He Cleaned Love Hotels — Then Built a Billion-Dollar Travel Company

Before Lee Su-jin became a billionaire, he spent his days cleaning rooms at a small motel in Seoul, South Korea. The job wasn’t glamorous. He changed sheets, scrubbed bathrooms, cleaned up after guests, and worked long hours for relatively little money.

But there was one advantage. The motel provided somewhere for him to sleep, which meant he didn’t have to worry about paying rent while trying to get his life on track.

Lee had studied engineering and hoped to find work in manufacturing. Instead, he found himself cleaning rooms at a business that rented them to customers, sometimes for just a few hours.

At the time, he had no idea that the job would eventually help him build Yanolja, one of South Korea’s largest travel technology companies.

A Job That Came With Somewhere to Sleep

Lee was born in 1978 in Chungju, South Korea. His father died when Lee was just four years old, and he spent much of his childhood being raised by his grandmother.

Money was tight, and Lee learned early that if he wanted something, he would probably have to find a way to earn it himself. As a teenager, he worked various jobs while trying to continue his education.

Eventually, he received a scholarship to attend Cheonan Technical College, where he studied mold engineering. He hoped his training would lead to a steady career in manufacturing.

But after graduating and moving to Seoul, he struggled to find a suitable job. The economy had been through a difficult period, and opportunities weren’t easy to come by. In 2004, he accepted work cleaning rooms at a motel.

The business was part of South Korea’s large short-stay lodging industry, commonly associated with couples looking for privacy. These establishments were often called love hotels.

Lee spent his shifts cleaning rooms, changing bedding, and helping keep the property running. Because he lived at the motel, he also got to see how the business operated when guests arrived, checked out, or complained about something.

Over time, he began noticing problems that seemed unnecessarily difficult. Customers couldn’t always find reliable information about a motel before arriving. Many properties had poor reputations, and some owners had little interest in improving their facilities or reaching different kinds of guests.

Lee thought there was an opportunity to change that.

A Website for Motel Workers

Lee began spending his free time writing about the motel industry online. He created a forum called Motel Story, where he discussed the difficult working hours, demanding guests, and frustrations of the business.

What started as a place to share his experiences soon attracted thousands of readers. Other motel workers and people connected to the industry began participating.

Lee realized there was a surprisingly large audience interested in information about an industry that had barely started moving onto the internet. In 2005, he came across another online community called Motel Tour, which focused on reviews and information about love hotels. He decided to buy it.

Using approximately 5 million South Korean won from his savings, Lee acquired the community and began building on its existing audience. He had spent years working inside motels, so he understood the kinds of information customers wanted and the problems owners were trying to solve.

The website began connecting the two groups. Customers could learn about properties before visiting, while motel operators gained a new way to advertise their businesses.

Lee eventually renamed the operation Yanolja, a Korean expression meaning something close to “Hey, let’s play.” What began as a modest internet business was about to grow considerably larger.

Changing the Way People Book Rooms

As Yanolja attracted more attention, Lee began thinking beyond simply listing motels on a website. He believed these businesses could appeal to many more customers if owners improved their facilities and made the experience more comfortable. Why couldn’t a motel attract tourists, business travelers, or families looking for affordable accommodation?

Lee began encouraging operators to improve cleanliness, replace worn-out bedding, upgrade amenities, and give customers better information about their properties. He wanted people to feel comfortable choosing a motel without worrying about what they might find when they arrived.

Then smartphones began changing how people booked accommodation. Lee recognized the opportunity early and started developing mobile services that would let customers search for rooms and make reservations directly from their phones.

Yanolja introduced a mobile booking app, making it easier for customers to compare properties, check availability, and arrange accommodation. The convenience helped the company attract new users, and its growing customer base gave motel owners another reason to join.

By the end of 2015, Yanolja’s app had accumulated approximately 10 million downloads. The company was no longer a small website run by a former motel cleaner. It was becoming a major player in South Korea’s travel industry.

Investors Started Paying Attention

As Yanolja expanded, Lee began attracting investment from companies that saw the potential of its technology. In 2019, an investment round led by GIC and Booking Holdings brought in approximately $180 million.

The funding helped Yanolja expand its services and develop technology for hotels and other accommodation businesses. Lee wasn’t satisfied with simply helping travelers book rooms. He wanted to improve the systems hotels used to manage reservations, check-ins, room availability, and everyday operations.

His years working inside motels had shown him how much time employees spent dealing with outdated processes. Yanolja began developing cloud-based software that could help hotels operate more efficiently.

The company also expanded into transportation, activities, entertainment, and other travel services. Then, in July 2021, Yanolja announced an enormous investment.

SoftBank Vision Fund 2 had committed $1.7 billion to the company. It was a remarkable moment for Lee, who had started his career in hospitality cleaning motel rooms for a paycheck and somewhere to sleep. That investment helped Yanolja accelerate its international expansion and develop technology for travel businesses around the world.

From Cleaning Rooms to Running a Global Company

Today, Yanolja is much more than an accommodation booking website. Its businesses provide travel services for customers and software used by hotels, resorts, and other travel companies.

According to the company, its hospitality technology is used across more than 170 countries, helping businesses manage bookings, room operations, and sales. Yanolja has also invested heavily in artificial intelligence, developing systems that can help hotels adjust prices, manage reservations, and make better use of their available rooms.

In 2026, Forbes listed Lee among the world’s billionaires, estimating his personal wealth at more than $1 billion. The man who once worked as a motel cleaner was now leading a company operating across the global travel industry.

But Lee’s understanding of the business still comes back to the years he spent working inside those motels. He knew what happened when customers couldn’t find accurate information, when rooms weren’t properly maintained, and when operators relied on systems that made everyday tasks more difficult.

Those were the problems he built Yanolja to solve.

The Job That Started Everything

Lee didn’t enter the travel industry with a wealthy family backing him or an established company to take over. He accepted a motel job because he needed steady work and somewhere to live.

For years, he cleaned rooms, dealt with guests, and watched how the business operated. Eventually, he started asking why things couldn’t be done better.

That curiosity led him to an online forum, a motel review website, and eventually an international technology company. The job gave him somewhere to sleep.

It also gave him an idea that would change his life.