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Categorisation

Does your hotel stand where its stars say it should?

Montenegro Experts is the hotel consultancy for private properties in Montenegro. With the categorisation review we compare your property with the requirements of the state categorisation and tell you what it costs to keep your category or to reach the next one.

Michael Gehring and Ljubo Vuljaj with documents
Working session, Styria, September 2026
The system

Montenegro classifies under its own law

The category is made up of mandatory standards and points-based standards. At four and five stars mystery guests come, and every five years the property is reviewed again. Montenegro is not a member of the Hotelstars Union.

537active hotels in the central tourism register, 293 of them with four or five starsctr.gov.me, own analysis, retrieved 14 October 2026
5 yearsis how long a category is valid; then the property is reviewed againPravilnik on categorisation, Official Gazette 36/18
1 in 4properties in our sample around Ulcinj carried half stars from the portals' logicOwn survey, 21 properties, September 2026
Law on Tourism and Hospitality, Official Gazette 2/18; Pravilnik on categorisation, Official Gazette 36/18
When the review pays off

Four occasions

The re-inspection is due

Owners who know where their property stands plan the necessary works for the low season instead of under time pressure.

An upgrade is planned

One more star supports a higher price only if the investment pays off. The list shows what it costs.

Category and property no longer match

Guests rate what they find. If a property falls short of its category, reviews and price suffer; if it exceeds it, it gives away earnings.

New tourism law

The government adopted a new law on 18 June 2026; it is before parliament. For condo hotels it provides for minimum categories. What this means for your property we will clarify as soon as the text applies.

The service

Review with investment list

We go through your property standard by standard, the way the inspectors do, and write down what is missing.

The review is carried out with a visit on site or remotely, with photos, plans and your documents. We know the criteria of the Hotelstars Union, which guests from Germany, Austria and Switzerland are familiar with, from running hotels there, and we name the differences where they matter to your guests.

We name the fixed price after the first meeting, before you commission anything.

What you receive

  • A check against every mandatory standard of your category
  • Your score under the points-based standards, with the margin
  • Investment list: what is missing, roughly what it costs, in which order
  • Recommendation: keep the category, upgrade or reposition the property
  • Notes on which measures can be combined with funding or a loan
  • Report in German, English or Montenegrin

The decision is issued solely by the competent authority; we do not guarantee any particular result. Structural and legal questions are clarified by licensed local firms.

Process

Five steps to the investment list

First meeting

Free of charge and confidential: your property, your category, your occasion.

Assignment

A fixed price, in writing, before we start.

Documents

Decision, plans, photos, room list. We tell you exactly what we need.

Review

Standard by standard, on site or remotely.

Report

Result, investment list and recommendation, discussed with you.

Frequently asked questions

What hoteliers ask us

Do you file the categorisation application for us?

We prepare you and your documents for the inspection. The decision is issued solely by the competent authority; we do not guarantee any particular result.

Does the Hotelstars Union apply in Montenegro?

No. Montenegro classifies hotels under its own law, the Law on Tourism and Hospitality and the Pravilnik on categorisation, Official Gazette 36/18. Guests from the German-speaking countries nevertheless compare with what they know from home.

What does the review cost?

We work at a fixed price agreed before we start. We name the price after the first meeting, once we know the size and type of your property.

What happens to my documents?

We use your documents exclusively for your assignment. We never publish the names of properties or businesses.

First meeting

Know where your property stands

Write to us in two sentences about which property and which category this is about. We will get back to you personally and arrange a meeting.