Bucharest's hotel market continues to shine as a bright spot in Central and Eastern Europe, with performance metrics climbing steadily throughout 2024. According to Cushman & Wakefield Echinox, RevPAR surged 11.8% versus 2023 and exceeded pre-pandemic levels by 12.6%, whilst the city finally achieved the milestone €100 average daily rate. This strong performance has catalysed investor confidence, with plans to introduce more than 1,000 new rooms across all segments from midscale to luxury by 2027.

The capital has already welcomed the much-anticipated Corinthia Grand Hotel du Boulevard Bucharest in early 2025, following last year's addition of Ramada by Wyndham Bucharest Otopeni Airport. These developments align with broader Central and Eastern European trends, where the six major capitals (Bucharest, Bratislava, Budapest, Prague, Sofia and Warsaw) witnessed an 8.9% RevPAR increase in 2024, primarily driven by a 4.7% rise in ADR.

"Bucharest hotel market performance continues its positive trajectory with RevPAR surpassing pre-Covid level by 12.6%. Further increase in performance is expected thanks to Romania entering the Schengen Area, however, the uncertainty around geopolitical situation still is an important factor to be taken in consideration for future development of Romanian hotel market, including investment activity," said Alina Cazachevici MRICS, Partner, Head of Valuation & Advisory, Hospitality & Alternatives, CEE/SEE at Cushman & Wakefield.

Romania's hotel investment volume reached approximately €50m in 2024, representing about 13% of the total €399m transacted across the CEE-6 markets and marking a substantial 93% increase from 2023. Notably, Bucharest saw two significant transactions with Hotel Ambassador (scheduled for major refurbishment) and Hotel Sir Royal Bucharest changing hands, while five additional transactions occurred outside the capital, predominantly in the Upscale and Upper Upscale segments.

The emerging trend is of international investment groups specifically targeting secondary Romanian cities, with three of the five non-Bucharest transactions involving Western European capital entering these markets for the first time. This signals growing confidence in Romania's broader hospitality landscape beyond the capital region and represents a significant shift in investment patterns that could reshape the country's hotel development pipeline in the coming years.

People mentioned:

• Alina Cazachevici MRICS - Partner, Head of Valuation & Advisory, Hospitality & Alternatives, CEE/SEE at Cushman & Wakefield

Companies mentioned:

• Cushman & Wakefield Echinox - Real estate consulting company
• Corinthia Grand Hotel du Boulevard Bucharest - Luxury hotel
• Ramada by Wyndham Bucharest Otopeni Airport - Airport hotel
• Hotel Ambassador - Property undergoing refurbishment
• Hotel Sir Royal Bucharest - Transacted property

Wiki IMAGE - Hotel Ambasador

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