the current 10% to 9%. The target stores are estimated to be around 3,500 for Yanolja and 2,800 for Yeogyo. Yanolja will lower the fees starting from January next year and November this year. To expand the sales channels of stores, Yanolja has decided to extend its free policy for sales services related to overseas hotel booking services (OTA) such as agoda and Trip.cup by one year. In addition, we plan to provide free intermediation service between small business owners and 17,000 general travel agencies within the year. The self-regulation bill also includes the issues that must be included in the contract between the accommodation platform and the sales company and the obligation to give notice. We have again established the details that must be specified in the terms and conditions, such as the reservation period for entering the store and the reasons for terminating the contract. In addition, it was decided to include in the terms and conditions the obligation to explain the payment settlement cycle and the obligation to inform the website about the search display standards. Accommodation platforms are also obliged to provide sufficient explanations when sales companies ask about commissions or advertising costs. The Voluntary Accommodation Platform Dispute Resolution Council (tentative name) will also be established to improve dispute resolution procedures. It is composed of experts recommended by accommodation platform operators and user organizations. The council plans to officially operate in March next year after a three-month pilot operation. They decided to check the implementation status twice a year through an autonomous organization. If something is not implemented, we will first issue a warning and then publicly announce the details of the violation. Jeong Gyeong-jae, president of the Korea Hotel Industry Federation, said, “It is unfortunate that only a few affiliated companies are subject to a fee reduction, but since self-regulation has provided an opportunity for dialogue, I hope that we can gradually improve through continuous dialogue.” He added, “Many hospitality businesses are experiencing difficulties. “I hope that issues such as excessive advertising expenditures and voucher fees will be agreed upon in the future in the Self-Regulatory Dispute Mediation Committee,” he said. Heo Young-hoe, vice president of the Small Business Association, said, “It is encouraging that, for the first time under self-regulation, we have agreed on a win-win plan to reduce fees for small and medium-sized business owners.” Share this: