Importance of the relationship marketing concept in the luxury hospitality industry of the Republic of Croatia

Turizam je u Republici Hrvatskoj iznimno važna gospodarska aktivnost, a posljednjih nekoliko godina moguće je primijetiti porast broja luksuznih hotela. Luksuzni hoteli spadaju u kategoriju hotela s pet zvjezdica te ih je najviše u Istri i području Dubrovnika. Luksuzno hotelijerstvo karakterizira visoka kvaliteta usluge i marketing odnosa. Predmet istraživanja ovoga rada su odnosi s gostima luksuznih hotela. Ciljevi ovoga rada su analizirati svjetske i domaće trendove upravljanja odnosima s gostima, prikazati važnosti koncepta marketinga odnosa te utvrditi na koji način hrvatski hoteli upravljaju odnosima s gostima. Istraživanjem je obuhvaćeno pet luksuznih hotela: Sheraton Dubrovnik, Falkensteiner Iadera, Hotel Lone Rovinj, Remisens Premium Hotel Ambasador i Valamar Hotel President Dubrovnik. U današnjem poslovanju marketing više nije zasebna funkcija, a kvalitetni odnosi su temelj poslovnog uspjeha. Marketing odnosa uključuje stvaranje, održavanje i učvršćivanje snažnih odnosa s klijentima. Ovakav koncept poslovanja temelj je dugoročne održivosti. Istraživanje je pokazalo da luksuzni hrvatski hoteli imaju odjel koji se bavi upravljanjem odnosima s gostima, no glavni problemi leže u nedovoljno razrađenoj strategiji, zaposlenicima i neimplementiranoj tehnologiji.Tourism in the Republic of Croatia is an extremely important activity and in recent years it is possible to notice the increment in the number of luxury hotels. Luxury hotels are part of the 5 star hotel category and most of them are in Istria and Dubrovnik. High quality service and relationship marketing characterize luxury hospitality industry. The subject of this research is the relationship with the guests of luxury hotels. The objectives of this paper are to analyze the world and domestic trends of customer relationship management, to demonstrate the importance of the relationship marketing concept and to determine the way in which Croatian hotels manage their relationship with their guests. Five luxurious hotels had participated in the research: Sheraton Dubrovnik, Falkensteiner Iadera, Hotel Lone Rovinj, Remisens Premium Hotel Ambasador and Valamar Hotel President Dubrovnik. In today's business marketing is no longer a separate function and quality relationships are the foundation of business success. Relationship marketing involves creation, maintenance and strengthening strong customer relations. This business concept is the basis of long-term sustainability. The research showed that Croatian luxurious hotels have guest relationship department but the main problems are in undeveloped strategy, employees and still not implemented technology