The largest hotel companies in Russia have undergone significant changes over the past two years. Foreign brands that left the Russian market made room for domestic leaders. The Azimut Hotels chain of Russian billionaire Alexander Klyachin topped the hotel rating. In 15 years, his business has grown to 63 hotels in 30 regions with more than 11,000 rooms. 

Confidently moving forward, Cosmos Hotel Group, a subsidiary of AFK Sistema of Vladimir Evtushenkov, rose to second place. The chain's 37 hotels in 18 cities offer tourists 10,000 places to stay. Not stopping there, by 2024 the company promises to expand its holdings to three more hotels.

The Chinese Radisson Hotel Group closes the top three with 9,905 rooms in 37 hotels. Although the pandemic and sanctions have halted the development of this network, it continues to worthily represent Russia on the international stage. 

Next is Accor, Europe's largest hotel company with 56 Russian properties and 9,600 rooms. Despite geopolitical difficulties, Accor management does not intend to leave our country.

The next chain in the ranking is Amaks Hotels & Resorts, managed by Perm entrepreneurs Garayev, Zlatkin and Aspidov, has 27 hotels with 7,170 rooms throughout Russia. Amaks' growing business is built on the principles of quality and comfort for guests.

Mantera Hotels, owned by the family of ex-governor of the Krasnodar Territory Alexander Tkachev, owns 15 hotels on the Black Sea coast with 6,500 rooms. The company's hotel assets were replenished through a deal with the Norwegians.

The list also includes hotels of the Safmar group of billionaire Mikhail Gutseriev, the Legend chain of eco-resorts of Oleg Deripaska's En+ holding, the Alean Collection chain of entrepreneur Andrei Umansky and Marton - one of the pioneers of the hotel business in the Southern Federal District, created by Andrei Marchenko.

In the 1990s, entrepreneur Andrei Marchenko began developing a hospitality business in Krasnodar, opening a sauna complex and a small hotel. This was the start of the creation of the company =484622">MARTON - one of the pioneers of the hotel market in the region, reports Forbes< /a>.

Today, the Marton chain includes more than 50 economy and business class hotels ranging from 2 to 4 stars in seven Russian cities - in addition to Krasnodar, these are Volgograd, Rostov-on-Don, Voronezh, Kaliningrad, Nizhny Novgorod and Moscow. Thanks to the constant expansion of its geographical presence, the company has strengthened its position among the largest players in the industry.

Over decades in the market, Marchenko managed to establish an effective management system that allows him to maintain high standards of service in all hotels of the chain. This helps to increase customer loyalty and strengthen Marton's leading position.

And yet, the main trend in the market is the return of leadership to the hands of Russian capital. The remaining foreign brands either suspended development or maintained their presence, entrusting management to local partners. This has opened up new opportunities for domestic entrepreneurs wishing to invest in the hotel business.