Hotels emerge as chuseok gifts as 'recovery spending' trend takes hold

As the "recovery spending" trend — in which consumers spare no expense on physical and mental restoration — gains momentum, hotels are drawing attention as chuseok gift options. Chuseok-exclusive stay packages, dining vouchers, hotel bedding, diffusers and other items that let recipients experience hotel living are proving popular.

Josun Hotel & Resorts is running a chuseok gift promotion through Friday on its official online store, Josun Taste & Style. The promotion, which began Friday, offers buffet dining vouchers, afternoon tea set passes and Josun Deli cake vouchers for nine hotels — including the Westin Josun Seoul and Busan and the Grand Josun Busan and Jeju — at discounts of up to 20 percent. Josun Hotel gift certificates are also available; usable across the group's nine hotels, restaurants and golf courses, they come in denominations ranging from 50,000 won ($36) to 500,000 won.

Parnas Hotel & Resorts is offering hotel membership and food-and-beverage gift certificates. Its premium membership, The Parnas, can be used for accommodation and dining at major properties including Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas, Westin Seoul Parnas and Parnas Hotel Jeju, with recipients free to choose whichever hotel or restaurant they prefer.

Kensington Hotel & Resorts, operated by E-Land Park, has prepared accommodation and restaurant dining vouchers to gift travel and culinary experiences. The lineup includes stay vouchers valid at all domestic Kensington Hotel & Resorts properties, a PIC Saipan accommodation voucher, and dining vouchers for the Broadway and New York New York restaurants at Kensington Hotel Yeouido. Gifts can be sent without needing the recipient's address through the brand's official store or Naver Store's online gifting service.

Seoul Dragon City, which operates four Accor-affiliated hotels in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, is offering hotel gift certificates. The package consists of a single-person dining pass for Food Exchange, the property's premium buffet restaurant, and a 100,000-won Seoul Dragon City cash voucher redeemable toward any service of the recipient's choosing within one year.

Sono Season is holding a chuseok gift sale through Sunday, discounting hotel bedding, towels, diffusers and phytoncide sprays — items used in guest rooms at Sono Kam and other properties — by up to 50 percent. An online sale extending through Tuesday will offer hotel bedding sets at discounts of up to 68 percent.

Seasonal packages targeting chuseok are also plentiful. Paradise Hotel & Resorts has released a limited-quantity Sweet Day room package that includes one night in a deluxe suite, dinner for two, 80,000 won in resort money, and access to amenities including Cimer, Wonderbox, the sauna and the swimming pool. Family-oriented Magic in the Box and Suite in the Box packages are also available, bundling unlimited access to the indoor theme park Wonderbox with gifts such as capes, balloons and candy.

Signiel Busan is offering an Autumn Serenity Retreat package combining wellness, cultural arts and private dining through Nov. 30. Developed in collaboration with French spa brand Bernard Cassière, the package includes one night's accommodation, a Coco Tiaré Nourishing Massage Candle for an oil massage experience, and an eco bag. A separate In-Room Dining at Signiel package lets guests enjoy a leisurely breakfast in the privacy of their room.

Jeju Shilla Hotel has launched a hotel-vacation package targeting visitors to Jeju during the holiday stretch running through Oct. 10, which encompasses chuseok, National Foundation Day and Hangul Day. The package combines three experiences: Healing Picnic, a relaxed outing in a garden overlooking the sea; Moonlit Night Market, an outdoor garden event featuring beer and late-night snacks; and Endless Pool Day, which blends swimming, performances and wellness programming.

Walkerhill Hotel & Resorts has created a season pass for its signature wine fair, A Walk Above the Clouds. The pass grants unlimited entry to all six editions of the wine fair scheduled next month at a price more than 50 percent below the cost of individual tickets, along with fast-track entry. Circus and band performances are also planned during the chuseok and National Foundation Day holiday periods.

Banyan Tree Seoul is pitching a "kids-cation" for families who want to stay in the city and enjoy relaxed rest and water activities over chuseok rather than traveling. The brand has revamped its Banyan Tree Family Package to enhance benefits for children, setting up a kids-only tent inside the room and providing child-specific amenities including toothbrushes, cleansers and diaper cream.

An industry official said hotel gift certificates and dining vouchers are practical because they can be given without worrying about delivery schedules and let recipients choose the services they want. "They are a perfect fit for today's consumers who want rest and recovery, since they offer the chance to enjoy relaxation and fine dining at a hotel," the official said.