The small hotel business was added as a subcategory of the hotel along with the ‘medical hotel’ with the revision of the Enforcement Decree of Tourism Promotion Act in 2014. The purpose was to ‘promote investment in the small hotels, enhance the diversity of tourism accommodation services, and expand tourist lodgings.’
The registration standards for the small hotel business, as stipulated in Annex 1 of the Enforcement Decree of Tourism Promotion Act, are as follows:
- The small hotel must have 20 to 30 guest rooms, each equipped with a bathroom or shower facilities.
- The total area of amenities must not exceed 50% of the building’s total floor area.
- The small hotel must have at least two types of amenities. However, facilities for entertainment bars as defined in Article 21, Item 8(d) of the Enforcement Decree of Food Sanitation Act, entertainment bars as defined in Item 8(e) of the same Article, and facilities for gambling as defined in Article 2, Item 1 of the Special Act Concerning Regulation and Punishment of Speculative Acts cannot be included.
- The small hotel must have a system in place to provide services to foreigners, such as offering breakfast and employing staff proficient in foreign languages.
- Must secure ownership or usage rights of the land and building. However, ownership must be secured if recruiting members.
