Contents
General overview
Romania ended 2025 with mixed results: whereas the first half of the year was quite decent and saw a somewhat generalized (albeit small) growth, the second half saw a decline in occupancy in most of the country, with a notable exception for the capital – which remained in the black. This trend is a clear highlight of the fact that Romanians were impacted to an extent by the softer economic backdrop, particularly in the second half of the year amid tax increases adopted by the government, whereas foreigners continue to come to Romania in greater numbers both for leisure and business purposes.
Indeed, the biggest year-on-year declines were recorded in counties like Brasov, Prahova or Arges, all of which have sizeable mountain resorts that suffered towards the year’s end due to the aforementioned adverse conditions. That said, Constanta county – which incorporates the vast majority of the seaside resorts, saw a very good seasonal growth in 2025 compared to the previous years. Overall, the number of nights spent in local hotels (with the vast majority of these being Romanians) increased by less than 1% in 2025, reaching a new record high since the 1990s, despite the fairly modest year-on-year improvement.
Nights spent at Romanian hotels shows a new 3 decade high in 2025
Source: Eurostat, Colliers
While reaching almost 5 million nights spent by foreigners at local hotels is a major milestone, it is important to note that this is one of the least impressive such results on a European level and even relative to CEE peers (Hungary has more than double this result, and Poland – triple that amount), so there is still a lot of room to catch up. Thankfully, we continue to see Romania climbing up in the ranks of destinations recommended for leisure purposes by various foreign media outlets or rankings, while its visibility as a business destination is also on the rise as Romania’s broader economic relevance climbs.
Hotels performance review
The aggregate occupancy, as calculated by the national statistical institute for 4 and 5 star hotels at a national level is not too far off from pre-pandemic highs and indeed, STR data for a basket of competitive hotels confirms this. For the 5 star/luxury hotels in Bucharest, occupancy reached an average of 72% for the first 11 months of 2025, up by around 10 percentage points from a year earlier, while the average daily rate (ADR) – which had seen sizeable increases in the recent past, remained at around 140 €/night. On the 4 star segment, occupancy remained broadly unchanged at around 80%, though we need to make a distinction between the hotels focused on leisure tourists (like those in central areas) and those in the northern part of the capital, which tend to have more of a business clientele. The latter saw a 10 percentage points jump in occupancy in 2025. Overall, 4 star hotels in Bucharest saw a 7% jump in room rates in 2025, reaching 110 €/night. With these recent developments, the ADR in Bucharest for competitive hotels is in the same region as that of other major CEE capitals.
Expenditures by tourists in native country shows Romania has increased at nearly EU levels of average prices per night
Source: Eurostat, Colliers
Indeed, EU-wide level data from Eurostat back a similar picture for the tourism sector as a whole when it comes to general prices. In terms of the average expenditures per night of local tourists in their native country, Romania stood at just 14% below the EU average in 2024, well above Poland and Hungary - though it is worth pointing out that the data is for the national level and it includes all expenditures. Looking at just accommodation-only expenditures, the prices become quite aligned between CEE economies.
When it comes to development news, 2025 saw a handful of openings, with the 30-room project Corinthia Grand Hotel du Boulevard Bucharest being the most resounding one. Another noteworthy addition is that of Bucharest Unirii Square, closed for refurbishment a few years ago, reopened with almost 90 rooms, which became the first hotel part of the Handwritten Collection, part of Accor Group.
The next years are set to bring a c.10% expansion of the number of rooms in hotels in Bucharest, with several noteworthy and unique projects for the local market. Mondrian Bucharest, the first Ennismore affiliated project on the local market (over 100 rooms) is expected in the first part of 2026. The Central District Bucharest Hotel - The Crest Collection (170 rooms) is also expected this year and will also mark the first project in Romania part of this brand. Radisson Red Old Town (over 100 rooms) and Swissotel Bucharest (over 220 rooms) are expected to come to the market in 2027. Radisson Lagoon Hotel, branded as an urban resort hotel (over 320 rooms) is expected more into the future, by the end of the current decade.
Otherwise, we can also note the increased number of branded hotels throughout the country, offering a testament to Romania’s rise as an international leisure destination. The biggest part of these are located in Brasov and its neighbouring ski resort – Poiana Brasov, but Cluj-Napoca, Sibiu, Constanta and Craiova are also seeing growth in this space.
Outlook
Overall, the hotel sector in Romania is increasingly dynamic, but the market’s development is somewhat held back by the lack of a pool of specialized and/or institutional developers active on the market. This is also the reason why many interested hotel chains and brands which look at Romania have a hard time closing deals. That said, there are some positive developments, like the recent sale of the Hilton Garden Inn Bucharest Airport, developed by the Lithuanian Apex Alliance Hotel Management group, which sold it to Yellow Tree; the sellers are set to remain as operators of the hotel in the future. This is arguably the first such deal we have seen in Romania and it could herald improvements with regards to the market’s ability to attract more institutional investors.
Otherwise, the local tourism industry will continue its upward trajectory over the longer term, particularly as we see great potential in foreign tourism rising in Romania, which should counter a potential decline of local tourism in the medium term. The shorter-term picture is not that great, as consumer confidence hovers around fairly depressed levels amid elevated inflation and a fiscal consolidation pursued by the government which has had both direct and indirect impact on the tourism sector (including via the restrictions applied to tourism vouchers that state employees received).