"On a Hotel Vacation"... Parents and Child Separately

Activity Dedicated Team Provides 3-6 Hour 'Kids Care'
Adults Enjoy Room Rest, Adult Pool, and Tea Time
"Accelerating Hotel Changes Targeting Family Customers"

Grand Josun Jeju, 'Half-Day Kids Care Service'.

"At least during summer vacation, I will 'leave work at work'... Hotels also compete in 'care services'

Jeong Seong-min (43, pseudonym), living in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, is a dual-income parent raising 7- and 4-year-old children. Although they took summer vacation during the 'end of July to early August' period, Jeong, who was still uneasy about traveling abroad with children due to COVID-19, decided on a domestic hotel staycation. However, recalling the exhausting experience of taking care of the kids from morning till night during the last holiday, this year he first looked for hotels offering 'care packages.'

This summer, when expectations for an endemic (periodic outbreak of infectious diseases) coexist with concerns over the resurgence of COVID-19, the hotel industry is busy securing 'family customers.' They are gaining popularity by continuously introducing kids programs that allow parents to entrust their children to dedicated instructors for a few hours and enjoy a comfortable hotel staycation themselves.

According to the hotel industry on the 27th, the Grand Josun Jeju's reservation rate for the second season of 'Love My Josun Junior,' launched last month, is 1.5 times higher than that of season 1 during the same period. The 'Half-Day Kids Care Service' included in the package is a program where the hotel's activity team takes care of children for 3 or 6 hours at the Josun Junior Kids Club, engaging them in summer item making, cooking classes, and other experiences. The hotel stated, "While the children participate in activities, adults can relax in their rooms or use the adults-only pool, enjoying free time." They added, "Since its launch in June, the reservation rate has been high not only on weekends but also on weekdays." Sono Belle Cheongsong's apple-themed experience program also encourages attendance by one adult, allowing parents to take turns resting.

Childcare packages are also popular in 'Seoul hotel stays.' Seoul Shilla Hotel, after establishing a permanently operated kids lounge earlier this year, is introducing a new 'Kids Art Program' this summer. This program, in collaboration with Ripple Ground, which emphasizes experience-based art education, features teachers reading English picture books followed by related art play activities.

Lotte Hotel Seoul, Finger Garden Coloring Lounge.

Lotte Hotel Seoul is also focusing on attracting family customers with the goal of expanding the proportion of domestic guests. As part of this effort, the 'Finger Garden Coloring Lounge,' launched in May, has been evaluated as successful in its early stages. The coloring lounge offers programs such as coloring three-dimensional coloring templates with crayons, in collaboration with the infant educational toy brand Finger Garden. The hotel explained, "Within a month of opening, all 1,500 coloring templates were used up, attracting many customers." Due to this influence, the number of kids+hotel staycation (Kid-cation) customers at Lotte Hotel Seoul has tripled compared to the same period last year.

An industry insider said, "In the extended COVID-19 situation, urban hotels in Seoul, mainly used by overseas business customers, are strengthening kids programs such as 'care packages' as the importance of domestic family customers grows," adding, "Until full recovery of daily life, hotels targeting family customers as a core segment will continue to drive efforts."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.