Would you stay in a love hotel?

你們會住情趣飯店嗎？

Love hotel, would you stay?

情趣飯店，你會住嗎？

Oh no, no, no!

噢，不不不！

Depends on how much.

看看價錢吧？

So big, in fact, that here in South Korea, it has just born the country's latest $1 billion start-up, online budget hotel bookings platform Yanolja which means, "hey, let's play" in Korean.

事實上，在南韓剛誕生了一家估值 10 億美元的新創公司，這是一家網路預訂平價飯店的平台稱 Yanolja，是韓文「來一起玩」的意思。

It is South Korea's eighth unicorn, and has made a superstar of its once impoverished founder.

這是南韓的第八間獨角獸企業，公司創辦人從貧困潦倒搖身一變成為行業的超級巨星。

I've traveled to Seoul, to meet Yanolja's CEO, Jong Yoon Kim, to find out how he and founder, Su-Jin Lee, got the country hot for love hotels.

我特地飛到南韓與 Yanolja 的 CEO Jong Yoon Kim 會面，了解他和另外一位創辦人 Su-Jin Lee 如何讓情趣飯店風靡全國。

South Korea's relationship with the amorous accommodation hasn't always been one of affection.

韓國與情趣相關的住宿並不是一直都有掛勾。

Understanding its new allure requires going back to its sordid roots.

要了解這行業的新魅力先需要回溯至它骯髒的開始。

Love Hotels are a type of short-term, pay-per-hour accommodation.

情趣飯店是以小時計算房租的短期住宿。

They originated in Japan, where for centuries they've been providing couples a discreet place for intimacy.

這源自日本，已經有上百年的歷史，這類型的飯店提供情侶一個隱密私人的地方可以有親密的行為。

But in the late 1960s, the underground industry gained prominence with the launch of the first eponymous "love hotel" in Osaka.

不過在 1960 年代末，隨著大阪開了一家同名「情趣飯店」以後，地下行業逐漸受到關注。

Adorned with a rotating neon sign, and offering guests hourly rates for a "rest," the accommodation tapped into society's growing sexual liberalization, and paved the way for a new wave of pay-per-hour love hotels — each more exotic and erotic than the last.

外面有旋轉的霓虹燈作裝飾，提供時租的客房給顧客「休息」，這類型的住宿因為社會上對性解放的思想日益進化，並創下一個新的按小時收費的住宿方式，甚至一家比一家更具異國風情、更色情。

Love hotels – we called it motel in South Korea – motels used to be a well-known place for young couples to spend their time privately.

情趣飯店 — 在南韓，我們稱之為「摩鐵」，是一個年輕情侶喜歡消磨時間的場所。

The industry's rise coincided with a widespread tightening of prostitution laws in Asia.

亞洲地區收緊針對賣淫的法律以致該行業逐漸興起。

That trend didn't go unnoticed, and quickly spawned negative associations of love hotels as breeding grounds for illicit activities and extramarital affairs.

這趨勢並沒有被忽視，且大眾對情趣飯店的負面聯想急升，例如會作為非法交易或婚外情的溫床。

But that didn't stop their international expansion.

但這並沒有停止他們往國外發展的想慾望。

Today, few countries have been left untouched by the craze.

如今，沒有幾個國家不受這熱潮所影響。

The hotels' ubiquity even scored them an iconic emoji in 2015.

更因為這類型的飯店無所不在，於 2015 年還因此設計了一個具標誌性的附號。

Back here in South Korea, love hotels rose to prominence in the late 1980s with the Seoul Olympic Games.

回到南韓這裡，情趣飯店於 1980 年代末的奧運會時開始崛起。

Their seedy associations have long been a source of embarrassment.

當時這樣骯髒的聯想長期以來成為社會尷尬的原因。

But in 2005, one man sought to change that.

不過 2005 年，有一個人試圖改變這個狀況。

For Yanolja founder, Su-Jin Lee, love hotels had always been a source of sanctuary.

Yanolja 的創辦人 Su-Jin Lee 稱情趣飯店就如收容所般。

Orphaned at a young age, Lee started as a janitor at a love hotel when he was 23.

年紀輕輕成為孤兒，他 23 歲的時候就在一家情趣飯店當工友。

It offered a place to stay and a steady wage.

飯店提供他住宿及穩定的收入。

So when an anti-prostitution law passed in 2004 threatened to kill the industry, he saw an opportunity.

因此 2004 年反對賣淫活動的法例通過時揚言要扼殺這行業，而他看到了一個機會。

I think this kind of experience is very helpful to understand the nature of the industry.

我認為這種經驗對於了解這行業的本質是非常有幫助。

The discreet accommodations traditionally relied on walk-in customers.

一般簡樸的飯店一直以來都是依賴沒有預約的住客。

So Lee started by creating an online advertising platform to attract new guests.

所以 Su-Jin Lee 他在網路開設了廣告平台去吸引新客戶。

But it was with the launch of love hotel bookings site Yanolja in 2007, that the business really began to take off.

但隨著於 2007 年在訂房網站上推出後，業務才開始起飛。

Yanolja, especially Su-Jin Lee, they are thinking what are the pain points nobody understands or finds out?

在 Yanolja，尤其是 Su-Jin Lee，他們在想有什麼痛點是沒有人了解或發現？

Lee also offered renovation services under the Yanolja franchise, which helped love hotels clean up their acts and target new customer bases.

Su-Jin Lee 甚至提供 Yanolja 旗下的飯店一些創新的服務，可以幫助情趣飯店洗白，並吸引新客群。

Chief among those were two major segments: young couples and budget travelers seeking short-term accommodation.

有兩個主要的客群：年輕情侶和找尋短期住宿的窮遊旅客。

In terms of the younger generation, we try to make kind of the playground for everything.

以年輕一代來看，我們希望可以提供他們一個設施齊全的娛樂場所。

From many surveys, the quality of life, or quality of the happiness is very, very low because the millennials, or many generations, thought and felt that they do not enjoy enough activities.

根據不同的調查顯示，生活品質或幸福質量非常低，因為千禧一代或是說不同年代的人，認為無法對娛樂活動樂在其中。

So, we try to make people go out more frequently.

所以我們希望讓他們多走出來。

In South Korea, it's typical for young people to live with their parents until marriage.

在南韓，大多的年輕人都會在結婚後才搬離開家裡。

With rising living costs and a slumping marriage rate, that phenomenon has been exacerbated.

隨著生活開銷上漲和結婚率驟跌，這現像更是逐漸惡化。

Estimates suggest 57% of young South Koreans live at home well into adulthood, making love hotels an appealing escape for couples wanting to get away from the prying eyes of parents.

估計有 57% 的南韓年輕人都在家裡住至成年，讓情趣飯店吸引了為了逃離父母監視的年輕情侶。

Meanwhile, growing travel appetite has boosted demand for new types of accommodation.

再者，新形式的住宿需求更是隨著旅遊需求而提升。

In South Korea, online travel sales have nearly doubled in the past five years, and the country now represents one of Asia's largest tourism markets.

南韓在過的去五年，網路上的旅遊銷售額増長率快要是百分之百，南韓更成為亞洲其中最大的旅遊市場。

Travel industry is really growing fast in South Korea.

南韓的旅遊業發展迅速。

It's because South Korean consumers' attitudes have been significantly changing as millennials put their priority on their working-life balance.

其中一個原因是南韓消費者的態度有明顯的改變，因為千禧一代的年輕人更注重工作與生活間的平衡。

In addition, the government limited the maximum working hours to 52 hours per week from last year.

再加上去年南韓政府實施了法定最長工時每周 52 小時。

This kind of government activity also encourages travel industries.

政府這樣的行為也同時在鼓勵旅遊業。

Those trends led Yanolja to expand into its own line of regular and luxury hotels as well.

這樣的趨勢也讓 Yanolja 把業務擴展至正常的飯店和民宿。

It has recorded an annual growth rate of more than 70% in the past five years.

根據報告顯示，在過去五年間的年度增長超過 70%。

The platform, which makes its money off of commission, has 32 million downloads and 3 million monthly active users.

透過傭金賺錢的網路平台，有高達 3 千 2 百萬的下載數量和每個月有 3 百萬名活躍用戶。

It now hosts more than 20,000 partner accommodations across South Korea.

現在在南韓，Yanolja 有超過兩萬個的住宿合作伙伴。

That's almost half of the country's some 46,000 registered inns and guesthouses, whose annual revenues exceed $3.6 billion.

南韓的有登記經營權的旅店和民宿約 4 萬 6 千家，有差不多一半的和 Yannolja 合作，年收更高達 36 億。

The hotel is one of the items, but we are pursuing to realize a total package for the users.

飯店住宿只是其中一個服務範疇，我們正努力推行一個完整的套餐給用戶。

So Yanolja is providing restaurant and activity, leisure tickets, transportation, and others.

所以 Yanolja 提供餐廳和活動內容，入場門票和交通票等服務。

That expansion has proven appealing for investors too.

業務擴展後更是吸引了不少投資者。

In June 2019, a $180 million funding round pushed the company to a valuation of $1 billion, making it the latest travel-tech unicorn to join the likes of Klook, Airbnb and OYO.

2019 年的 6 月，經過一輪 1.8 億美元的融資把公司的估值推至 10 億美元，使其成為最新的旅遊科技獨角獸企業，如 Klook、Airbnb 和 OYO 這類的公司。

I think the reason why we can be a unicorn is because Yanolja is the number one hotel in Korea.

我認為我們公司能成為其中一個獨角獸企業的原因是 Yanolja 是韓國第一名的飯店。

But it's just the beginning, I think.

不過這只是個開始，我是這麼認為。

So, we are trying to be a number one globally.

我們想要嘗試成為全球第一。

Now Yanolja wants to tap into more growing markets.

Yanolja 現在還想打進更多正值成長的市場當中。

The business has ventured into leisure bookings and now offers its renovation services to other commercial properties ranging from bookstores to healthcare centers.

業務更涉及到協助預訂休閒娛樂，提供翻新服務給商業物業，例如從書店到醫療中心。

It has also developed its own hotel management software to sell to partners and fuel its growth plans across Asia Pacific.

他們還開發了一套屬於自己的飯店管理軟件並推銷給合作伙伴，並且加強亞太地區的擴展計劃。

We'd like to be a global number one solution provider for the hotel and the other suppliers.

我們希望成為全球第一的飯店和其他供應商的方案供應商。

But in its mission to reinvent the love hotel, there's still one final goal Yanolja has its heart set on: an initial public offering.

在改造情趣飯店的其中一個任務中，Yanolja 的最終目標是著重於首次公開募股。

That public accolade, it says, would mark the full transformation of an industry once shrouded in secrecy.

公眾的讚賞標誌著曾經是謎一般的行業可以全面轉型。

I don't know what's the best timing because we need to consider the market situation etc.

我不知道什麼時候才是最好的時機，因為我們還必須考量市場狀況。

But we need to be ready anytime for IPO.

但我們必須隨時做好上市的準備。