A Room With A View — But Not Of Earth: World's First Hotel On The Moon?

Imagine drawing the curtains of your hotel room and finding the Moon stretching endlessly outside your window. What sounds like a scene lifted from science fiction may soon edge closer to reality.

A US-based startup has announced plans to build what it claims will be the world’s first permanent hotel on the Moon, with the first guests expected to arrive by 2032. The company, GRU Space, has already begun accepting advance applications, signalling serious intent behind a project that, if successful, could mark the first long-term human-made structure beyond Earth.

Initially, the lunar hotel will host just four guests, positioning itself as an ultra-exclusive boutique stay. Over time, as technology and logistics evolve, the company plans to expand

capacity. GRU Space says the hotel will be constructed using a combination of inflatable living modules built on Earth and an automated system that converts lunar soil into brick-like material for the exterior. This approach aims to address one of space construction’s biggest challenges, the prohibitive cost of transporting heavy materials from Earth.

In the early phase, only travellers with prior commercial spaceflight experience will be eligible to stay. Eventually, the hotel could open to what the company describes as “once-in-a-universe” tourists, a select group of civilians seeking an experience unlike any other.

GRU Space, short for Galactic Resource Utilisation, was founded in 2025 by Skyler Chan, a 22-year-old electrical engineering and computer science graduate from the University of California, Berkeley. The startup has been part of the Y Combinator accelerator programme and, according to Chan, has backing from investors linked to companies such as SpaceX and Anduril, known for its work in autonomous defence systems.

“I’ve been passionate about space since childhood. Working on the biggest project of my life is a privilege,” Chan said, adding that he believes humanity will eventually move towards interplanetary living, with settlements on the Moon and Mars. GRU Space’s broader ambition is to create a sustainable lunar economy driven initially by space tourism.

The dream, however, comes at a steep cost. Early applicants are required to pay a non-refundable application fee of $1,000, along with a refundable deposit of $1 million. While the final price has not been officially announced, estimates suggest a single room could cost upwards of $10 million. Prospective guests may also need to submit detailed medical, personal and financial documentation to qualify for the journey.

According to a report by Gulf News, GRU Space plans to begin construction tests on the Moon in 2029, with support from NASA. The first phase will involve deploying a small inflatable structure to study durability and environmental conditions. If successful, the company intends to build a larger habitat inside a natural lunar pit, which offers greater stability and relatively warmer temperatures than the Moon’s exposed surface.

A key part of the testing phase will involve producing bricks from lunar dust to shield the structure from radiation and extreme temperature swings. The final stage, targeted for 2032, would see the first operational version of the hotel come online.