China woman mistakenly pays $8,300 for Jeju island hotel room due to yuan-won mix-up

By Phong Ngo November 24, 2024 | 03:00 pm PT

A woman from Jiangsu Province, China, mistakenly paid 60,000 yuan (US$8,300) for a one-night stay at an Airbnb on South Korea’s Jeju Island after confusing the Chinese yuan symbol with the Korean won.

Xiao booked the serviced apartment on October 13 and discovered she had been charged 60,904 yuan for the stay after returning to China, according to the South China Morning Post.

View of Jeju island. Photo from Instagram

Airbnb listed the price as 51,944 yuan, with additional fees including an 8,000-yuan service charge, 800-yuan tax, and 160-yuan cleaning fee. Xiao initially assumed the amount was quoted in Korean won, which would have been roughly US$37.

"It is not a high-end hotel. We assumed it was priced in Korean won," Xiao said, suspecting the property owner had accidentally set the price in yuan instead of won.

After contacting the hotel for a refund, the owner agreed to reimburse her if Airbnb approved the request. Though initially denied, Airbnb eventually issued a full refund after multiple complaints, calling it "a gesture of goodwill."

The incident sparked online debate. Some criticized Xiao for not verifying the price, while others called the misleading pricing a "trap" for unsuspecting customers.

"Such pricing that defies common sense is clearly a trap waiting for careless people to fall into," one Weibo user commented.

Lawyer Chen Zhen from the Henan Zejin Law Firm told the Xiaoxiang Morning Herald that consumers are typically responsible for currency-related misunderstandings. However, if unclear or erroneous pricing information is provided, consumers can request to cancel the transaction.