Asian Games Accommodation Crisis Forces South Korea and Japan to Co-host, Philippines Forced to Find Airbnb

The Korean Sport & Olympic Committee officially stated on Thursday that the 19th Asian Games, originally scheduled to be held in October in Aichi Prefecture and Nagoya City, Japan, are facing a "severe shortage of accommodation." The South Korean side pointed out that the accommodation packages previously agreed upon with the Japanese government and local authorities have fallen short. Due to a surge in post-pandemic lodging demand and hotel rooms being heavily occupied by private events, the number of official beds available for athletes and delegation members is far below estimates. The president of the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee emphasized at a press conference that if the issue cannot be resolved promptly, it will directly impact athletes' preparation and performance, and may even force some countries to consider adjusting the size of their delegations.

Venue construction and infrastructure upgrades for this edition of the Asian Games have been underway since December 2023, with the original expectation of meeting the accommodation needs of over 30,000 athletes and accompanying staff during the competition period. Past Asian Games, such as Jakarta-Palembang 2018 and Hangzhou 2022, also drew external attention due to tight lodging arrangements. However, for the upcoming games hosted in Japan, the domestic lodging market is already in undersupply, and combined with the rapid return of international travelers, the original capacity plans have been forced to undergo re-evaluation. The Japanese local government stated that it has initiated temporary housing and school dormitory conversion projects, and is negotiating with private operators to open additional temporary rooms to make up for the shortfall in official accommodation.

Against this backdrop, the Philippine delegation disclosed today that some of its team members have been forced to search online platforms such as Airbnb for private rentals to secure temporary lodging. A spokesperson for the Philippine Olympic Committee explained that although short-term rentals are relatively expensive and lack unified management, they have no other choice to ensure that athletes get adequate rest before the competition. This move also highlights the imbalance in the allocation of accommodation resources at the Asian Games, particularly for developing countries with more limited financial resources, for whom additional lodging costs will directly squeeze their training and logistical budgets.

The accommodation issue is not only a logistical challenge, but may also affect the fairness and safety of the competition. If athletes fail to get enough sleep due to poor temporary living conditions, their athletic performance will be directly impacted. At the same time, the difficulty of uniformly monitoring safety and epidemic prevention measures in private rentals also increases the risk of unexpected incidents. The International Olympic Committee and the Olympic Council of Asia have indicated that they will closely monitor the logistical arrangements for these Asian Games and provide technical and resource support if necessary to ensure the events are held in a fair and safe environment.

Looking ahead, the lessons learned from the accommodation shortage may prompt future Asian Games to place greater emphasis on the practical assessment of lodging capacity during the site selection and preparation phases. Experts suggest that future host cities should proactively plan diversified accommodation solutions—including temporary housing, converted school dormitories, and cooperation mechanisms with short-term rental platforms—while establishing unified accommodation quality and safety standards to avoid repeating the current predicament. For the current Asian Games, swiftly closing the accommodation gap before the opening ceremony will help preserve the event's image and the trust of participating nations, while establishing a more solid foundation for sports exchanges in Asia.