Yanolja’s gentrification of South Korean love hotels has brought the company a valuation of more than $1 billion from investors keen to capitalise on the globalisation of a novel approach to short-stay accommodation, its chief executive told Reuters.
The budget hotel and online booking platform operator reached the valuation having secured $180 million from US peer Booking Holdings Inc and Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC Pte Ltd, Yanolja confirmed on Tuesday.
It aims to conduct an initial public offering (IPO) as early as next year, CEO Kim Jong-yoon said in an earlier interview. Yanolja’s emergence coincides with a time of flux among hoteliers, as legislators are at loggerheads with market disruptors such as Airbnb Inc – through which private home owners can let rooms for short-term stay – while a government campaign to reduce working hours promises to free up more leisure time for short breaks.
Love hotels have occupied a peculiar space in the broader market, offering privacy for as little as a few hours at minimal cost for, for instance, young couples living with their parents.
Popular association with extramarital affairs, prostitution and hidden cameras, however, has sullied their reputation, exacerbated by their often garish decor and low-key lighting.
Yanolja – meaning “Hey, let’s play” – sought to dispel any stigma with its bright, modern franchised love hotels, targeting millennial couples but also budget tourists seeking short-term accommodation.
