A PMS platform connecting 37,000 properties to 70 channels.
Overcoming the Timep crisis and achieving KRW 12.7 billion in sales by 2024, and preparing for the LLM era through data standardization.
"The essence of the hospitality industry is 'selling space.' More precisely, it's about redefining space beyond mere lodging as a place for travel, relaxation, and meeting, thereby providing customers with a unique experience."
When asked about the essence of the hospitality industry, Oh Hyun-seok, CEO of Onda, first addressed "customer experience." He stated, "Our company's vision is that accommodation owners should focus on the core customer experience, that is, hospitality, and Onda will handle the rest—sales, channel management, inventory synchronization, and accounting."
Founded in 2016, Onda is a company specializing in integrated management systems (PMS) for the accommodation industry. Connecting 37,000 accommodations to over 70 channels, Onda achieved sales of KRW 12.7 billion in 2024 and, with 38 employees, projects sales of KRW 15 billion in 2025.
The starting point of the Korean guesthouse reservation service in 2009
CEO Oh first entered the hospitality industry in 2009, founding "Hanintel," a Korean-American guesthouse reservation service overseas. At the time, he observed the struggles of guesthouse owners trying to manage rooms listed on multiple channels without duplicate bookings, and he decided to address this issue with technology. Prior to that, he worked as a developer at an SI company and Nexon.
Onda's revenue model is a two-sided market structure. For accommodation owners, it reduces their dependence on any particular channel by exposing them to over 70 channels, including D2C. Meanwhile, channels are quickly and easily connected to the 37,000 accommodations that Onda has partnered with.
CEO Oh said, “Onda’s mission is twofold. First, as OTAs grow rapidly, we aim to address the challenges faced by accommodation owners: listing on dozens of channels, managing inventory in real time, negotiating and settling individual contracts, and becoming overly reliant on specific channels. Second, as a technology company, we aim to transform this accumulated transaction data into valuable insights.”
The technology effect occurs first in 'owner involvement'.
Small and medium-sized lodging business owners prioritize results over technology. CEO Oh said the effectiveness of technology adoption varies significantly depending on who implements it.
"Accommodations operated by multiple staff often face resistance from employees accustomed to the old system as they adapt to the new one. On the other hand, those operated directly by the owner, with their families, or those who are starting a business and are new to Onda, face a stark gap: they often wonder, 'How could we possibly operate without Onda?'"
Onda has redefined its target customer base. It has decided to focus on "real owners" who prioritize mid- to long-term profitability and sustainability over short-term sales growth. For these individuals, profit is the key indicator. More precisely, the key is securing the efficiency and insight to compete with large hotel chains with a smaller workforce.
CEO Oh stated, "The inflection point has already begun," adding, "However, the gap is widening more in 'owner involvement' than in the adoption of technology." He predicted, "AI and data will likely take full effect after 2026. As LLM-based searches become more widespread, the exposure gap between properties with standardized data and those without will widen to a tangible level."
Data Formatting: A Choice for the LLM Era
Onda chose the difficult path of standardizing accommodation data. CEO Oh explained, "The internet has accelerated the resolution of information asymmetry. When information formats and structures are disparate, complexity increases and development slows. Small and medium-sized, individually operated accommodations were a perfect example, and we determined that digitizing and standardizing this information was key to industrial development."
In the age of AI, this judgment has become even clearer. LLMs prioritize and recommend structured data. It's predicted that properties with markup and structured facility information and policy data will be displayed first in LLM search results.
CEO Oh stated, "In the long term, this data standard will have two major impacts on the industry. First, LLM will be able to recognize and recommend accommodations most accurately through Onda's standards. Second, various AI services operating on standardized data will create synergy within the Onda ecosystem."
D2C share from 7% to 15%
Onda doesn't view "maximizing exposure" and "strengthening direct bookings" as either/or choices. He explains that attracting new customers through OTAs and securing repeat customers through D2C are complementary.
CEO Oh said, “In reality, with OTA commissions reaching 15-25%, we need to increase the proportion of D2C to increase profitability,” and “Our goal is to increase our clients’ D2C proportion from the current 7% to 15% by 2026.”
He emphasized, “Onda’s goal is to minimize the resources that accommodation owners spend on distribution and management, and to focus solely on their core values—customer experience and hospitality.” He added, “Whether the channel is OTA or LLM, our ultimate goal is to create a structure that allows owners to focus on operations without worrying about sales.”
CEO Oh described his strength as "dreaming big" as a founder. However, he confessed that this also proved to be a detriment.
"From the very beginning, I envisioned a much bigger picture than we have today. I was optimistic that if I could gather the right people and secure investment, I could achieve everything in a short period of time. Instead of solidifying a single service, I focused on expansion, and instead of stabilizing internal systems, I spent my time launching new businesses."
In 2024, the Timep incident erupted. Timon, Onda's main channel, collapsed, leaving the company with billions in outstanding receivables and threatening its survival. Forced to scale back operations, the company contemplated a significant amount of thought.
He confessed, “I learned that dreams are not something that the founder dreams alone, but something that all members must do together,” and “I also realized that we need to think about sustainability first rather than being impatient for speed.”
By eliminating "premature" initiatives one by one and focusing on core business, customer satisfaction increased and financial performance improved. Online inquiries nearly doubled year-on-year, and profit and loss also improved significantly.
"I sometimes wonder what it would have been like if we had done it this way from the beginning. But it's a lesson I would never have learned if I hadn't gone through that crisis. I guess that's what the saying, 'a blessing in disguise' means in situations like this."
Digital Adapter for the Hospitality Industry
CEO Oh envisions Onda's ultimate destination as a "digital adapter for the hospitality industry." He predicted, "In the AI era, information asymmetry will disappear even more rapidly," and "the role of OTAs will also change dramatically."
"Rather than being the AWS of the hospitality industry, Onda is more of a 'digital adapter for the hospitality industry.' It's the infrastructure that enables accommodations to connect to any channel—whether it's OTA, LLM, or a new platform yet to emerge. We're currently calling this role 'Connectivity.'"
He explains that as Onda excels in this role, more accommodation providers will use it, and as its customer base grows, the areas it can fill with technology will expand. As data accumulates, AI becomes more sophisticated, and ultimately, a world emerges where owners can focus solely on the essentials.
CEO Oh said, “If I had to describe Onda in one sentence, it would be ‘an adapter connecting small and medium-sized accommodation owners around the world to the digital and AI world.’ That’s the most honest answer.”
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