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“No More Daesil” — And Yet, They’re Making More Money For years, the bread and butter of Korean motels was daesil — hourly rentals. Same room, sold multiple times a day. It made sense. It worked. But lately, some motels are flipping the whole thing upside down. They dropped daesil. And doubled their revenue. The trick was foreign guests. Once they listed on Booking.com and Agoda, added some English signs, and set up contactless check-in — revenue from global channels jumped 70%. Turns out, one full overnight stay pays better than spinning the same room three times in an afternoon. Who knew. The irony is hard to miss. The motel — the very symbol of daesil culture — becomes a premium accommodation the moment it stops doing daesil. The numbers don’t lie. Foreign overnight demand beats local hourly demand. By a lot. Source: 한국경제 (Korea Economic Daily) | Published: June 26, 2026 So… what is daesil, exactly? In Korea, motels aren’t just for sleeping. You can rent a room for a couple of hours. That’s daesil. Usually priced for a 2–3 hour block. Much cheaper than a full night. Available during the day, the evening, whenever. Check-in is fast. Check-out is fast. No questions asked. Does this exist anywhere else? Japan — closest thing. Love hotels officially offer daytime “rest” rates . Pretty much the same idea. China / Taiwan — some business hotels do a daytime nap package . Similar-ish. Europe / North America — basically no. Hotels charge by the night. Want a room for three hours? Pay for the whole day. There’s something called “Day Use” for business travelers — but it runs 50–70% of the nightly rate. Much more expensive. Very different vibe. From the motel’s perspective For places that had trouble filling rooms overnight, daesil was a workaround. A clever one. Two or three hourly rentals during the day, one overnight guest at night — that was the traditional Korean motel revenue model. It made sense. For a while. Why did daesil even start? Honestly? I have no idea. This is a complicated question and I am not the right person to answer it. But here’s what people say:Homes in Korea are small. Families live together. Sometimes two people need a space of their own. For a few hours. Just to… talk. ??? City workers needed somewhere to rest during long workdays. . submitted by /u/Plenty_Platform_8448 |
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