Booking and paying for hotels in Moscow, St. Petersburg and other cities in Russia today faces two challenges that arose after sanctions were imposed.
Popular booking services like Booking.com and Airbnb.com no longer show any listings for accommodation in Russia.
Russian booking systems only accept credit cards issued in Russia for payment and do not accept Visa or Mastercard.
So how can you now book and pay for a hotel in Russia?
These problems can easily be solved in two ways.
Use the only major international service that continues to operate in Russia —
Book hotels on the Russian website
How to book a hotel in Russia on the Trip.com website?
However, if you try to find accommodation in Russia, for example in Moscow, as you usually do on other booking services, you will see the message: «No properties found.»
Don’t believe that accommodation cannot be found 🙂 Change the language to Russian (Русский).
You will immediately see that in Moscow you can book over 1,500 hotels. Hotels can be paid for with Visa, Mastercard, JCB, UnionPay cards.
The currency must be indicated as EUR, USD or any other currency except the Russian ruble (RUB). If you select RUB, you will only be able to pay with a Russian credit card, not an international one.
You can also go directly to the Trip.com website using
The only discomfort you will face is that hotel names and other information will be in Russian, but you can use Google Translate.
The advantages of
How to book a hotel in Russia with payment due at check-in?
Another way to book hotels in Russia is to use the Russian website
The main advantages of the Ostrovok.ru site are a large selection of hotels and apartments in Moscow, St. Petersburg and other cities in Russia, as well as the ability to use the English language and display prices in a convenient currency for you.
The option to book accommodation without a credit card is available for some but not all hotels. For example, in St. Petersburg out of 6,200 hotels you can book 2,000 accommodation options with cash payment at check-in.
To find only such hotel offers, select the Payment and booking option: No card required for booking.
When you select a suitable hotel and room, you will see a message about the need to pay at the hotel and the amount in Russian rubles.
How to book a hotel in Moscow and St. Petersburg with a Russian credit card?
If you have a Russian credit card, opportunities for booking accommodation in Moscow, St. Petersburg and any other city in Russia are significantly expanded. In addition to Trip.com and Ostrovok.ru, you can book hotels on Yandex Travel, and apartments on Sutochno.ru (the Russian equivalent of Airbnb).
To use a Russian credit card on the
The
How can hotels in Russia be paid for now?
Payment for hotels booked in Russia is now possible in three ways. This depends on the booking service you use.
1. Online payment with Visa and Mastercard credit cards. This payment option is available on the
2. Booking without a credit card with cash payment in Russian rubles on arrival at the hotel. This option can be used on the
When booking without a card, you need to remember that apart from cash in Russian rubles, you will not have any alternative ways to pay for your stay. International Visa and Mastercards do not work in Russia due to sanctions, and cash US dollars or euros are not accepted at many hotels.
3. Payment with a card issued in Russia. If you have a Russian credit card, you can book accommodation online with payment on Trip.com, Ostrovok.ru, as well as
The table shows all options for paying for hotels in Russia when booking on the most popular sites.
VISA/MasterCard | Russian cards | Without a card | |
Trip.com | Yes | Yes | No |
Ostrovok.ru | No | Yes | Yes |
Yandex Travel | No | Yes | No |
Sutochno.ru | No | Yes | No |