Sergey Kalugin
LP: – What is the situation in the hotel market in 2025? How doesit differ from last year?
– It is expected that there will be a moderate but steady growth in hotel employment in 2025 compared to 2024. Overall, the global market continues to see a recovery in the hospitality and tourism industry, with a steady increase in overnight stays. Thus, the total number of overnight stays in 2024 amounted to 4.8 billion, reaching 96% of the pre-vision figures.
In Chisinau, the situation remains stable, although the main factor is not good – the war in neighboring Ukraine. The number of departures from the airport is growing, as well as its traffic. In 2024, the Chisinau airport served 4.1 million passengers or 46% more compared to the previous year. At the same time, more than a third of passengers are Ukrainian citizens, reflecting the impact of the war on traffic in the region.
In June 2025, the airport’s passenger traffic amounted to a record 621 thousand people – an increase of 40%. At the same time, new destinations appeared: Dortmund, Alicante, Memmingen, Abu Dhabi, Palma de Mallorca, Nuremberg, Brussels, Thessaloniki, El Dabaa, Bremen, Manchester, Turin, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Lyon.
Accordingly, Ukrainians are still in the first place by the number of guests in Moldovan hotels.
LP: – How has the dynamics of prices for hotel services changed? And what is the occupancy rate in Chisinau hotels now?
– In Chisinau the occupancy rate is 60-80%, depending on the category of the hotel. This is a very high indicator, given that until 2019, the capital’s facilities worked, on average, with utilization up to 50%. On the one hand – this is an encouraging factor, on the other hand, we need to take into account the large share of old (and controversial) room stock. Like the same hotel “Chisinau”, operating in economy format.
As for prices, they differ by seasons. In the high season in the fall the cost of accommodation is 20-25% higher than in the low season, at the end of winter.
Thus, according to the international hotel analytics, covering about 100 local hotels, in Moldova the average cost of a room for one night is $81. At the same time, the best month in terms of price is February with an average cost of $74. The least popular month to visit Moldova is March, attracting only 5.8% of visitors. The most popular is September. Hotel prices in Moldova reach their peak in October, when their average cost is $90.
If we focus only on the category of 4-5 stars, accommodation prices are set at the level of 120-250 euros per night.
LP: – Which hotels dictate the price policy today? Are there any flagships in this market?
– The leaders are still the same – the international chains Marriot, as well as Radisson Blu Hotel. I would add here the Jolly Alon Hotel, which recently opened after a big reconstruction. It has the best location in Chisinau, so it is also in the leaders.
LP: – Have there been any requests for new expansions? What openings does the market expect in the near future?
– Dacia Hotel is closed, and apparently for a long time. Reconstruction there is to be serious: it will take three years, no less, to bring the object to the requirements of “Hilton Garden Inn”. But after its launch, it will become a direct competitor to JA, Radisson Blu, Marriott Court Yard, and the new Moxy by Marriott (its project is currently at the discussion stage).
Ibis Styles” under construction in the area of Chisinau airport (“Satul German”), which is scheduled to be launched in 2025, is the only hotel (apart from “President”) in such an important tourist hub. Its appearance there is very important because of the growing number of Ukrainian tourists from Odessa region.
So far the value of the brand “Ibis” for customers is not high: the choice of consumers is more influenced by its location and price. I think that in the future the brand itself will add popularity to the hotel. Foreign clients know this signboard and when choosing a place of accommodation in an unfamiliar country, one way or another, they focus on international chains.
LP: – Dacia-Hilton, as well as the airport Ibis are in the active phase of construction. Are there any big “long construction projects” on the market?
– The most vivid example is Ramada. Back in 2009, “Ramada Worldwide” announced the opening of a chain hotel in Chisinau. The company planned to launch the project on the basis of the hotel “Codru”. The opening of the new “Ramada Chisinau City Center” was planned for the fall of 2010. However, the parties did not agree. Later, as it is known, “Codru” was bought by “Moldova Agroindbank”, and the site for “Ramada” was found only recently – at the entrance to the city park Valea Morilor. As far as I know, the case is almost not moving there.
LP: – What is more profitable for hoteliers to invest in in Moldova today?
– So far any investments in hotels look tempting. But political risks remain. After the end of the military conflict in Ukraine, the hotel business will sharply decline, I am absolutely convinced of this. Therefore, we should invest in objects with great potential, with a room stock of about 40 rooms.
LP: – You have your own hotels “Thomas Albert“in Chisinau. How has your personal business developed over the last year?
– At the end of 2024 our second hotel “Thomas Albert Collection” opened in the city center. I didn’t chase hotel brands, I didn’t try to get franchises, as I realized that demand is high “in the moment”. In the end, we staked on the concept of 4-star accommodation at the price of 3 stars. We do not aim to maximize the number of services, but we provide the stated services as well as possible. The main emphasis is on the staff, because they are the ones who produce what customers are willing to pay for.
The legendary Hotel Chisinau is still not an easy one. In 2021, it was put up for auction in a very unpresentable condition. In fact, it was sold as a remnant. A 60.2% stake owned by the state was sold to Transimex Prim back in 1998. Then, after the contract was terminated, it returned to the state owner, but without the hotel. While the litigation was going on, the building was resold several times. First as collateral for the outstanding loan to the bank, then – to the company “Art-Vin”, then – to the company “Tawer Grup”, and finally – to the firm “First Hotel” (founder – offshore company “Longmont Holdings Ltd”). The auditors of the Court of Accounts noted a number of violations, which APS turned a blind eye to. After the hotel “Moldova” was sold and rebuilt as a bank, “Chisinau” remained the only oldest hotel in Chisinau, which could have become an object of national importance. Today it works, but does not make a difference on the hotel market, being listed as an outsider.
At the peak of the hotel boom in Moldova a big player appears – the American chain “Hilton”. According to the Agency for Investments, the project of the brand “Hilton Garden Inn” is realized by means of large-scale reconstruction of the historical building of the hotel “Dacia”. The transformation of the object implies its expansion and modernization according to the standards of the international chain. The project is a franchise project. Local investments assume an initial contribution of 5 million euros with the prospect of reaching 10-12 million euros in the coming years.
“Dacia is a special hotel. It has always had three advantages: dislocation, room stock and infrastructure. This relatively new 7-storey complex (it appeared in 1999), has an area of 4.5 thousand square meters, as well as a fund of 88 rooms. It also includes a land plot of 0.21 hectares in the most expensive historical part of Chisinau, near the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Parliament and the central park Stefan cel Mare.
The state asset was first put up for privatization in 1999 for 20.15 million lei. There was no competition as such: there was only one bid from the Moldovan-Ukrainian firm Selikat-Mix, backed by Ukrainian entrepreneur Valeriy Gorbatyuk. In 2001, after the PCRM came to power, the hotel was nationalized under the pretext of violations committed during privatization. A series of legal proceedings followed, and in 2009 the property was returned to the former owner. All this history could not but affect the hotel’s activity: it began to work in the negative. In 2020, the losses exceeded 2.6 million (minus 77%), and the losses in 2021 amounted to 1.3 million lei. In 2023, the Dacia Hotel was sold. The buyer is the Moldovan company “NaftaTrans”, which is owned by Miroslav Skurt (80%) and Alexei Prozorov (20%). The main activity of NaftaTrans is import and wholesale distribution of oil products. Now Hotel Dacia SRL has one actual beneficiary – Miroslav Skurtu.
It should be noted that “Hilton Garden Inn” is a very impressive player. It is an indicator that the market is ripe for big investments. This means that the Moldovan hotel business has made a great leap forward and is unlikely to return to its previous positions.
According to Moldovan hoteliers, Summa Group intends to open another Marriott-branded hotel in Chisinau – Moxy Hotel. It will be built next to MallDova shopping center, next door to Marriott Courtyard. Moxy was first announced in 2013 as a new stylish and affordable Marriott brand, specifically designed for travelers of the Millennials generation, i.e. for people between 18 and 40 years old. The first Moxy hotel opened in Milan in 2014. It is a fairly democratic brand that offers a turnkey solution to create a vibrant, stylish franchise-based product. Moxy is characterized by a lively and minimalist style: the hotel offers “everything you need and nothing extra”.
