Customer Relationship Management (CRM) in the Hotel Industry Case Study

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) in the Hotel Industry - Case Study Example This paper illustrates that the customer relationship management process also tracks customer behaviors so that you can clearly identify and act on customer motivation that is unique to your client base†. To nurture the stability of a hotel in today’s global market, managers need to respond effectively to the changes in CRM that have taken place in the last couple of decades in order to remain connected with the customers. As Roberts states, â€Å"in the 1990's companies began to improve on Customer Relationship Management by making it more of a two-way street†. Let us discuss how hotel industry has taken a shift since the 1990s until now both in terms of consumers and marketplace. Hotel industry all over the world has taken a major shift since the 1990s. If we talk about the changes with respect to consumers, we can say that hotel industry has changes changed significantly. For example, earlier managers of the hotels used to prepare a limited range of food items that could satisfy the needs of local people. However, after the 1990s the trend of immigration started finding a strong place all over the world, which resulted in grouping different cultures together. This change forced managers of hotels to prepare a wide range of food items to satisfy the needs of people belonging to different cultures. Another change that has taken place is regarding communication with the customers. Earlier, managers hardly used to focus on maintaining a communication link with the customers. They only focused on providing some limited services to the customers. However, from the last couple of decades managers have started focusing on developing long-term relations with the customers. Therefore, they have started reaching the customers through different channels to establish a strong customer/hotel relationship. Changes With Respect To Marketplace Before 1990s, hotel industry was not so big and evolving as it is today. For example, at that time the idea of opening franchises in other countries was not very gripping and trendy. Managers of hotels used to focus their attention towards the consumers living in any particular area or location. They used to prepare the food of the choice of the consumers of some particular locations. Moreover, they used to market new food items and meals in some particular locations. After 1990s, the idea of opening international branches started to find a solid grip making managers of many hotels think towards going global. This idea also brought up many other changes in the hotel industry. For example, managers of hotels have started marketing their products and services to international consumers in order to attract them. â€Å"The 90s truly saw CRM technology and software evolve out of simple database marketing† (Koble n.d.). Answer B: Let us now discuss the ways the above-mentioned changes in the hotel industry with respect to consumers and marketplace would have influenced Summer Palace’s CRM strategy and practices. Meeting the Needs of Diverse Customer Base First major change in the hotel industry is the culturally diverse customer base. As Summer Palace hotels are currently operating in more than 50 countries around the world, its management authorities has implemented such CRM strategy, which meets the needs of all types of customers. The reason behind this strategy is to satisfy the