Epoque Hotel Relais & Châteaux, a leading player in the luxury hotel market in Bucharest, is anticipating a record year, with revenues estimated at €3 million, supported by a 7% increase in hotel activity. The importance of this news goes beyond mere financial performance and the recent €350k investment in modernization, as it highlights a critical paradox for the industry as a whole: the success of an independent operator is being held back by the lack of a coherent national strategy to promote Romania as a premium tourist destination, a problem directly pointed out by the hotel owner.
Epoque Hotel Relais & Châteaux, one of the benchmark five-star hotels in the capital, is forecasting revenues of €3m for 2024, marking the best year in its history. The growth on the hotel business is 7% compared to the previous year, reaching 14.5 mil. lei, equivalent to about 2.91 mil. euro. This performance is supported by a positive development in the first half of the year, when the hotel registered a 4% growth despite the unstable economic context, reaching a turnover of 1.6 million euros. Public data from the Ministry of Finance for the company that manages the hotel, D&M Real Estate, indicated total revenues of 15 million lei (about €3.01 million) in 2023, but this figure also includes secondary activities such as long-term rentals. In order to strengthen its position in the premium segment, the hotel recently completed a 350 thousand euro investment in the renovation and reconfiguration of its event spaces. The project included the creation of the Epoque Tasting Room, a private dining concept with open kitchen and wine cellar. This is a new stage in the development of the 45-room property, which opened in 2010 following a €10m investment and expanded in 2013. Affiliated since 2019 to the Relais & Châteaux luxury network, the first member in Romania, Epoque Hotel operates in a challenging context. Diana Popescu, the hotel’s owner, points out that although Romania’s tourism potential is internationally recognized, the efforts of independent players are undermined by the lack of a strong country brand and a national promotion strategy. “We make constant efforts, we invest, we create memorable experiences, but as an independent player we cannot compensate for the absence of a national tourism strategy,” she said, emphasizing the difficulty of strengthening Romania’s position as a luxury destination.
Hotel Epoque Relais & Châteaux in Bucharest expects revenues of €3 million this year
