SK Planet expands travel booking on 11st site

The booking platform on 11st lets customers compare accommodations. [SK PLANET]

SK Planet has signed partnerships with seven travel websites including Expedia and Booking.com to make over 1.5 million accommodations available for booking on its e-commerce site 11st, the company said in a release Monday.

The partnerships will allow Korean customers to compare prices for accommodations worldwide on 11st. The company said the service expansion will meet the needs of Korean travelers who are increasingly going abroad on their own and booking accommodations without the help of travel agencies, as in the past.

“The expansion of our accommodations lineup might confuse some users,” an 11st spokeswoman said, “so we created a price comparison service to help them make reasonable purchase decisions.”

The options include not only big hotels but also localized options like Japanese ryokan and small guest houses. The website’s comparison service will be based on the final price of accommodations, including taxes, to reduce confusion for users, according to the company.

The booking platform will include pages for reviews and detailed information about accommodations.

Some accommodations can be booked directly on 11st, while others will take users to their official website. Bookings made directly on 11st will be eligible for the site’s membership program, the company said.

“The new booking service includes global accommodations companies that have an overwhelming number of products and domestic ones that have specially localized products,” said Kim Joo-yeon, who is in charge of 11st’s travel products. “The new service is expected to receive a positive response from those in their 20s and 30s who opt for logical consumption.”

According to SK Planet, travel booking on its 11st site jumped 113 percent this year as of Dec. 5 compared to the same period last year.

BY JIN EUN-SOO [jin.eunsoo@joongang.co.kr]