Jaroslav Svoboda (born 2 September 1973) is a Czech entrepreneur and hotelier. He is the owner of Czech Inn Hotels, headquartered in Prague.
Early life, education and early career Svoboda was born 2 September 1973 in Brno.
A graduate of the Secondary Hotel School in Prague and the vocational school in Lomnice, he has worked in the hospitality industry since the age of eighteen. Experience was gained at several hotels and restaurants in Prague and abroad.
For several years, he held entry-level positions as a waiter, cook and, later, as a front-desk supervisor.
He subsequently worked as an food-and-beverage manager at several restaurants in Prague.
At the age of twenty-six, Jaroslav accepted a position as sales assistant and, after a year and a half, worked his way up to sales manager at a company operating a conference and event venue in central Prague. This was followed by a position as hotel director (seventy rooms) at an international chain.
Entrepreneurship and the Czech Inn Hotels era At the age of twenty-eight, he started his own business and founded Czech Inn Hotels with a British partner. They began with a regional hotel, to which they subsequently added others. The company soon became a regional chain with five hotels and three restaurants.
During the 2008 financial crisis, the company acquired its first hotel in Prague. Over the next three years, it added five more hotels. In 2013, the company purchased a stake in one of Prague's five-star hotels – the Kempinski Hotel, now known as The Grand Mark Hotel, located in the Věžníků Palace (Hybernská).
In 2015, they purchased the current Don Giovanni – one of the largest hotels in Prague – from the international Dorint chain.
Next came the Grand Hotel International and the Grand Hotel Prague Towers (formerly the Corinthia), then the Cosmopolitan Bobycentrum and Grand Palace hotels in Brno. In recent years, the group has also expanded abroad; it owns and operates hotels in Portugal, Georgia, Hungary, and Latvia.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the chain introduced so-called "COVID hotels", which housed guests who had tested positive for COVID-19. In another hotel, they set up a dormitory, while others were converted into apartments and immediately rented out for long-term stays.
As of 2026, the chain comprised twenty-eight three- to five-star hotels (over 3,000 rooms, 9,000 beds) and several restaurants. In 2025, the company accommodated over two million guests.
Personal life In his free time, Svoboda plays chess. He previously played for the Prague team GROP and was also a member of its board. Later, he founded his own club, Czech Inn Chess. Svoboda is also an active runner.
Charity work Svoboda supports Give Me Hope, Konto Bariéry, the Jewish Community in Prague, and the Vlastimil Hort Chess Foundation.
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