SMRTR TechJan 12, 2026Ars Technica

You can now reserve a hotel room on the Moon for $250,000

SMRTR summary

Fresh out of UC Berkeley, Skyler Chan is asking potential customers to put down deposits between $250,000 and $1 million for a spot at his planned lunar hotel, modeled after San Francisco's Palace of the Fine Arts. His company, GRU Space, consists of exactly two people including himself, yet Chan envisions constructing increasingly sophisticated Moon habitats within six years.

The young entrepreneur's earnestness is striking given the audacious scope of his vision. "I realized I was born in this time where we can actually become interplanetary, and that is probably the singular most impactful thing one person could do with their time," Chan explained.

While the venture might seem fantastical, the underlying concept taps into something compelling. As space agencies and private companies eye lunar resources, tourism could prove the Moon's most viable commercial venture. After all, Earth's satellite would offer travelers an experience unlike anywhere else in the solar system.

Chan's journey from aspiring astronaut to space entrepreneur reflects a generational shift, where young visionaries see interplanetary travel not as science fiction, but as an achievable business opportunity worth pursuing.

SMRTR provides this summary for quick context. The original article belongs to Ars Technica.

Read the original article
SMRTR Tech

Get the next batch of curated summaries in your inbox.

This archive is built from SMRTR newsletter summaries. Subscribe for hand-picked stories without the extra noise.