Montenegro is growing towards Europe. We guide hotels, restaurants and wineries through these years.
Montenegro Experts is a hotel and hospitality consultancy for hotels, restaurants and wineries in Montenegro. Ljubo Vuljaj was born in Montenegro and is a certified sommelier; Michael Gehring has been running hotels since 1981. Together we advise on operations, work with official figures and prepare funding applications so that they are complete on the first day.
Where we help
A hotel with 30 rooms on the coast has different questions from an investor in Munich or a municipality with a project. Choose the route that fits you.
For hoteliers and hosts
For private hotels, restaurants, konobas and wineries that want to work more professionally and earn over more months of the year.
- Operational analysis and category
- Year-round operation and direct sales
- Gastronomy, wine and service
- Preparing for EU standards
For investors and owners
For buyers from the German-speaking countries and for owners who want to sell a hotel or give it a new direction.
- Operational assessment before a purchase
- Sale-readiness analysis and exposé
- Pre-opening and repositioning
- Financing through the Development Bank
For partners and institutions
For tourism organisations, associations, municipalities, banks and estate agents looking for hotel expertise and access to the German-speaking market.
- Training for teams
- Project work in Interreg and IPA
- Hotel expertise for agents and banks
- A bridge to the German-speaking market
Five challenges and what we contribute
In October 2026 we spoke with hoteliers, restaurateurs and estate agencies and analysed the official statistics. These five topics came up again and again.
The hotel guest stays briefly
Hotels, guesthouses and resorts win 55.1 percent of arrivals and keep only 33.8 percent of the nights. Every short stay brings arrival and departure, cleaning and empty rooms.
MONSTAT, Release 27-2/2026, tables 1 to 3Length of stay is a lever every property can move itself: with packages, direct booking and an offer that reaches beyond the beach. One more night has a greater effect than any price increase.
Summer carries the whole year
July and August bring over 40 percent of the year's nights, June to September 60 to 65 percent. 92.6 percent of all nights are spent on the coast.
MONSTAT and SeeNews, analysis 2025Offers for spring, autumn and winter, calculated through to the monthly result. A property that opens for longer can employ skilled staff year-round and keep them.
Stars hardly explain the price
In our sample of 21 properties around Ulcinj, a quarter were listed with half stars on the portals. These come from the portals' own logic; no official decision lies behind them.
Own survey, September 2026, small sampleAn operational analysis with a comparison against the state classification. It shows where a property stands above or below its category and what that means for the price.
The money is there, the application is the hurdle
Funding for hotels is spread across six bodies. Calls are published in Montenegrin, often with short deadlines. Under IPARD III, 55 of 100 points go to complete documents on the first day.
Programme documents of the bodies, as of October 2026The funding application from A to Z: funding check, investment and business plan, complete documents, bank meeting and support until the payout.
Accession brings new obligations
The chapters on food safety, social policy and the environment bring HACCP and the 14 allergens, rest periods and written contracts, waste water and waste. Many hoteliers see mainly effort and cost in this.
Accession negotiations, chapters 12, 19 and 27Preparation in stages, with a checklist and a sequence. Investments that have to be made anyway we combine with the right funding routes.
The deadlines running now
Whoever is complete on the first day of a call has the best chances. These dates concern hotels, restaurants and municipalities until the end of 2026.
The funding guide lists every programme with key data, conditions and source, together with a finder that shows what fits your business and your project.
Interreg South Adriatic, 4th call
For municipalities, tourism organisations and associations. We contribute as a contractor.
Eko-Fond, hotel energy-efficiency programme
The contractors are approved first. The call to hotels is expected from January 2027.
Development Bank, tourism loans PRG-26-7
Up to 10 million euros, up to 12 years, up to 4 years grace period. The credit line runs until the end of the year.
Roots in the country, four decades of hotel experience
Ljubo Vuljaj
Born in Montenegro, certified sommelier, in the wine trade since 2000, teacher of restaurant service at the vocational school in Bad Gleichenberg. Runs the agency Weingutmarketing. Speaks with you in Montenegrin, German and English.
Gastronomy in detail
Michael Gehring
More than 40 years in hotel management since 1981, in Switzerland, Austria, Germany and South Tyrol, from opening to restructuring. Leisure, conference and boutique hotels, seasonal and year-round operation. Runs the hotel consultancy HotelSuccess.
Hotels in detailTell us about your property
A first meeting takes 45 minutes, free of charge and without obligation. We look at your starting position and tell you honestly whether and where we can help.