Key Takeaways
- Seoul and Airbnb launched year three of a host training program aimed specifically at career-interrupted women re-entering the workforce.
- South Korea projects a record 19 million inbound tourists in 2026, creating urgent pressure to expand quality licensed STR inventory.
- Operators tracking Seoul supply growth should monitor this government-backed host pipeline as a structural driver of new listings.
Seoul is turning stay-at-home moms into Airbnb hosts as South Korea braces for a tourism boom.
The city is teaming up with Airbnb for the third year of its “Shared Accommodation Host Training Program,” a course designed to help “career-interrupted” women, including mothers and former professionals who stepped away from work to raise children, turn home-sharing into a flexible business, according to a Korea Times report.
And the timing is not exactly random.
South Korea is reportedly on track to welcome a record 19 million foreign visitors this year, putting pressure on cities like Seoul to find more places for travelers to stay.
Instead of waiting for hotel supply to catch up, Seoul is looking inside local homes and giving women the training to turn spare rooms and unused space into income.
READ MORE: South Korea’s tiny budget rooms are becoming short-term rentals for tourists
Airbnb training program sees demand surge in Seoul
The program has grown rapidly.
What started as a small pilot in 2024 drew 130 applicants for just 36 spots. By 2025, interest had jumped to 471 participants, with some graduates going on to launch their own hosting platforms and welcome international travelers into their homes.
“Home sharing has emerged as a viable microbusiness model that aligns beautifully with flexible working arrangements,” said Park Jung-sook, CEO of the Seoul Foundation of Women and Family. “We intend to keep forging these public-private ecosystems to unlock fresh economic pathways for women.”
The Seoul model is worth watching for operators and investors tracking government-driven STR supply expansion in tourism-heavy markets.
In a corporate culture where childbirth often ends careers entirely, running a boutique guesthouse lets women manage an enterprise on their own schedule.
Related: Cruise and STR overlap accelerates global overtourism crackdowns
This is now the third consecutive year Seoul has run the program, which signals that city officials view Airbnb’s platform as a genuine workforce and tourism infrastructure tool and not just a tech novelty.
With South Korea chasing 30 million annual tourists by 2028 and Seoul still concentrating the bulk of arrivals, the race to build out quality Airbnb host supply in the capital is only getting started.
