Customer Relationship Management Within Athenee Palace Hilton

LUCRARE DE LICENTA

Customer Relationship Management within Athenee Palace Hilton

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER 1. CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT FOR SERVICES

1.1 Concept and relationship with relational marketing (MRC

1.2. Advantages of relational marketing

1.3. CRM (Customer relationship marketing) Objectives and Instruments within the field of services

CHAPTER 2. SERVICES MARKET SC. ATHENEE PALACE HILTON

2.1. Market capacity
2.2 Market structure
2.3 Main categories of clients
2.4 Direct competitors

CHAPTER 3. DIRECTIONS OF ACTION IN CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MARKETING IN SC. ATHENEE PALACE HILTON

3.1 Short presentation of the Hotel ATHENEE PALACE HILTON

3.2 SWOT Analysis

3.3 Presentation of sales-marketing department

3.4 Elements of marketing mix

3.5 Directions of action in customer relationship marketing at Hotel Athenee Palace Hilton Bucharest

CONCLUSIONS AND PROPOSALS

BIBLIOGRAPHY

INTRODUCTION

The continous development of worldwide economy, with development accents in a geometric progression in some fields, registered during the last years, imposes some new efficiency values on a macroeconomic level as well as on a microeconomic one. The tendency of the given phenomenon is due to the intensification of the competitional framework in all worldwide markets. Today we can clearly speak about a new economy, with a new type of consumer, who has become especially initiated even expert in the economical phenomena and who understands well his importance for the producer, fact that notified many managers who are not ready to ascertain the importance of client orientation. The situation of incertitude created on the actual market gives the possibility of survival only to managers who consider the client as being the nucleus of research, the axis of future business development.

The actuality of the researched theme can be discussed due to the tendencies resulted from the practical activity, that demonstrated without any doubt that during the actual stage, problems within a business cannot be solved without the help of some basic concepts of traditional marketing. For that, within a complex competition, there appears the necessity to evaluate new possibilities that certainly will determine the success of the business.

The importance of relational marketing imposes the study of the concept from considerate that attract new clients, especially for young companies that do not dispose of sufficient funds for a mass publicity. Relational marketing orients the enterprise towards the client, towards the request of lasting relations with clients, their maintenance, giving a big attention to the possibility of fidelisation. It is evident the fact that relational marketing is not the solution to all the problems of the contemporary manager, but its implementation ensures a stable capacity rate to which many experienced companies aspire.

Relational Marketing comes to complete traditional marketing thesis based on the marketing mix, by in the future the importance of relational marketing will be bigger and will occupy the place of traditional marketing that up to now has been the promoter of an efficient development of all businesses. It is nor prematurely or tardive oriented to relational marketing, meaning towards the client.

The degree of research of the thesis is amplified together with the interest that it presents during the last time among scientists. The most important adepts of relations marketing, who put the theoretic basis of the new concept in the field and of the new marketing domain are: Leonard Berry, who was the first to give a definition to relational marketing in the year 1983, Philip Kotler, Newman and Kiner, who put as a scope the promotion of the new concept.

The scope of this work is constituted by the scientific and empiric approach of concepts that are at the basis of relational marketing, of objectives and development strategies of relational marketing, with applicability in services enterprises.

The tasks of this work reside in:

Research of definitely characteristics of relational marketing.

The analysis of planning activities and of achievement of relational marketing in services enterprises.

The study of the phenomenon of client loyalty and implications of this one over the activity of the enterprise. The study of the types of relations that are at the basis of relational marketing.

The tasks proposed for research will allow a more complex analysis of the problematic of relational marketing and the impulsioning of the application of relational marketing.

The work is composed of introduction, three chapters, conclusions and bibliography.

Chapter I Customer relationship management for services – supposes a conceptual research of relational marketing and the analysis of main objectives and instruments of this one.

Chapter II Services Market SC. ATHENEE PALACE HILTON” – contains market studying and of categories of clients and competition.

Chapter III "Directions of action in customer relationship marketing within SC. ATHENEE PALACE HILTON” – represents a research of the strategy of relational marketing applicable by the company.

The technical-material and methodological basis of this thesis supposes the study of publications and monographers published in the country and abroad, as well as the use of some virtual electronic sources.

CHAPTER I. CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT FOR SERVICES

1.1. Concept and relation with relational marketing (CRM)

During the last years, customer relationship management has developed and transformed itself in a major element of business strategy for many companies. It has as a basis the creation and development of some personalized relationships with clients with the scope to increase the profitability of these ones.

The adoption of a CRM type relationship gives the possibility to a company to rapidly adapt its organisational behaviour to changes appeared on the market and so the company will be able to better satisfy the wishes and exigencies of its clients.

The main factor that allows the practice of external relational marketing (not matter the stage in which it is) is Customer Relationship Management (Customer Relationship Management) – CRM. It supposes the particularisation and individualisation of client relationships starting from the premise that each client is very different from the others.

Based on a CRM, whose "heart" is constituted by the "database marketing", external relational marketing has a scope client fidelization. In this context, CRM represents a manner of application of technology in order to find out more about each client and in order to be able to respond at an individual level.

The central problem of CRM is the passing from the orientation of the company towards the product from the orientation of the company towards the client, respectively the focusing on necessities and wishes of this one. CRM is, in fact, a business strategy that aims to increase performances of the company based on the increase of client’s satisfaction. Such a strategy has to contain all the management and execution levels of the company of services and needs the active involvement of all employees for the achievement of this wish.

More to it, CRM systems has to allow the concomitant management of the entire types of client interactions (fig. 1.1).

As it results from figure 1.1. Under the "technical umbrella" of CRM systems, there are a variety of solutions:

Call centre;

Help-desk systems;

Application for the automatisation of sales force;

Application for the automatisation of marketing activities;

CRM can be divided in:

Operational CRM;

Collaborative CRM

Strategic CRM

The operational CRM is related to effective interaction with clients and refers to the concrete means used to increase the accuracy and the efficiency of daily relations with clients (as it results from figure 1.1., the operational CRM includes: call-centre; automatisation of sales forces; automatisation of marketing).

The collaborative CRM is related to processes and components that facilitate the overpassing of formal boundaries and that improve internal communication as well as external communication (with clients, suppliers and other business partners). Faulty communication with the exterior can have some important negative effects over offered services and over long term relations.

Faulty internal communication induces, on his turn, some multiple negative effects: diminution of the quality of decisional processes; demotivation of employees; corresponding achievement of activities, etc. Groupware – instrument for collaborative working – could constitute a very important component that supports communication and, in this case, services companies can choose the e-mail, web, videoconference, personal interaction, etc.

Figure 1.1. CRM "Umbrella"

Source: Uzlău, Liviu; Țăranu, Șerban; Cristea, Dan, MANAGEMENT OF SERVICES, COURSE SUPPORT IN ID FORMAT,

http://www.id-yperion.ro/cursuri/ects_man/Managementul%20Serviciilor%20MAN.pdf

The strategic CRM is related to the aggregation of current and "historical" information obtained from all functional areas of services enterprises (C&D, marketing, finances, accounting, human resources, and delivery process), information obtained from internal and external sources, formal and informal sources. At a strategic level, one has to pay an increased attention to external information, which aim to the future. In this sense, one will collect and analyse some economical information, socio-cultural, juridical and market studies. CRM has two branches:

technical branch, which contains hardware and software part;

Personal branch, which belongs to the culture of the enterprise, its flexibility, to the capacity of the personnel to actively orientate himself towards the client.

Due to some very high costs, CRM systems are implemented, in general, in powerful enterprises from a financial point of view. The implementation of CRM has to be preceded by a very detailed analysis of scopes and aimed objectives. The approach of CRM has to be accompanied by profound modifications regarding the structure of services companies as well as their organisational culture. The most powerful barrier in the way of CRM implementation of the organisational culture.

As a consequence, before investing in CRM, services companies have to carry out a sincere analysis of the concrete situation in which it is, in order to see if the managers and the deliverer personnel are prepared for such a thing. In a contrary case, CRM will be just a waste of time and resources. Taking into account the fact that time is considered to be a vital resource, we have to admit that we cannot speak about a CRM strategy that will not support modern informational technologies and of communication. Appealing to computer instruments, marketing departments or marketing responsible can handle a large variety of information collected by different methods. Data and information about clients are stored in a data base that can ulterior be "forces" using techniques of "data mining" in order to bring to the surface some precious information based on which top management can elaborate strategies and marketing and sales policies oriented towards individual clients.

The informational system of the services company oriented towards the client is recommended to be related to informational systems of suppliers, clients, distributors and of other business partners. In this sense, services companies can appeal to "the electronic data exchange" (EDI) and to "interorganisational information systems"("Interorganizational Information System" -IOS).

Referring to Customer Relationship Management, some specialists criticize the limits related to the fact that companies consider that clients are to computer instruments, marketing departments or marketing responsible can handle a large variety of information collected by different methods. Data and information about clients are stored in a data base that can ulterior be "forces" using techniques of "data mining" in order to bring to the surface some precious information based on which top management can elaborate strategies and marketing and sales policies oriented towards individual clients.

The informational system of the services company oriented towards the client is recommended to be related to informational systems of suppliers, clients, distributors and of other business partners. In this sense, services companies can appeal to "the electronic data exchange" (EDI) and to "interorganisational information systems"("Interorganizational Information System" -IOS).

Referring to Customer Relationship Management, some specialists criticize the limits related to the fact that companies consider that clients are just "targets". Instead of sending an e-mail to sell products/services, companies shops, as these specialists affirm, ask their clients of what they especially need, what are the services they would want and how. In conclusion, instead to base themselves on “client relationships", enterprises should orient themselves on "client relationships".

Starting from these appreciations, one has proposed even the replacement of the concept of Customer Relationship Management with the Customer Management of Relationship (CMR) 7. They share the point of view of Philip Kotler, who said: "I believe that the most adequate pattern between CRM and CMR is the one that ensures the development of enterprises and companies as a hole".

"The Heart" of CRM is constituted by the database marketing (la base de donnees marketing/Database Marketing). Taking into account the big number of information that relational marketing uses within all the stages of decisional markeing, marketing database (BDDM) becomes vital for the Marketing Informational System (SIM). It is important to:

Use the information collected from each contract with the client (visit, phone conversation, web, mailing, satisfaction survey, etc.);

the establishment of typologies more and more complex of target populations (clients, prospectors, fidelization fees);

the definition of "magic moments" (moments that are the most sensitive for the client in relation) of the client relationship (first order, service supply, claim);

The proposal of the best product / service, in the best moment, for the best client.

Relational marketing constitutes on one hand, the totality of marketing actions between the individual and the company and, on the other hand, all the marketing stages (strategic and operational) oriented towards the client (hearing, segmentation, individualized approach, and calculation of the client's capital stock). From this perspective, the objective of relational marketing is to increase the client's capital stock.

As a consequence, relational marketing contains:

– Research and use of all the date related to the client's relation with the company of services;

– The exploitation of all the "magical moments" that accompany the life cycle of the client.

These appreciations lead to a conclusion with a value of postulate: there is no relational marketing without a marketing database.

The help of BDDM to the development of relational marketing is the best reflected in the analysis of the client's life cycle. From the moment in which an individual, client or one of their prospect, manifests an interest for the enterprise, the marketing will try to attract him, meaning to understand him, to know him better in order to be able to make him the best offer in the best moment. As a plus, marketing will try to discover and even to anticipate what will be its wishes and future expectations.

Marketing will also show, as well to, industrialize, one to one, to individualize relationships with clients. For this, he needs a profound differentiation of clients' profiles. In order to determine some rentable offers and in order to generate profit for each typology of clients and in order to prospect the market for its implementation, relational marketing needs a complete and permanently updated data base.

Within the relationships that is being established between the enterprise and the client, the data base allows the registration and collection of information about the client, privileged contact channel, bought service, accepted price, frequency and evolution of the relationship. An efficient marketing data base contributes to the valorisation of commercial actions, to the integration of the satisfaction of the client in the process of continuous improvement and the identification of "magical moments" of the client.

Regarding the valorisation of commercial actions, the data base bank can be enriched with commercial information regarding to "loss business" and "earned business". These information allow a better understanding of the relationship with the offered service, of the relationship with the client, of the evolution of this relation.

The most used commercial information are:

lost business, earned business;

buying potential of the client;

position of the service enterprise in report with its concurrent;

client's motivation can be bought;

barriers in front of the buying decision;

Tendencies in the evolutions of the sector.

In his turn, the measurement of the quality of services passes obligatorily by the study of the client's satisfaction in relationship with received services. The integration of information referring to the level of client's satisfaction in BDDM allowing the analysis of the evolution of products/services that have to be improved from a qualitative point of view. The most often invoqued satisfaction reasons of the client are:

commercial personalized relation;-

delivery term (rendering);

manner of order taking;

"technical" quality of the service;

complementary and supplementary services;

quality of received information;

previous information;

More moments ("magical moments") mark the life cycle of the client during the relationship of this one with the services company. Some of them have a special importance for the client. These are the moments in which the client is more sensitive against the enterprise and can determine a bigger fidelity of this or, a discontent. The information about these "magical moments" have to be integrate in BDDM. The most important "magical moments" of the client appear when:

the client manifests his satisfaction;

the client manifests his satisfaction;

the client discovers a perturbation factor during the delivery / consumption of the service;

the client receives an interesting proposal from the concurrence.

The putting into application of a performant data base is a desirable thing for the services company. And in the field of services, the marketing conception, in his most advanced form ("client orientation") is incorporated in the activities of delivering company by the action of a big diversity and complexity, found in interdependency relations.

The finality of these actions is given by the fundamental objective of the services company: stasiacmaximization of profit, in the conditions of satisfaction and overpassing of expectations of consumers/users by "quality, services and value"

Marketing actions are organised in the scope of establishment of some marketing instruments and are developed in a certain succession, duration and order being imposed by numerous restrictions of a methodological order. Grouped in function of their content and fidelity, these actions, seen from their interdependency, appear as stages of a marketing process that has to be granted by the perspective scientific management.

In the vision of Philip Kotler, marketing management contains, also in services, the following five stages:

Market research (CP), segmentation, choice of target-market (target);

• positioning (STP); marketing mix (MM);

Implementation (I);

Control (C).

If the market choice represents a strategic level of thinking of modern marketing, the marketing mix represents a tactical level of external marketing.

At the level of the service company, for the operationalization of an efficient external relational marketing:

organizes market research;

segments the market;

choice of target – market;

positions the enterprise (strategic marketing);

establishes the instruments of marketing mix that are specific to offered services (tactical marketing);

is achieved by the implementation of marketing optics;

It is carried out the control of efficiency of external relational marketing.

1.2. Advantages of relational marketing

The advantages of international marketing are presented in the following rows:

The relational markeing develops some durable relations between his clients and the company, what represents the fundamental principal of the creation of the loyalty of the client towards the company;

The increase of fidelity. Clients that inter-relation with the brand of a companies are more susceptible to migrate towards the competition;

Offers the possibility to the organisation to know all the information towards its clients;

As a follow-up of the synthesis of the information about the client, offers the possibility to present the information that the client can receive. That means the company has the advantage to spare that;

The decrease of acquisition costs. It is more efficient to keep clients to the most profitable and to develop the relation with these ones, that to win new clients;

More profit from existing clients. When the company knows what they want from her, and is easier to also sell other products or services.

The efficiency and rapidity in the creation of the image of its client at any moment;

The involvement of consumption in the process of creation, modification and distribution of the product, and the organization has the advantage to make the client feel important;

Relational marketing has the advantage to find on time what are the faults that appeared in the relationships with clients and the avoidance of these ones.

Referring to the above mentioned facts, relational marketing presents three major advantages. Firstly, it ensures the fidelity of the client for a longer time, reducing such the marketing and sales expenses. Secondly, close relations consolidate the security and stability of the business. Thirdly, the relational marketing contributes to the efficiency of market economy, a benefice fact for companies as well as for the citizen.

The problem with which some specialists in relational marketing confront themselves is to create an important sustained that will feel that he has a preferential relation with the company and that will value this relation.

The art of relational marketing is determined by the value provided by the consumer. The value represents the connection that connects the company to its consumers and reflects the total benefit that these last ones will receive the "total cost" of a service.

The perception of consumers towards the benefits obtained after the consumption of a service that is being determined by the quality of the service. The three manifestation forms of the quality of service, the ones that are relevant in a special manner for the construction of a preferential relation are: correctitude, person to person marketing and continuous improvement of the service.

The relations between the company and the consumer are based on the existence of trust, which supposes correctitude.

The correction supposes the achievement of a relational level to which the supplier as well as the consumer can achieve the objectives, where the supplier can listen to the consumer and can become sensitive to its problems, where he can transmit correct information and relevant ones about each transaction and all made promissions are accomplished.

Instead of trying to protect the company of incorrect consumers, service managers should grant the entire attention of correct consumers. Instead of being preoccupied by the reduction of costs, the delivery company should concentrate over what is more valuable for consumers and to make the most possible with these ones. Instead of trying to stop the consumers to discover the comparative disadvantages of the supplied service, the delivery company should correct its weak points and to inform them about this thing.

Specialists who want to practice relational marketing have to be prepared to suppose any policy and any strategy of the correctitude test.

Specialists in marketing should permanently act in the direction of creation of a marketing culture, each consumer being treated as possible fidele sustained. These specialists will manage to attract consumers by the maintenance of the contact with these ones and the personalization of the service. They have to consider the consumer as a distinct segment of the market.

The marketing from person to person supposes the observance of few requirements.

The first requirement: the consumer has to have an access to the service. If he wants to have a relationship with a delivery company has to ensure the possibility to initiate contact and to receive the service when he needs it. The access to service is fundamental for the construction of a powerful relation.

The second requirement: between the delivery company and the consumer, the communication has to be made in both senses – initiated and by the company and the consumer. It is less probable that a consumer will consider that he has a powerful relation with a delivery company if he always conditions contact. Companies that initiate in a permanent manner contacts with clients can correctly evaluate the perception of this one towards the provided service, and one can evaluate the eventual changes of requirements and wishes of consumers and can revalue the advantages of the relation of existence between the supplier and consumer.

The third requirement: the organisational means and informational means specific for the company that has to ensure the efficient maintenance of the service according to the specific requirements of each consumer.

The fourth requirement: the existence of an efficient management system. Such a system will have to be based in new manifestation ideas of work results and decompensation of employees.

Continuous improvement of the service that represents the last form of manifestation of the quality of a service that contributes in a considerable manner for the relation between the consumer and the delivery company. The obtainance of a continuous improvement is possible if the basic service will be supplemented with other supplementary services, in such a manner that the total offer of the company will be more attractive. The option for these supplementary services have to be fundamental on three basic criteria:

1) Supplementary services that will have a value for the perception of the consumer;

2) To be hard to be copied by competition;

3) To be feasible from a financial and operational point of view.

1.3. CRM (Customer relationship marketing) Objectives and Instruments within the field of services

The service rendering services can increase the market quota in three manners: by the attraction of new consumers, by the increase of the volume of businesses with the existent ones or by the reduction of the number of consumers who is oriented towards other companies. Companies that orient their marketing approach towards existing consumers chose for the last two extension manners some market activities.

The marketing approach is oriented towards the attraction of new clients and is at just one intermediary step in the effort of the service company to extend businesses. For the majority of delivery companies, the most significant opportunities appear after what the potential clients become effective clients.

A company has to know the manner in which the consumer perceive the quality and what quality is expected to be received by them. In these conditions, the respective company has to try to offer more and more from a qualitative point of view than its competitors.

The objective of a success company has to overpass the simple satisfaction of the clients' needs. Companies have to enchant consumers. A client who is happy about a product represents a means of promotion that is more efficient than any other promotional instrument.

Companies do not have to grant an importance only to the improvement of relations with partners from the distribution chain, but as well as for the establishment of a close relation and more durable with final consumers.

In the past, the client was an element treated with enough indifference from many reasons: be it that suppliers were few and consumers disposed by some limited possibilities for the choice of these ones, be it the other suppliers delivered some services as weak qualitative as the initial supplier, be it that the market will develop more rapidly than the companies that are not preoccupied by the complete satisfaction of consumers. If a company lost weekly one hundred clients and wins another one hundred, the activity is considered as satisfactory. This thing does not reflect in fact a good "circulation" of the mass of consumers, the costs involved being much more bigger than the respective company and will be maintained for all the one hundred clients that another one will win.

In the present time, companies have to grant an increased attention of the infidelity index of clients and will search methods to reduce the level of this one. In this sense there are four stages that have to be carried out:

The organisation has to define and measure the index for the maintenance of clients; the company has to identify the causes that lead to the loss of clientele and to find he means to fight these ones. There is not much that can be done in case of clients that move from the area or retire from business. In exchange one can make more in the case of clients that cannot choose a company due to services or products of weak quality, of exaggerated prices, etc. It is very useful to carry out a schedule that ca indicate the average of lost clients from different reasons;

The company has to calculate the profit unachieved by the loss clients. For the client, this is equivalent with the value of its duration that is constantly acquired with products and services of that company, representing the profit that would be brought to a client in a certain number of years.

The company has to evaluate costs related to the reduction of the coefficient of fidelity. During the time in which costs are littler than the unachieved profit, the company can handle.

The need to maintain the clientele becomes essential from the moment in which the company ascertains the fact that the attraction of a new client so that it will be of 3 to 15 times more expensive than the maintenance of an existing one. In some situations, when the value of products or services is bigger, and the frequency of procurements is smaller, the cost of attraction of new clients is 17 times bigger.

Usually, the management of relations with offensive clients is more and more defensive, due to expenses and efforts necessary to determine a satisfied client to renounce to the current supplier. So, it is manifested in the present that there is a bigger preoccupation of companies for the maintenance of clientele. According to data offered by Reicheld și Sasser, the reduction with 5% of the loss of clients that can lead to the increase with 25-85% of the profit of one company. Unfortunately, accounting systems of companies do not offer an information regarding the afferent value of fidele clients.

Given the fact that the maintenance of clients is the most important objective and is recommended to use two action ways for the carrying out of this one:

Placement of some obstacles in the way of the leaving of clients. They manifest a decreased wish that this thing will involve some capital expenses and some high research, the loss of reductions for infidelity.

A good approach consists in the increase of the satisfaction level offered to clients. To a concurrent company it will be more and more difficult to overpass this barrier offering some advantageous prices or presenting some more attractive perspectives.

CHAPTER 2. SERVICES MARKET HILTON COMPANY

On the measure of the progress of the company, the invention of new products and services, accompanied by the increase of revenues and of the free time of the population, leads to an exponential increase of needs and services requirements. Services meant for the population have in the first way the role to satisfy he multitude of people's works and to stimulate the development of human personality. So, the services meant for the population are found, mainly, in the sphere of consumption, influencing the level and quality of this one; but at the same time, they meet and in the sphere of distribution, involving themselves in this case, in the retaking of the cycle of production of material goods, even its acceleration, participating in such a manner to the general process of the company.

The well-known specialist in marketing, Philip Kotler, defines the notion of service in the following manner: "the service represents any activity or benefit that a party can or could offer to the other, that is, in general, intangible, and whose result does not supposes the right of ownership over a good material.

2.1. Market capacity

In theoretical economy, the market is a complex economical category, expressed by the totality of documents of sales and purchase in the unit with relations that are generated and are in a close relation with the space in which this one is developed. At the same time, the market is the place in which the production of goods and services appears as an offer of merchandise, and the consumption needs appear as a request for merchandise.

The marketing watches straight in the face the sphere of manifestation and confrontation of offer and request and of the achievement by the means of sales-purchase.

The effective market represents also the dimension at a certain moment, respectively the effective market transactions.

The potential market expresses the possible dimensions of the market (the most important limits that are possibly expressed with a certain probability of achievement).

In this theoretical context, the market capacity, respectively the quantitative and qualitative dimensions of these ones, become some imperative requirements of knowledge by the administrators of Hotel Hilton Athénée Palace Bucharest, being absolutely necessary to elaborate a market strategy at the level of the company.

The market capacity is an indicator that expresses the market dimensions of the company. It is expressed by the means of some physical and valuable indicators, like: the volume of the offer, the volume of the market demand, the volume of the transactions, the market quota. The market capacity can be an effective one (volume of sales effectively achieved in the company, in determined period) or potential (maximal volume of sales that the company could be achieved in a determined period).

The hostelry market in Bucharest has been a very dynamic one during the last decade. After having registered an accelerated positive evolution during the period of the years 2000-2007, followed a period of decrease that continues, fact that makes the hostelry market from Bucharest to pass today by difficult moments..

The market demand, especially in the corporate segment, has drastically diminished, under the fingerprint of reductions of travel budgets, trainings or team-buildings. Bucharest is a business market, there are enough hotels that are based too much on this segment. Unfortunately, the crisis "took them by surprise" the empty left by its faults as being hard to replace.

Bucharest has an image of a town that is an important destination for business and for business people. At the same time, during the last period, more and more tourists come here to discover some touristic objectives and the night life of the city. So, Bucharest becomes a town that is extremely attractive for city – breaks.

Paradoxally even some 5 stars hotels reached to practice during these period some fees at the level of 3 stars hotels from 2007. And then comes the question up to where will the fees to hotel businesses will increase?

Even if the degree of occupation has gained some terrain during the period of 2010-2011, the price of accommodation is at a very low level, being with 30% from the average registered for 2007. During the year 2011 the level of RevaPar indicator has registered an annual increase of 7.2%. Unfortunately, this positive trend has not been registered and in the year 2012, the end of the year has marked an increase with 2.0% comparative with the year 2011, with everything that took place at some sportive important events as well as UEFA final of the European Football League (May 2012).

During the period 2010-2011, hostelry industry from the capital city has registered a semnificative increase regarding the number of arrivals and night stays observing the medium average of annual increase cumulated by 16.2% and respectively 12.9%. The year 2011 has been a record year for the local touristic industry registered a level of 1.9 million of staying overnight. International tourists own over 56% from the total of accommodation nights reported to the year 2011.

Even though hostelry people do not achieve to obtain similar results to the ones from the period previous to the crises, the hostelry sector will mark slight coming backs. The year 2013 shows a rate of occupation in decrease with 5.7% compared to the year 2012, what reflects a number bigger and bigger in arrivals, while the level of revenues for the chamber has registered an increase of 2.7% reaching to 42 euro. The average price on a room remains at a lower level of 74 euros, with approximately 39% under the level registered during the peak level, 2008. On a long term, the hostelry market from Bucharest should register an increase, having in mind the coming back of the economic environment and implicitly the increase of the number of visitors from the category of business tourism.

2.2. Market structure

The market activity knows a certain degree of territorial concentration around some centres or areas. The space distribution of market phenomena is determined, as well, by the territorial distribution of production and of consumption points. Another phenomenon registered at the level of market domain is the one of migration within the market.

Judging from the point of view of the ones who offer touristic products, the touristic market occupies a distinct place within global market, and the respective companies can be found under different reports on the total market. Due to the complexity of touristic products, determined by the specificity of elements of touristic attractively and the different nature of service renderers, the touristic market appears as a conglomerate of subdivisions, on their turn made of a multitude of market segments.

Determination operations for the structures of hostelry market of a company, as well as for the identification and contouring of a multitude of fragments from which this market is made up, can be achieved on the basis of some principles and instruments that are practically specific to marketing, respectively by the segmenting and typological activity. In the operation of segmentation of the structures of hostelry market of a company, the criteria that can operate differentiations in the market structure and that, implicitly serve for the scope of delimitation of market-target are: psychographic criteria, geographic, demographic and behaviour criteria.

In the present time "Bucharest Municipality has 219 structures of accommodation (hotels, villas, hostels, boarding houses, apartments – hotels). At the same time, the Capital City has 11 5 star hotels (2149 rooms), 71 4 star hotels (6532 rooms), 100 3 stars hotels (3520 rooms), 27 2 stars hotels (1038 rooms) and seven 2 star hotels (352 rooms). In the category of unclassified accommodation spaces (apartments in hostelry regime) Bucharest has 13.741 accommodation spaces.”

At the level of the entire country the degree of penetration of international brands is a lower one, under 10% from the rooms that are available in Romania and are affiliated to an international chain. In Bucharest the situation is better, and the average of these ones is relatively reduced in comparison with many other capitals from this region of Europe.

The hostelry market from Bucharest is dominated in a great measure by the corporate segment, and as a consequence the offer is composed by hostelry four stars units, 60% from the total stock of accommodation units being classified at this level. 5 stars hostelry units represent 22% from the stock, while three stars units contain 18% from the actual offer of the capital of Romania. Three hostelry units have been finalised in 2012 and in Hotel Euro Royale, with 90 rooms, classified at four stars, Hotel Cismigiu with 60 4 star rooms and Hotel Marshall Garden with 63 four star rooms.

2.3. Main categories of clients

In the assembly of its relations with the market, the hotel can be regarded as a unit that is addressed to a certain segment of the population, respectively tourists. In their turn, tourists can be divided in many categories, according to certain criteria. So, the consumers of hostelry products can be segmented in: Business clients, with accommodation (individuals and groups), representing a quarter of the total worldwide clientele after some estimations, includes the travels in a service interest, being included also the participations to conferences and fairs, incentive, staying overnight of aerial crews, other personal on the site and other businesses. The behaviour of this segment of clients is more and more rational than the agreement of clients, being very sensitive at the efficiency of reservation systems and the offered comfort. Sub segments identified within the segment of the business client presenting the particularities of the request that cannot be identified for each sub segment of business clientele in part. MICE abbreviation – meetings, incentive, conventions & events or meetings, incentives, congress & expositions – suggest as much as possible the respective subsegments. .Business clientele is more exigent, but a lot more fidele, the non-payment risks being, mainly excluded, and the voyages of these ones being divided uniformly for the entire year. Agreement clients, with accommodation (individual and groups). The tourist represent any person found abroad and including at least four consecutive nights, spend outside the house, for other reasons than some professional ones, for studies or for health.

Clients without accommodation.

To be able to deliver quality services, the personnel has to know the typology

of clients and to guess the behaviour of consumption of these ones. Clients are different from a structural and behavioural point of view, being classified in different categories and analysed, taking into account numerous criteria like: age, revenues, level of training, provenience, position against the offer (potential or effective) attitude against the offer (content, discontent or indifferent) statute and social importance, frequency of appealing to the hostelry offer, etc.

The motivation of the travel generates two major segments of clientele: business and pleasure. In Bucharest, participants to business meetings, delegates, parliamentary and official delegations, in case of 4 and 5 stars hotels, approximately 80% and in the case of 3 stars hotels meaning approximately 64%.

In case of the hotel Hilton Athénée Palace Bucharest over 90% from the accommodation nights that are reserved to the business segment. The average of the leisure segment is relatively small, due to the fact that Bucharest is not a week-end destination. Business clients are the most exigent against the quality of delivered services.

The clients of the hotel are representatives of some corporations, international ones as well as from Romania. The hotel has a consolidated clientele of incentives and conferences. During the week it houses symposiums and conferences.

From the point of view of the nationality, the first place is of American citizens, followed by Germans, Austrians, Swiss, British’s, Frenchs, Italians and Romanians.

Business clients are attracted by hotels, whose standard product is known and manifest receptivity to fidelization formulas of hostelry chains. Hilton Athénée Palace Bucharest is part of the hostelry chain Hilton Worldwide for Eastern Europe and Russia. From this reason, the hotel Hilton Athénée Palace Bucharest is a priority in choice, by a potential and effective client, to an accommodation unit on the hostelry market from Bucharest.

Another factor that contributes to the choice of Hilton Athénée Palace Bucharest is constituted by the presence and availability of the hotel, as well as specific equipment that are necessary for the organisation of congresses, conferences, and other manifestations. These specific equipment suppose some halls, sound installations and translation installations, telecommunication means, as well as a sufficient number of accommodation places and alimentation.

The client as a buyer of products or users of services has an extraordinary power due to the fact that any company can achieve revenues. There are millions of clients who use services of Hilton Hotels in the world and in thousands of people that appeal to Hilton Athénée Palace Bucharest in Romania. In the case in which something does not go well and there appear some irregularities, the client can easily pass o access services another hotel or hostelry chain. So, the taste and preferences of consumers represent the biggest power that a client has.

2.4. Direct competitors

"Competition is an open confirmation, loyal, within which sellers and buyers learn, by a continuous process of "errors" to improve the market situation and by market. This is why, often, competition is considered the way for satisfaction of interests of all participants to economic life.”

Reported to competition, actions means of a hostelry company aim the obtainance of a competitive advantage that is achieved in a deciding measure by the delivery of some higher utility of the consumer. This is ensured by:lry

– Differentiation of hostelry product – operationalized by the differentiation of the offer, distribution (ensured by the means of contact personnel, of environment and delivery system) and the image of Hostelry Company.

– The quality of delivered services

– Productivity of delivery process – expressed by the volume of services achieved in time and that is in close relation with the quality of rendered services

Differentiation, quality and productivity are related to the qualities of human relations, one of the basic strategies being the attraction of the best persons, between sources and competitors, reason for which it is the best personnel.

In order to get to know direct competition one has to know many legal specification the functioning of accommodation unit, generically named touristic reception structures.

Touristic reception structures with accommodation functions in Romania have a regime of certification based on legislative elements, published in the Official Journal and issued by the Order of the President of the National Authority for Tourism no. 61/1999. They are classified in:

5,4,3,2,1 star hotels;

5,4,3,2,1 star hotels-apartments;

3,2,1 star motels;

3,2,1 star youth hotels;

3,2 star hostels;

5,4,3,2,1 star villas;

3,2,1 star bungalows;

touristic chalets, hunting chalets, fishing chalets, of 3,2,1 star;

3,2 star holiday villages;

4,3,2,1, star camping sites;

2,1 star touristic stops;

4,3,2,1 urban touristic board and lodging;4,3,

4,3,2,1, flowers (daisies) rural touristic board and lodging and agro touristic board and lodging;

3,2,1 star apartments or rooms for renting in family houses or buildings with another destination;

Reception structures with accommodation functions on fluvial ships or maritime 5, 4,3,2,1, star ships.

The techno-material basis of touristic reception structures is identified also under the concept of touristic equipment or production capacity of the touristic offer.

Hilton Athénée Palace Bucharest has as direct competitors, on this market, hotels that he meant for business people, mainly the ones integrated to other hostelry chains.

Bucharest is the city from the country with the most five star hotels. This fact constitutes some possible competitors for Hilton Athénée Palace Bucharest.

Crowne Plaza Hotel is situated in the city centre (five minutes) and near the Otopeni International Airport (15 minutes) in a green and clean location.

With an emplacement that could be envied by anybody, on the most known promenade alley of the Little Paris, that Cael Victories, vies-a-vies of Hilton Athénée Palace Bucharest, Radisson Blue Hotel Bucharest offers some hostelry services of the best quality managing to combine in a harmonious manner business facilities with entertainment ones.

Grand Hotel Continental Bucharest is situated in the city centre, near the former Royal Palace and the buildings that belong to the financial area.

Sheltering one of the most imposing buildings of Bucharest, Intercontinental Hotel represents a luxury accommodation unit ready to please by its services. Marriott Hotel Bucharest, situated in a central area can be found near big business and governmental centres, near the famous Palace of Parliament.

Howard Johnson Grand Plaza Hotel is situated in the city centre, dominating the entire capital city and offering its guests with an amazing landscape. It is situated in the near close of the most appreciated shops, restaurants and clubs and near the most important touristic objectives in Bucharest.

Marshal Garden Hotel Bucharest is situated in the central-North part of the city, near Piata Romana.

Premier Palace Hotel Bucharest is situated in the Western part of the city, in the area of Ghencea Stadium, behind the former Tricodava factory. The hotel lies on a surface of 3.000 de sqm2.

Among four stars hotels, I will mention some, the most important.

Rin Central Hotel, situated near Piata Unirii represents the ideal place of accommodation for Romanian or foreign business people, offering the possibility to these ones to develop activities in a space that is completely equipped and comfortable.Phoenicia Grand Hotel is situated in the North of Bucharest, in the proximity of Baneasa airport, and at 10 minutes from Romexpo, Piata Victories or Otopeni International airport.

Ramada Parc Hotel has a wonderful position for tourists, especially for speedy ones, at just 15 minutes from Otopeni airport, near Romexpo Expositional Center and with a good access to the centre.

Ramada Plaza Hotel is one of the hotels that enjoys some green spaces of Bucharest, far from the jam of the city centre, but at the same level from the point of view co the quality of services.

Crowne Plaza Hotel is situated in a less agglomerated area, not very far from the city centre.

According to a study carried out (and on the basis of some notoriety criteria, quality of services, financial results and hosted events) the top of Romanian hotels is the following: J. W. Marriott Bucharest Grand Hotel

Hilton Athénée Palace Bucharest

Intercontinental Bucharest

Howard Johnson Grand Plaz

Hotel Sofitel Bucharest

Hotel Prezident Mangalia

Hotel Euro Eforie Nord

Hotel Lido Bucharest

Iaki Mamaia

International Sinaia

It can be noticed the fact that Hilton Athénée Palace has as direct competitors many important hotels like the following (in descending order): J. W Marriott Bucharest Grand Hotel, Intercontinental Bucharest, Howard Johnson Grand Plaz and Hotel Sofitel Bucharest.

TripAdvisor, the site that is specialized in tourism domain, has given to publicity the top of the best hotels from Romania :

1. Hilton Athénée Palace Bucharest

2. Ramada Hotel & Suites Bucuresti Nord, Bucharest

3. Epoque Hotel, Bucharest

4. Hilton Hotel, Sibiu

5. J. W. Marriott Bucharest Grand Hotel

6. K+K Hotel Elisabeta, Bucharest

7. Sarroglia Hotel, Bucharest

8. Hotel Radisson Blu, Bucharest

9. Golden Tulip Ana Dome Hotel, Cluj-Napoca

10. Plaza Hotel, Targu Mures

From this analyse and classification it can be noticed the fact that Hilton Athénée Palace Bucharest has as direct competitors many important hotels like the following (in descending order): J. W Marriott Bucharest Grand Hotel, Intercontinental Bucharest , Howard Johnson Grand Plaz and Sofitel Bucharest . The emplacement Hilton Athénée Palace in Bucharest is presented on the map in Figure 2.1.

Figure 2.1. Position on the map of Hilton Athénée Palace Bucharest

Source: https://www.google.ro/maps/@44.4408312,26.0956533,17z?hl=ro

Many hostelry chains (from one of these does Hilton Athénée Palace Bucharest belongs to) fight for maintaining clients. In a difficult economic context with which touristic industry confronts nowadays, big hostelry chains prove to be more interested in maintaining their actual clients that to attract new guests. The similitudes between different fidelization programmes for clients bring to light the important competition from hostelry industry. Each hostelry chain has developed its own scheme for the fidelization of clients that, among specialized services, supposes also a system for the granting of points and special offers for inhabitants. The fidelization programme of Hilton Athene Palace Bucharest, called Diamond Club, competes directly with the one or Marriott Grand Hotel, called Marriott Exclusive. The reason? The two programmes have many common points, offer some similar benefits to their members and address to the same market segment. Of course, due to direct concurrence, the number of members of each club is confidential. In what concerns the annual increase rate of members, figures are very close this time too.

There are already some big players on hostelry market and, in such a manner, competition is intense. In these conditions, Athenee Palace Hilton Hotel confronts with many difficulties in its fights to survive on an extremely competitive market. But in the case in which Athenee Palace Hilton Hotel Bucharest is sufficiently powerful to make a good impression, than this one can provoke some problems to existent players, the market quota being a very diminished one. Today’s world is a world of technology, and Athenee Palace Hilton Hotel Bucharest ca bring different technologies with the scope to impress clients.

We can reach the conclusion that on the market with a hostelry regime from Bucharest, extreme competition can lead to the advantage of price competitively and raise of quality standards. The comfort and quality of the services of short term accommodation are very high.

CHAPTER 3. DIRECTIONS OF ACTION IN CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MARKETING IN S.C. ATHENEE PALACE HILTON

3.1. Short presentation of ATHENEE PALACE HILTON Hotel

Being a part of the international hostelry chain HILTON, one of the oldest and most extended hostelry chains at a worldwide level, Hotel Athenee Palace Hilton Bucharst (modernized in 1995) is an etalon of Romanian hostelry industry and offers the most luxurious and elegant accommodation spaces, receiving in the year 2012 the certificate of excellence from "TripAdvisor". The international brand of Hilton hostelry chain is presented in Figure no. 3.1.

Figure no. 3.1. HOTELS & RESORTS Hilton brand

Situated on Victories street, near many cultural and recreational objectives (National Art Museum, Romanian Athenee, National Theatre and Cismigiu park), the hotel has 272 rooms and luxurious apartments, offering all the equipment necessary for a comfortable stay of its guests. The three levels of the hotel contain rooms for smokers, and 5 rooms are reserved for persons with disabilities.

Hotel guests can choose one of the elegant rooms or apartments of the hotel: Diplomate Suite, King Executive Room , King Hilton Executive, Presidential Suite, Twin Executive, Courtyard Suite, Double King Hilton, Twin Hilton and Junior Suite.

For relaxation Athenee Palace Hilton Hotel offers to its clients the possibility to choose between: pool, sauna, fitness hall, solarium or massage.

The hotel has a casino, four restaurants and bars – the most well-known being the “English Bar". The conference centre, the garden and terrace complete the different conditions offered by the famous hotel. “Cafe Athenee" Restaurant offers some classic European Menus and offers a modern, elegant atmosphere. With an offer of Italian original foods and a romantic atmosphere, "Roberto's" restaurant inside Athenee Palace Hilton hotel is a special place for the clients of the hotel, together with the famous terrace "Roberto's on La Stradă".

is the "Roberto's on La Stradă" is the place where in an especially elegant atmosphere one can organise meetings and international events, expositions, charitable balls, fashion shows, banquets.

The clients of the hotel have at their disposal numerous facilities: nonstop reception, newspapers, terrace, rooms for non-smokers, rooms for disabilities persons, rooms that have phonic insulation, elevator for persons, check-in/check-out express, safe keeping of values, baggage rooms, beauty salon. The personnel is kind and polite and offers room-service services, transfer from/to the airport, baby-siting, breakfast in the room, cleaning, washing, ticket booking, fax reception/dispatching services..

Parking is possible for a fee.

Pets are not accepted.

Wi-Fi access is free in all public areas, including the hotel casino. Henri Coandă International Airport if at less than 30 minutes with a car.

The national Athenee Palace Hilton Hotel brand is presented in Figure no. 3.2.

Figure no. 3.2. ATHENEE PALACE HILTON Bucharest brand

Athenee Palace Hilton Hotel Bucharest is equipped with the newest equipment, instruments and technological facilities. The main intention was that, using some modern technological means and actual ones, one will ensure the premises to accelerate the life style of high degree and actuality of its guests. Regarding the information technology and communication technology, the entire system is monitored by a superqualified dedicated team, in such a manner as to be used by these ones and to know more about them.

3.2. SWOT analysis

Strong points :

The strongest point of Athenee Palace Hilton Hotel Bucharest is the location/emplacement. The location is easily accessible by the means of public transportation and is situated near famous touristic places that ensure the constant flow of visitors.

The quality of offered services is as well, a big power of the company by which one has created an image of a success brand.

As a plus, the company has a very big investment budget reserved for the commercialisation of its products, and, as a consequence this thing can help to reach the attraction of more clients.

Weak points :

The biggest weakness of Athenee Palace Hilton Hotel Bucharst is the interior design which is very old, overpassed, even if it has been improved, and permanently needs updating.

Besides that, the enormous quantity of debts can give a multitude of financial problems for the company. At the end, besides hospitality, there are other partner companies with which the company should concentrate and in a contrary case one can hinder the general performance of the company.

Opportunities

The hotel has a big occasion to offer a large variety of services of executive type for its clients, in such a manner as to help the maintenance of these ones.

Hotel employees can have a personal interaction with guests and in such a manner one will found out what they like and what they do not like.

The hotel can buy a cruise line, in such a manner as to attract clients who prefer to travel at sea.

Lastly, there is a very big application domain for the company by the maintenance and even development of initiatives from the industry of lucky games. Threats

The biggest threat for the company is the extension and mixture of games with hospitality.

There is an intense competition on Hostelry market in Bucharest and during the last time and the country in which Athenee Palace Hilton Hotel Bucharest has to survive by the revision of old strategies and the launching of new long term strategies.

3.3. Presentation of sales-marketing department

In a hotel the sales-marketing department is responsible for the generation of new businesses. These ones can consist of the rental of rooms, functionalities, reunions or even restaurants and bars. The department handles, as well, the publicity of the hotel as well as the promotion of sales and publicity, and he has the role of a relation with the public. The transformation of group orders belongs to the sales service, organised under the form of a complex sales-marketing department. For the sales department, a special importance is proven by the direction of the activity with the one of the reception to which all the arrivals of clients are communicated. Also important is the coordination with the sales activity to ascertain that it has to be informed regarding the provisioned arrival of the hotel, to make all the necessary actions (reservations for groups and touristic circuits, sales to associates, symposiums, conferences, etc.)

Between the activities of the department one can also count:

promotion of sales to all services and equipment of the hotel:

publicity and sale within some special promotion companies;

coordination of sales activities with all the other departments of the hotel;

knowledge of sales competition activities; identification of potential clients and the interest in acquiring hotel services;

Organisation of reunions with the participation of general managers of local companies, inviting them to know the hotel. Sale is a concurential activity, and from this cause, it is important that the sales personnel of the hotel will have a corresponding preparation. Training in the field of sales starts by the need to understand and know completely the product, the equipment and services offered by the hotel, of the market on which the hotel operates and of the characteristics of consumers present on this market.

The PR and Marketing department will develop and implement the marketing plan and will coordinate the marketing and PR activities for the hotel in order to increase the ascertainment degree of the brand. Will also communicate promotions for all the relevant target markets and the needs of the business environment.

In a specific manner, the Marketing and PR department will perform the following actions at the higher standards:

Creation and development of key events on hostelry market, especially during key periods for businesses;

Communicates in an efficient manner, for targeting markets, facilities and hotel benefits, including renewals of the hotel, conferences, etc.

Works with third local partners, including local mass-media to maintain professional relations with local official organisms;

Creates and maintains a contact management system with mass-media and with the corresponding marketing and relevant for the target public of the hotel.

closely collaborates with all the hotel departments for the search of proactive opportunities and promotions planned to approach specific business, according to needs;

manages the promotion of Athenee Palace Hilton Hotel Bucharest on branded sites;

manages and controls marketing budgets by the efficient use of resources;

Develops its own promotion activities, marketing channels and production of marketing materials for specific events.

Puts into application some PR campaigns, to celebrate success and prizes obtained and for the promotion of products; Responds to all mass-media questions;

Handles research and development of new opportunities on target markets.

Communicates with event managers regarding all the aspects related to the organisation of specific and promotion events.

3.4. Elements of marketing mix

With the scope and finalisation of some marketing strategies in field of services, one has to have in mind all the aspects related to the marketing mix. Taking into account the fact that in general the concept of marketing mix is applicable in an equal manner for the sphere of tangible goods, in the sphere of services, but as well in that of ideas, one has to also achieve a reformulation and completion of the marketing mix following as well some characteristics of services. So, in this domain, the marketing mix is made up of the following variables:

similar to the traditional mix (price and promotion);

Modified in report with the traditional mix (production and distribution; specific to services (environment, delivery personnel and client); we reach to the conclusion that services marketing needs more than the use of the 4P also some traditional marketing. The appearance within the mix of some elements that are specific to services leads to the idea that services marketing consists in an internal marketing as well as in an external marketing and relational marketing….

The first element of the marketing mix is the product. With the scope to take advantage of each market opportunity, Hilton operates in hotels, including in Athenee Palace Hilton Hotel Bucharest, other conex services like the ones of lucky games and entertainment.

Athenee Palace Hilton Hotel Bucharest offers mainly some accommodation services. The biggest part of revenues comes from the reception of fees from accommodation in hotel rooms. There is as well, a series of services and products that contribute to the obtainance of the flow of revenues like: restaurants, bars, small shops, spa, laundry services, tourism office, business centre, banquet halls, etc.

In general, products are divided on three levels; basic, facilities and support products.

Basic products are the ones that synthetize the scope of an activity. They are purely and simply the main reason for which the client buy a new package of services. For Athenee Palace Hilton Hotel Bucharest the basic product is the rental of a hotel room in which the clients will remain for a certain period of time. Periphery services can be explained as products and supplementary services to the basic product in which the hotel will offer in order to obtain a competitive advantage on the market.

Products from the category of facilities involve services that will help consumers with basic consumption, accommodation. Athenee Palace Hilton Bucharest offers a series of popular products by the nature of facilities, just like services for clients, bars and restaurants, as well as facilities for online booking.

Support products also include products and supplementary services that are offered with the scope to obtain a competitive advantage on the market by the increase of the value of receptions. An important series of products offered by Hotel Athenee Palace Hilton Bucharest includes:+ 24/7 room service, free newspapers and magazines for business travels, concierge services, etc. ”Augmented” Product is an offer made by the hotel and consists of a package made of the basic product, accommodation and peripheral services. ”Augmented” product has increased the offer of Athenee Palace Hilton Hotel Bucharst and includes some reductions for members, accommodation in luxury rooms, access to restaurants of high class and benefiting from a relaxing atmosphere in the hotel.

The second element of the marketing mix is the price. Strategies for the establishment of prices that are used by Athenee Palace Hilton Hotel Bucharest are divided in four categories within the Strategy of the Price matrix: economical prices, penetration prices, skimming prices and strategies for the establishment of premium price. The strategy of economical prices involves the sale of basic products to the offer and characteristics for consumers with relatively small budgets.

The strategy for the establishment of penetration prices, on the other hand involves the offer of products and services of high quality, with smaller prices than competition, with the scope to increase the market quota.

Skimming is a strategy to establish prices opposed to the strategy of establishment of penetration prices in a manner so that products and services are offered at a bigger price than that of competition. The main motivation to choose the strategy for the establishment of prices, skimming, includes the wish to associate products and/or services with the exclusivism of high quality products.

The strategy of premium prices involves the practice of some high level prices for products and services which are perceived as having an excellent quality and supplementary characteristics.

From previously mentioned classifications, the type of strategy for the establishment of prices that is adopted by Athenee Palace Hilton Hotel Bucharest is the strategy of premium prices. Athenee Palace Hilton Hotel Bucharest offers only five star rooms, and the company is capable to perceive to be clients some fees at a premium level due to the fact that besides basic products, the hotel, as well sells a set of intangible benefits, just like the feeling of achievement and the status of greatness and luxury. Promotion represents the third element of the marketing mix and is the promotion strategy that employs him use of different components of the promotion mix. In general, the major elements of the promotion mix will include publicity, public relations, direct sales as well as sales promotion.

Publicity is a paid form paid for mediatic communication from an identification form conceived to convince the receiver to take some measures in the present or in the future".

The new publicity slogan of the international hostelry chain is "Stay Hilton – – Go everywhere" has as a scope the mission to communicate the message of marketing of the hotel as being a global brand of great notoriety and of maintenance of a high level of quality in all its hotels. This marketing message is communicated by a set of specific elements of the promotion strategy, just like newspapers and popular magazines with high level professionals, just like Forbes, Fortune, The Economist and Financial Times. More than that, the international Hilton hostelry chain communicates its marketing message by the means of commercials presented on TV channels that are carefully selected. Officially, Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPD) defines public relations as being "a planned effort and sustained in order to establish and maintain the good will and reciprocal understanding between an organisation and its partners". In simple terms, public relations can be explained as a communication in a certain manner between the company and its public.

At Athenee Palace Hilton Hotel Bucharest public relations are maintained by a communication with a series of partners, just like clients, employees and other public and private organisations. The specific methods for public relations that are used at Athenee Palace Hilton Hotel Bucharst include on-line communication and offline press communication in a regulate manner, and the communication through news together with the parties interested in organisation. More to it, the company site serves an efficient platform for Athenee Palace Hilton Hotel Bucharest to employ in public relations.

Direct sales with a personal character involve some sales representatives of the company and suppose the contacting of some potential clients by the means of different channels with the objective to sell. Advantages of direct sales are the ones that include the possibility to attract the attention of clients by the application of some interpersonal abilities, with the scope to achieve sale, as well as to crate the potential premises for the formation and maintenance of relations with clients for a long time.

In the same time, the promotion mix of direct sale is one of the disadvantages just as it is that they are costly and one will reach a smaller number of clients from the perspective of certain period of time comparatively with other elements of promotion of the marketing mix. The promotion strategy used by Athenee Palace Hilton Hotel Bucharest does not involve direct sale due to the nature of the activity.

The promotion of sales refers to the tests that are part of the business in order to convince clients to acquire products and services by the introduction of different stimulants. The promotion of sales is popular in hostelry industry and, in consequence this specific element of the promotion mix is used by Athenee Palace Hilton Hotel Bucharest in an intensive manner.

Athenee Palace Hilton Hotel Bucharest engages in the promotion of sales by ”Hhonors” based on a programme of points that grant rewards and discount vouchers which are available on the official site of the company. More than that, Athenee Palace Hilton Hotel Bucharst offers a complete variety on its site to increase revenues.

Athenee Palace Hilton Hotel Bucharest gains some practical advantages from the use of sales promotion by the increase of the level of revenues and the obtainence of a degree of occupation and use of rooms. With all these, by the introduction of aggressive promotions in sale, Athenee Palace Hilton Hotel Bucharest can risk the compromise of the value of the brand. This promotion manner of sales gives the possibility to use branded services with lower prices that could compromise the exclusivity level of the company. More than that, sales promotion offer only short term advantages and as a consequence this promotion element of the marketing mix is the best used occasionally.

The forth element of the marketing mix is the place. The final scope of the strategy for the distribution for a company from the hostelry domain can be specified as a putting to deposition of products and services for consumers, where, when and how they prefer it.

At Athenee Palace Hilton Hotel Bucharest the distribution strategy is based very much on the information technology and of internet in different formats. Firstly the official site of the company serves as an efficient platform for the distribution of services, due to the fact that it delivers a large variety of characteristics and capacities that offer some practical assistance for clients, just like booking of rooms, planning events and weddings, organisation of meetings and ticket booking for air travels.

As a plus, the distribution to Athenee Palace Hilton Hotel Bucharest, of products and services as well, is facilitated by the means of convenable mobile applications put at the disposition through iPhone and Android platforms.

This is due to the fact that accommodation services can be provided during the entire year 24 hours a day. With the scope to remain competitive, the marketing process that is used by the hotel is very important. In conformity with Rutherford, the process of market introduction of a hotel would have to start from the investment decision. The sensibilisation and requirement stimulation among consumers are some key marketing processes that can help for the achievement of a competitive advantage.

Especially, physical proofs as an element of the marketing mix of Athenee Palace Hilton Hotel Bucharest include: interior and exterior luxury design, attitude of the labour force against clients and the supply of services as well as the inclusion of corporal brands within the service. There are some different groups of people that play a vital role for the success of Athenee Palace Hilton Hotel Bucharest. In great lines, people that have direct implications over performances of Athenee Palace Hilton Hotel Bucharest can be involved in three categories: clients, employees and suppliers.

Clients represent an important group of people for Athenee Palace Hilton Hotel Bucharest, by evident reasons. In general, the companies from the hostelry field aim a large variety of clients: passing of spare time, business travels, etc. One of the biggest tests for the hostelry domain is the satisfaction of mind-set clients. In time, the needs of these clients will be modified.

Employees are classified as another group of people that can have an enormous impact over the result of service delivery, and, as a consequence, the level of profitability of Athenee Palace Hilton Hotel Bucharest, by its performances. More to it, Athenee Palace Hilton Hotel Bucharst is based on a large variety of suppliers and the performances of the persons employed by these ones, as well could have some indirect applications regarding the performances of the company.

3.5 . Action direction in client relationship marketing in Athenee Palace Hilton Hotel Bucharest

The corporative and marketing objectives of the international hostelry network have as a starting point the motto: "To fill the land with light and warmness of hospitality". The key objective of marketing of the hostelry chain is to build a sustainable market leader at a worldwide level that could benefit from the blooming industry of hospitality and from favourable prognosis. With the mission to become a supreme corporation on the hostelry market and the first preference of clients, the company has achieved a powerful presence in the international community of hospitality. It has become a success company in the supply of services of high quality to its clients and, in this manner it is prosperous on the road to reach the corporative and marketing objectives.

Athenee Palace Hilton Hotel Bucharest by all the actions that it has, tests and manages to offer some superior services to clients. All the guests of the hotel have created some special conditions to achieve objectives. The questioning of employees and surveys among clients are carried out to determine the expectations of guests and the points of view of employees. In order to offers some excellent services to its clients Athenee Palace Hilton Hotel Bucharest has the task to employ employees that have the capacity to satisfy the sophisticated needs of clients at a high standard assumed by the hotel. Employees have created some exceptional internal relations at all the levels with the intention to create safety. They serve the guests of the hotel with the hope that these ones will come back. Employing of insufficiently trained personnel can lead to some negative experiences in the relations with the hotel guests.

The hotel will have to maintain it prices that today are very competitive compared to those of the competition. As well, it has to maintain and diversify the offer of attractive facilities.

The promotion of Athenee Palace Hilton Hotel Bucharest will need a considerable amount of money that has to be spent for online promotions and marketing. Public relations are very important for the company and as well are important for sponsorship of different communitarian programmes to obtain more and more clients.

In the end, the facility on the web-site: the check-in helps clients to spare time and, as well to update with the new offers and promotions.

The loyalty programme Hilton HHonors is the most preferred by clients according to the newest study carried by Phoenix International Marketing.. Among some active members of FGP Hilton HHonors is the loyalty programme of the most preferred hotel. Hilton HHonors is preferred at a global level but has some positive results as well as Athenee Palace Hilton Hotel Bucharest. Phoenix Marketing International is a company of marketing services that are globally premium that offers its clients some solutions adapted for them and a unique perspective over clients and markets by the means of large ownership data basis. Coupled with personalized research products and with the most recent techniques, Phoenix Marketing International has a large experience in research of restaurants and tourism and pleasure sectors. From the strategic definition of consumers' needs to the putting into application of the marketing programme, it offers some market solutions oriented on profit and employs maximization. The management of the loyalty programme is made by the means of an informatics software and is based on a virtual interface: HHonors.com

A short term opportunity would be by the means of Hilton Worldwide to extend the loyalty programme Hilton Premium Club in Romania. Hilton Worldwide can make the extension of Premium Club Programul Hilton in Romania in a partnership with Concepte Ospitalitate de marketing (HMC), one of the biggest and most important supplier of outsources management services CRM that manages data basis and loyalty marketing programmes of organisations that own hotels of worldwide class. The members of Hilton Club Premium will enjoy a variety of exclusive benefits, including a reduction of 20% during the entire year of accommodation, being an available fee, fee reductions to supplementary rooms etc. Members receive as well, some benefits for food and beverages including free meals and 20% reduction in beverages in most bars and saloons of the hotel. INhaCitizens from Romania can enrol to Athenee Palace Hilton Hotel Bucharest after the payment of an annual membership fee of approximately 240 US dollars.

All the other companies that activate on hostelry market have started to follow programs and similar practices and, as a consequence Athenee Palace Hilton Hotel Bucharest and has a permanent need of another innovating plan to attract clients.

Strategically, Athenee Palace Hilton Hotel Bucharest needs a back-up plan, for the initial concept plan. A back-up plan can be designed by the investment in new facilities just like the industry of lucky games.

The message of Athenee Palace Hilton Hotel Bucharest to the public would be the following:

An open door. A welcome smile. An exceptional experience. This is what we offer to the thousands of tourists that stay at us each year. And we never forget the reason for which we are here: to please our guests, team members, and owners as well. We are Athenee Palace Hilton Hotel Bucharest. Welcome!

CONCLUSIONS AND PROPOSALS

Researching the concept of client relationship marketing, which is considered a nee paradigm of contemporary business, one has emphasized a series of advantages of client orientation. Even if there are some contradictory opinions referring to the concept of client’s relationship marketing, with its importance, the need for application, study and development perspectives, can be contoured in some aspects of this one which will gain a cause of new tendencies in development. The work contains a large variety of aspects of client relationship marketing in the sphere of services.

A first conclusion of the present conclusion is that Athenee Palace Hilton Hotel Bucharest has indeed a great potential to maintain itself as a leader on hostelry market in Bucharest. Marketing is one of the best environment to reach to clients and to transmit the real value of the brand. If it used adequately, one can reach to scopes. .

In order to maintain and improve the quality of services and highs standards of the company in the interior of the study, the following actions are necessary:

training of personnel with the help of specialised trainers on different activity domains;

The establishment of long term strategies for the maintenance and recruitment of employees in order to cover the deficit of labour force from the hostelry market in Bucharest (approx. 2000000 Romanians work abroad).

A well determined plan for the improvement of offered services to clients would be:

free Wi-Fi in all rooms;

equipment of rooms with coffee machines

TV replacement of TV sets with LCDs

– Permanent upgrade of restaurants to the newest tendencies in the field from the point of view of design, of culinary meals, promotions and services.

Another improvement proposal of client relationship management in Hilton Athénée Palace București is the organisation of a dynamic process of global management of distance client relationships that can be implemented on 5 steps:

First stage – understanding of clients’ needs and segmentation of the portfolio of clients.

Within this stage, market studies can be organised by company specialists, be it by consultancy companies, as well as the management of data referring to clients that constitute the key to this sector of activity that is in continuous expansion. The management patterns of the clients' value will allow the identification of the possibility to create the value (aimed target, special offers, and used environments) and the segmentation of clients.

Second stage – Definition of CRM programmes and fixing of objectives of these ones.

The definition of CRM programmes has to contain:

– Choice of the type of CRM action that has to be developed (service, sale, assistance, etc.)

.

– Definition of some elements that generate an immediate value or a value developed in time.

– Definition of costs associated to each element of the CRM programme

The objective of a CRM programme can be translated by the means of a project that will indicate expected values (revenues and costs)

Third stage – The achievement of a testing of the management model for the value of clients. The objective of this test is the validation of management strategies for client’s relationships.

The fourth stage – Generalisation of CRM programmes at the level of the company. During this stage one will have an operation adjustment of programmes according to the modifications appeared on the market; Hilton Athénée Palace București has to take into account the dynamism of the market of accommodation services and adjacent to five star hotels from Romania.

The fifth stage – Measurement and follow-up of results of CRM programmes

The follow-up of the results receives from the reorientation of the variables of the mix of actions from the management with the clients of these ones against the fundamentation of CRM strategies.

As a consequence of the carrying out of the study presented in this work, there are a series of conclusions that come up:- in the actual context of market economy and of a competition that is more and more powerful at a local, national and international level, a relatively old material basis and the high tear degree of installations represents an important factor to hinder economic efficiency; Due to this cause, it is compulsory to permanently achieve considerable improvements to all offered services and infrastructure thing that makes that the standard of Athenee Palace Hilton București to increase considerably and maintain itself;

– One has carried out a series of investments that had as a scope the increase of the quality of offered services and of the economic efficiency of the activity;

– taking into account as an essential criterion for the attraction a permanentisation of clients the constitution of quality, and one has proposed the practice of questionnaires and surveys. As a bidirectional communication form between the hotel-client and the client-hotel, the questionnaire constitutes an excellent non-formal promotional way certifying the care of the management of Athenee Palace Hilton Hotel Bucharest to satisfy the preferences of the consumption of clients.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Braudel F., National Markets around the world, Vol. I, Ed. Meridiane, Bucharest, 1989

Dumitrescu Luigi, “Services marketing”, IMAGO, Sibiu, 1998Firoiu, D., Economia turismului și amenajarea turistică a teritoriului, Ed. Sylvi, Ediția

a II-a, București, 2003

Klever, A. (2009) “Behavioural Targeting: An Online Analysis for Efficient Media Planning”

Diplomica Verlag, 2009

Philip Kotler, „According to Kotler", Brandbuilders Grup, Bucharest, 2006, p.4

Philip Kotler, „Kotler despre marketing", Curier Marketing, 2003, collection: Brandbuilders,

Brandbuilders, marketing & advertising books, Bucharest, 2003, p.40Kotler, Philip, Managementul Marketingului, Editura Teora, București, 2008

Philip Kotler – "Marketing Insights from A to Z", p. 36

Frederick Newell – " Why CRM Doesn't Work: The Coming Emplowerment Revolution

in Customer Relationship Management", New-York, Bloomberg Press,

forthcoming – 2003

Reicheld, F.; Sasser, E., “Quality comes to Customer Services”, Harvard Business

Review, 1991

Rutherford, D. G, Hotel management operations London: John Wiley & Sons, 2007

Uzlău, Liviu; Țăranu, Șerban; Cristea, Dan, Managementul Serviciilor, Suρort de curs

în format ID,

http://www.id-yperion.ro/cursuri/ects_man/Managementul%20Serviciilor%20MAN.pdf

www.interconti.com

www.marriotthotels.com

www.hilton.com

https://www.facebook.com/AtheneePalaceHiltonBucharest

www.conventionbureau.ro

http://www.capital.ro/studiu-piata-hoteliera-din-bucuresti-trece-prin-momente-dificile-161599.html

http://www.iqads.ro/dictionar/capacitatea-pietei-firmei

https://www.google.ro/maps/@44.4408312,26.0956533,17z?hl=ro

Piata hoteliera din Bucuresti

http://mcr.doingbusiness.ro/uploads/5118b2231d309Bucharest_City_Report_Q4_2012.pdf

On Point • Bucharest City Report • Q4 2013

http://redstar.eu.com/files/Bucharest_City_Report_Q4_2013_Final.pdf

Definition of PR (2013) CIPR, Available at: www.cipr.co.uk

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Braudel F., National Markets around the world, Vol. I, Ed. Meridiane, Bucharest, 1989

Dumitrescu Luigi, “Services marketing”, IMAGO, Sibiu, 1998Firoiu, D., Economia turismului și amenajarea turistică a teritoriului, Ed. Sylvi, Ediția

a II-a, București, 2003

Klever, A. (2009) “Behavioural Targeting: An Online Analysis for Efficient Media Planning”

Diplomica Verlag, 2009

Philip Kotler, „According to Kotler", Brandbuilders Grup, Bucharest, 2006, p.4

Philip Kotler, „Kotler despre marketing", Curier Marketing, 2003, collection: Brandbuilders,

Brandbuilders, marketing & advertising books, Bucharest, 2003, p.40Kotler, Philip, Managementul Marketingului, Editura Teora, București, 2008

Philip Kotler – "Marketing Insights from A to Z", p. 36

Frederick Newell – " Why CRM Doesn't Work: The Coming Emplowerment Revolution

in Customer Relationship Management", New-York, Bloomberg Press,

forthcoming – 2003

Reicheld, F.; Sasser, E., “Quality comes to Customer Services”, Harvard Business

Review, 1991

Rutherford, D. G, Hotel management operations London: John Wiley & Sons, 2007

Uzlău, Liviu; Țăranu, Șerban; Cristea, Dan, Managementul Serviciilor, Suρort de curs

în format ID,

http://www.id-yperion.ro/cursuri/ects_man/Managementul%20Serviciilor%20MAN.pdf

www.interconti.com

www.marriotthotels.com

www.hilton.com

https://www.facebook.com/AtheneePalaceHiltonBucharest

www.conventionbureau.ro

http://www.capital.ro/studiu-piata-hoteliera-din-bucuresti-trece-prin-momente-dificile-161599.html

http://www.iqads.ro/dictionar/capacitatea-pietei-firmei

https://www.google.ro/maps/@44.4408312,26.0956533,17z?hl=ro

Piata hoteliera din Bucuresti

http://mcr.doingbusiness.ro/uploads/5118b2231d309Bucharest_City_Report_Q4_2012.pdf

On Point • Bucharest City Report • Q4 2013

http://redstar.eu.com/files/Bucharest_City_Report_Q4_2013_Final.pdf

Definition of PR (2013) CIPR, Available at: www.cipr.co.uk