Chapter # 1.

Introduction to the Project Topic

Q1 A Brief Overview of CRM [definition, importance,
strategies and activities involved, …]

1.1 What is Customer Relationship Management

(CRM)?
CRM entails all aspects of interaction a company has with its
customer, whether it is sales or service related. It even uses
technology to streamline processes that impact customer
loyalty, service delivery and quality management.
Today, businesses are facing an aggressive competition and
they have to make Efforts to survive in a competitive and
uncertain market place. People have realized that managing
Customer relationships is a very important factor for their
success. Customer relationship management (CRM) is a
strategy that can help them to build long-lasting relationships
with their customers and increase their profits through the
right management system and the application of customer-
focused strategies.
“Customer is the most important person for a business. He is
not an interruption to our work but the purpose of it. He is not
an outsider; he is a part of it. We are not doing him a favour;
he is doing us a favour by giving us an opportunity to serve
him.” (By Mahatma Gandhi)
It has grown mainstream and is being implemented in a wide
range of companies and organizations such as
manufacturing, financial services, transportation and
distribution, medical services and products, consumer
package goods and others. This explosive growth of CRM
reflects the intersection of genuine market need and enabling
technology. And, in this growth period, the impetus for CRM is
shifting from an emphasis on efficiency, i.e., doing more
things faster with less cost, to effectiveness, i.e., doing things
better for increased revenue with a high "return on
relationships (ROR)".
According to Chaudhuri and Shainesh (2001)-A CRM
programmer requires a clear understanding and commitment
to the company's customers, vigilant adherence to detailed
goals, commitment from both executives and line workers,
and a constant awareness of the customer's view point.
Customer relationship management is about more than simply
managing customers and monitoring their behavior or attitude.
CRM has the potential to change a customer’s relations with a
company and increase revenues in the bargain. Furthermore
it helps to know the customers well- enough to decide whom
to choose and whom to lose.
The objective of CRM (customer relationship management) is
to recognize and treat each and every customer as an
individual. It is very essential for any business to know that
how to differentiate customer treatment according to an
individual preferences. For differentiate customer treatment,
the companies use personalized service and customized
products which make some customers feel special and others
simply appreciate good behavior. It humanizes their purchase
or service request or complaint. Personalization and
customization doesn’t mean maintaining only customer
loyalty, but also driving purchases higher.
Getting closer to customers and effectively responding to their
needs is a great way to boost their loyalty and encourage
deeper business relationship. The task of getting and
retaining customers requires even greater skill and effort. The
business needs to ensure that the service works as the
customer actually wants it to, and the customers want to do
business in 'their' way, not to be forced to do it in the
enterprise's way. Most companies consider them customer-
focused and believe that in being so they are servicing the
customer. But eventually, being customer focused means to
have a consistent, dependable and convenient interaction
with customers in every encounter. CRM technologies focus
on managing all interactions that an organization has with its
customers, in order to leverage the data in a variety of
business applications.
Where a profitable relationship already exists, CRM can
especially boost superior service at a lower cost. In addition to
this it helps to serve customer's unspoken needs.
Generally speaking, the five needs of customers are:-
(a) Service
(b) Price
(c) Quality
(d) Action and
(e) Appreciation. (By Raghunath & Shields 2001)
Apart from these, there would be needs, which even the customers
have not taken care of, but which, it would have satisfied will
lead to higher customer loyalty. CRM, if practiced properly
might lead to cross-selling and up selling of products and
services. Cross-selling means selling the right product to the
right customer. One other relevant and important attribute of
CRM is its ability to help in the ego-mending of customers.
This, if practiced efficiently, soothes the customer's negative
emotions he could have, due to the non-attainment of his
expectations regarding the product or the service.
The adoption of CRM in the hospitality industry has been
impeded by a number of factors. These include the
persistently fragmented nature of the industry, the disparate,
proprietary and relatively immature nature of IT systems, and
the additional complexity associated with managing a
perishable product that is sold through a variety of distribution
channels.
2.1 Evolution of CRM
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is one of those
magnificent concepts that swept the business world in the
1990’s with the promise of forever changing the way
businesses small and large interacted with their customer
bases. In the short term, however, it proved to be an unwieldy
process that was better in theory than in practice for a variety
of reasons. First among these was that it was simply so
difficult and expensive to track and keep the high volume of
records needed accurately and constantly update them.
In the last several years, however, newer software systems
and advanced tracking features have vastly improved CRM
capabilities and the real promise of CRM is becoming a
reality. As the price of newer, more customizable Internet
solutions have hit the marketplace; competition has driven the
prices down so that even relatively small businesses are
reaping the benefits of some custom CRM programs.
2.3 Advances in the 1990’s
In the 1990’s companies began to improve on Customer
Relationship Management by making it more of a two-way
street. Instead of simply gathering data for their own use, they
began giving back to their customers4

CRM in Hotel Industry

not only in terms of the obvious goal of improved customer service,
but in
incentives, gifts and other perks for customer loyalty.
This was the beginning of the now familiar frequent flyer
programs, bonus points on credit cards and a host of other
resources that are based on CRM tracking of customer
activity and spending patterns. CRM was now being used as
a way to increase sales passively as well as through active
improvement of customer service.
2.4 About Customer Relationship Management - CRM
The generally accepted purpose of Customer Relationship
Management (CRM) is to enable organizations to better serve
its customers through the introduction of reliable processes
and procedures for interacting with those customers.
In today's competitive business environment, a successful
CRM strategy cannot be implemented by only installing and
integrating a software package designed to support CRM
processes. A holistic approach to CRM is vital for an effective
and efficient CRM policy. This approach includes training of
employees, a modification of business processes based on
customers' needs and an adoption of relevant IT-systems
(including soft- and maybe hardware) and/or usage of IT-
Services that enable the organization or company to follow its
CRM strategy. CRM-Services can even redundant the
acquisition of additional hardware or CRM software- licenses.
The term CRM is used to describe either the software or the
whole business strategy oriented on customer needs. The
second one is the description which is correct. The main
misconception of CRM is that it is only software, instead of
whole business strategy.
Major areas of CRM focus on service automated processes,
personal information gathering and processing, and self-
service. It attempts to integrate and automate the various
customer serving processes within a company
2.5 Importance of Customers
There exists a wide-spread mistaken notion that CRM is some
kind of a manifestation of technology only. Another interesting
thing is that even those who have implemented highly
technological installations for their CRM initiatives, quite often
can be seen to have forgotten the basis of this modern
concept, i.e., making profitable relationships with their
customers. This significant part is left to the technology alone
(Schneider and Bowen, 1999). Such a situation arises mainly
because of the inability or reluctance of the management to
accept the importance of customers and serving them to keep
them satisfied and happy, which otherwise may result in low
sales and hence low profits. "One widely accepted marketing
rule-of-thumb claims that the average, unhappy customer tells
eight other potential customers about his negative
experience." (Lemon, et al, 2002)
6
CRM in Hotel Industry
Some decades ago, most of the companies concentrated
mainly on higher productivity through higher levels of
efficiency of employees as well as machines, cost-reduction
tactics and on attracting more customers through the classic
marketing tactics such as TV advertisements, mass mailings,
bill boards etc. But the sudden growth and expansion of
services sector proved that these would not convert into
profits, as was expected. Moreover, the emergence of faster,
cheaper and more efficient systems of communication,
transport and information technology has made the business
enterprises realize that the competition is just a mouse click
away. These changed, new environment of business unveiled
the importance of keeping the existing customers loyal so that
they would not switch over to the competition, without much
thinking. This led to the increased awareness of companies
about the importance of serving the customer needs with a
higher level of quality and in a way which is convenient and
beneficial to both the companies and the customers. (Anton,
2005)
According to Berry (1983) Customers to a business are those
people or enterprises which are benefited by the use of a
service or product offered by that particular business, certainly
for something in return, generally a price. When a customer
pays a price, he expects some specific thing with a specific
quality and features. If his expectation exceeds what he has
been given, it leads to an unsatisfied customer. If the offer
exceeds his expectations for a stipulated price, it leads to a
highly satisfied customer and he is said to be enjoying
customer delight.
Today, the customer has more choices to choose from. So it
is more likely for any customer to switch from one company to
another in search of better quality or service. But the
companies have found out that creating new demand i.e.,
finding out new customer is much costlier than keeping the
regular demand, i.e. Existing customers for a regular inflow of
cash and hence profits. "The reports on new customer
acquisition costs vary, from as low as three times to as high
as thirteen times of servicing an existing customer." (Berry,
1983)
In a customer’s viewpoint, there is very little reason to switch
loyalties often, if things are going comfortably with the existing
vendor and the level of service is good. Switching involves
changes and disruptions in service levels that most regular
customers try to avoid. Realizing these facts in its true sense,
many companies have stuck to making long-term profitable
relationships with their prospective customers. (Hart et al,
2002) And this has been proved to be, in a way, mutually
beneficial to both the parties. This has resulted in managing
these relationships as a strategic tool and in the evolution of
Customer Relationship Management or most commonly
known as CRM.
2.7 Industry Definition
Abbey (1999) proposes a hotel industry in a primarily a
service sector emphasis in given on the role played by
relationship marketing. You are nothing without our customers
understanding that your organization exists for no other
reasons than to meet customer needs and expectations. Its
imperative is to develop proactive methods for understanding
what customers like and dislike. If you believe other wise, just
look behind you at the long queue off competitors lined up
and waiting for the opportunities to prove you wrong.
CRM is a business strategy to select and manage the most
valuable customer relationships. CRM requires a customer-
centric business philosophy and culture to support effective
marketing, sales and service processes. CRM applications
can enable effective customer relationship management,
provided that an enterprise has the right leadership, strategy
and culture. (Anton, 2005)
In hospitality, each customer relationship has value and
should be managed effectively. There is opportunity for
repurchase and recommendation from each past customer.
The administration of the information about this past guest
and the effective integration of the information into frontline
guest services programs is the challenge of CRM
implementation.
Tactically, where does CRM start? The recommended
implementation of
customer relationship management typically looks like (Hart et
al, 2002):
Statistically valid customer satisfaction measurement:
From the very top of the organization, there should be a
commitment to
CRM including customer satisfaction, employee satisfaction
and a desire to
have one voice to the customer.

Advantages of CRM
Using CRM, a business can:-
 Provide better customer service
 Increase customer revenues
 Discover new customers
 Cross sell/Up Sell products more effectively
 Help sales staff close deals faster
 Simplify marketing and sales processes

Improvement Analysis - Implement Process Improvement

Industry surveys show that guests are less likely to return if
they experience a problem during their stay. Guest Ware’s
Improvement Analysis tools provides with the information to
eliminate recurring problems and keep guests coming back,
so to lower operating costs and increase guest satisfaction at
the same time. (Raghunath & Shields 2001)
Comment Card Tracking - Listen to your Customers
Customer survey on restaurant or an extensive questionnaire
of guests, the GuestWare Comment Card Tracking system
assists to manage customer feedback. Guest Ware will
improve productivity in the follow-up process and provide
valuable management reports to maximize the benefits of
your surveys.
Guest ware Enterprise Solution – For Effective Means
Intended for hotel chains, brands and management
companies, the Enterprise Guest Ware database maintains a
single view of the customer essentials for CRM. Enterprise
Guest Ware enhances property management systems (PMS)
and central reservations systems (CRS). It allows hotel
companies to implement enterprise CRM while leapfrogging
existing hotel technology investments.
Communications Server - Two-way Messaging
The Guest Ware Communication Server integrates two-way
messaging (or other types of text-based messaging) with
Guest Ware’s Rapid Response. It allows staff to receive and
close requests and maintenance issues from a pager or cell
phone. The software helps streamline service delivery and
uses existing e-mail systems or a modem to communicate
with most two-way messaging devices.
With the latest offerings in CRM, Hoteliers can:
• Develop comprehensive guest profiles from reservation
information
and demonstrate to guests/customers that the property is in touch
with their needs
• Drive guest-centric data down to the transaction level, allowing
employees and guest-facing technology to deliver greater value to
the
guest/customers.
• Generate a realistic profile on the spending and stay patterns of
guests, allowing the property to create guest-centric marketing for
increased loyalty and spending.

THE PROCESS OF CRM IN PLACESTEPS IN THE

CRM PROCESS
The first step in CRM is for the internal customer that is
to create awareness among them towards the concept,
advantages and disadvantages of the function. Then equip
them by training in their own requisite functions & scope of
CRM within that function. At Maurya, they are trained to learn
more about the guest and his background so that when he
talks to the guest, he can strike a conversation that is of some
interest to the guest. That may not be necessarily related to
his stay at the hotel but these informal conversations with the
guest can help build an excellent rapport with the guest which
will lead the guest to know the employee by the name. In
future interactions, it is possible that the guest may only wish
that most of his work done through that employee. This is also
a form of customized and personalized selling within the hotel.
Maurya does not have a separate training for CRM. Any time
when they have a special promotional scheme for a particular
property, the marketing team (which has formulated the
promotional scheme) puts together the details of the scheme,
clearly marks out what is the customer expecting from the
property and also if these are some special arrangements to
be made for it. This team briefs the General Manager of the
property about the customer expectation. The General
Manager then decides the path of trickling down to that
information, who should know & how much to know. In
Maurya Sheraton, they use a phrase to explain this
percolation which is “Nice to know and needs to know” which
essentially means that it is nice to know for all employees of a
particular property about the running of the promotional
scheme at their property but not all need to know about every
aspect of the scheme as it may not be relevant to their scope
of work but they do need to know the tier points of the scheme
relating to their scope of work.
The second step in CRM process is to integrate the
information which is received through touch points. From a
marketing point of view, it is important to get the desired input
back from touch points in such a way that all the bits and
pieces picked up by different touch points can be organized
and used as valuable information by various other touch point
to offer the right product to the right customer and that too at
the right time. All this is done by creating a data base.

ACTIVITIES UNDERTAKEN WITH

RESPECT TO CRM
DATA CAPTURE VEHICLES
Maurya Sheraton has identified 5 such vehicles (from
marketing point of view) which are also the touch points for
the hotel in the process of managing its Customer
Relationship. These vehicles are:-
o Field selling
o Loyalty Programs
o Distribution Points
o Web
o Call Centers
Field Selling
When a sales group or a marketing executive of the hotel
makes a sales call to a corporate, then it is called Field
Selling. Field Selling includes Prospecting which means
searching and seeking for new customers. Current Accounts
are one of the best sources to uncover new business that is
within these current accounts, as they harbor many sources of
untapped business potential. They also provide Leads and
referrals. Leads are potential customers with whom no contact
has yet been made and learning of potential customers from
current customers is called Referral. Field selling is
considered the most important vehicle for the CRM function
as the initiative is on the part of the hotel to contact the
prospective guest. Since the representative of the hotel meets
the customer personally, he is able to strike a chord instantly
and has a fair chance of representing the hotel. The
difference between the customer and consumer is apparent at
this stage as, the person who uses the hotel is a consumer
(guest) and the person who helps him make this choice is the
customer (link), this link, in most cases, is the administration
personnel who are responsible for making reservations. So
with the help of field selling, the executive is able to make a
direct contact with the ‘link’, the administration person and is
able to take the feedback on a continuous basis and helps to
customize the offering. The main objective of this is to
maintain ‘one to one’ contact with the customer on a regular
basis and also to maintain reasonable visibility so that
whenever there is a requirement, the hotel is the most
obvious alternative for the customer to consider.
39

CRM in Hotel Industry

Loyalty Programs
Second vehicle for CRM identified by Maurya Sheraton are
the Loyalty Programs. These programs are designed to
reward the loyal guests of the hotel. Every time a guest
checks in the hotel at his every touch point or interface with
the hotel, every time he spends on a service provided by the
hotel (use of Room, Restaurant, Laundry, Telephones etc.),
the transaction is recorded at each individual point and is
added to the final bill presented to the guest at the end of the
stay. There are certain points attached to the number of
rupees spent by the guest. Therefore higher the amount of the
bill, the higher will be the number of points attained by the
guest. These points are credited to the account of each guest
with the help of technology. These are called Loyalty points.
These accounts having the loyalty points are unique to every
guest. Therefore, whenever after the first time that guest
checks into the hotels, the guest history also affects the
loyalty points. The higher the number of points, more loyal is
the guest. The points can be redeemed by the guest for either
free stays at the hotel or free gifts as listed by the hotel or free
meals depending upon the number of points accumulated.
The objective of having a loyalty programme is not only to
make the guest feel rewarded for his stay but also providing a
chance to the guest to reduce them at the hotel, they
essentially “gross self” the other services which would be
used & paid by the guest. In case he redeemed (for example)
his points for a free stay, he would spend on the supporting
services like laundry, telephones, restaurants etc. and the
revenue generated from these could be earned by the hotel.
Therefore, instead of loss of revenue by providing free stay,
they actually gain the revenue as well as certain customers
for life with the help of the loyalty. The Loyalty Program is
called welcome avail which is for the consumer. They have
another loyalty programme for the link. The administration
personnel, who is called welcome link, is motivated to provide
more business to the hotel. Therefore, the more the number
of bookings the links gives to the hotel, the more number of
points are credited to his accounts which are again
redeemable at the hotel either by way of free stay or gifts.
This is seen as an important way to keep the source of
business motivated towards a long term relationship.
Distribution Points/ Central Reservation System
A customer can simply make a call at the reservation centre
to make a booking with the hotel. It sounds simple but it could
get complex in case he does not receive the expected or the
desired response. Therefore, Maurya Sheraton sees this
distribution point as an opportunity to establish CRM as the
respondents at the reservation centre could turn a prospective
customer into a ‘sale’ or could let go off the opportunity to do
so by not
40

CRM in Hotel Industry

being polite enough or not giving out the information as
desired by the guest. The information regarding all guest
reservations is managed through computer software,
therefore, when a customer make calls to query about a
reservation, all his hotel usage history pops up in the system
which gives a chance to the executive at the reservations to
instantly recognize the customer and address him by his
name. This moment of truth is experienced by the customer
with a feeling of recognition and feels it as good service at the
first touch point itself. The input or instruction received from
the customer at the stage is recorded in the reservation
system for further reference by the hotel operations.
Therefore the wheel does not get reinvented every time a
standard instruction is to be followed. This leads to removal of
an irritant and that ultimately leads to a satisfied customer
willing to return.
World Wide Web
The World Wide Web is part of the internet. It is a
computerized, interactive, multimedia system to import and/or
access information world wide. It is used for both personal
and business purposes. But ITC Maurya’s focus is on the
business side of using the web. In hospitality, there are
several avenues that one can take up to set up a web site to
share information and do business with a potential customer.
Since the web gives a convenience and allows the access to
information at any time, it is considered as one of the vehicles
for CRM. Though Maurya recognizes the potential of this
system and is in the process of evolving a filing automated
system where the reservations can be made by the customers
on time and also the confirmation is received back on a real
time basis. Presently they have an information portal which
only allows the customer to request a reservation which has
to be checked manually by the hotel reservations and then
only the confirmations are given. This is a touch point of
customer relationship because a speedy and accurate
response could win you a customer. And since it is on an
individual basis, it is more personalized and customized
because the customer puts in his preferences when
requesting a booking. Therefore, once it is entered in to the
hotel’s data base the customer does not have to repeat his
preference as they are automatically suggested by the
reservation form on the net.
41

World Wide Web

The World Wide Web is part of the internet. It is a
computerized, interactive, multimedia system to import and/or
access information world wide. It is used for both personal
and business purposes. But ITC Maurya’s focus is on the
business side of using the web. In hospitality, there are
several avenues that one can take up to set up a web site to
share information and do business with a potential customer.
Since the web gives a convenience and allows the access to
information at any time, it is considered as one of the vehicles
for CRM. Though Maurya recognizes the potential of this
system and is in the process of evolving a filing automated
system where the reservations can be made by the customers
on time and also the confirmation is received back on a real
time basis. Presently they have an information portal which
only allows the customer to request a reservation which has
to be checked manually by the hotel reservations and then
only the confirmations are given. This is a touch point of
customer relationship because a speedy and accurate
response could win you a customer. And since it is on an
individual basis, it is more personalized and customized
because the customer puts in his preferences when
requesting a booking. Therefore, once it is entered in to the
hotel’s data base the customer does not have to repeat his
preference as they are automatically suggested by the
reservation form on the net.

TO BE CHANGED AS AVARI
CRM PROCESS AT THE OBEROI GROUP OF HOTELS
According to the Oberoi the terms-Customer Relationship Management and Relationship
Marketing are used interchangeably therefore they do not have a separate CRM department as
the outlining functions of the CRM process are integrated in the Sales and Marketing operation.
46

CRM in Hotel Industry

They use a variety of after sales tactics for customer bonding and loyalty. Co-operative and
collaborative relationships with customers seem to be the most prudent way to keep tracks their
changing expectations and appropriately influencing it. The Oberoi has ensured the above by
the various ‘end user’ and ‘booker’ programs such as (Starkov, 2006):
Top – The Oberoi Plus
This is an end-user program with an enrollment fee of Rs.575 only. It is beneficial for guests
who use the services of the hotel. Each time a guest spends, he accumulates points which can
be redeemed for any services of the hotel. By enrolling and rewarding customers with the help
of this program, the hotel ensures that a greater bonding towards long-term customer retention.
They have also tied up with the airlines for interchangeable redemption of points.
Connections – Bookers’ Program
Bookers are an important link in materializing an actual sale therefore they need to be kept
motivated to push the hotel when the reservations are made by a corporate account. Each time
a booker gives as reservation to the hotel he gets credit points for that and which can be
redeemed for gifts or any hotel services.
Food Festivals
The Oberoi conducts various food festivals at its Restaurants. Regularly
and sends invitations to its more profitable Clients.
Tie-Ups
The Oberoi invites top clients like CEO, Managing Directors and key decision makers of
different companies to social evenings specially arranged to further enhance the Customer
relationship management functions.
DIFFERENT REWARD PROGRAMMES OFFERED BY TAJ

GROUP OF HOTELS TO ITS CUSTOMERS/GUESTS

1. Taj Inner Circle
Taj Inner Circle, the frequent guest programme, allows guests to earn points whenever they
stay or dine at The Taj. Guests can then redeem their points for specially selected rewards like
complimentary stays at Taj hotels, resorts, and palaces.
2. Taj Epicure Plan
The Taj Epicure Plan is an optional add-on dining plan to the Taj Inner Circle. Members earn
Epicure points for expenditures incurred on food and beverages, at participating Taj restaurants
in India.
3. About the Taj Inner Circle
The Taj Inner Circle has three membership levels – Blue, Silver and Gold. Customers/Guests
join at the Blue level and start earning on their stay or dining or both expenses at all Taj
properties. To qualify for the Taj Inner Circle Silver membership level, customer need to
accumulate 250 points in any continuous 60-day period i.e. spend Rs.25,000 (INR), excluding
taxes, in any continuous period of 60-days. Members who spend Rs.2,00,000 (INR), excluding
taxes, in continuous 12-month period, will be automatically upgraded to Gold status. Gold card
members enjoy enhanced privileges and accumulate points at a faster rate i.e. they earn at the
rate of 1 point for every Rs.80 spent, excluding taxes. Gold and Silver card members of the Taj
Inner Circle also enjoy a host of privileges like easier check-in check-out formalities, discounts
and priority wait-listing.
4. About the Epicure Plan
The Epicure Plan, an optional add-on to the Taj Inner Circle, is an exclusive dining plan that
offers Taj Inner Circle members special privileges and rewards for expenditures incurred on
food and beverages, at participating Taj restaurants in India.
Members of the plan receive a "Smart" membership card for instant recording, updating and
redemption of points. Taj Inner Circle Blue members who opt for the Epicure Plan will be
automatically upgraded to the Silver level whereas members on the Silver or Gold tier will
continue to enjoy their existing membership levels.
50

CRM in Hotel Industry

Non-Taj Inner Circle members who wish to enroll on to the Epicure Plan will receive a
complimentary Taj Inner Circle Silver membership. Membership is available at an annual fee of
Rs. 2500, which is payable by credit card, cheque, or demand draft (Drawn in favor of “Indian
Hotels Company Limited”). Alternatively, guests can make payments in cash when applications
are made directly at Taj hotels.
Enhanced benefits for Epicure Plan members
As a Silver level Epicure Plan member, one enjoys all the privileges
extended against the Taj Inner Circle Silver level membership. In addition,
the member also receives the following benefits.
Free couple entry to the following Taj discotheques on Wednesdays:
•Insomnia- The Taj Mahal Palace & Tower, Mumbai
•My Kind of Place- Taj Palace Hotel, Delhi
Free couple entry to the following Taj discotheques on Saturdays:
•T2- Taj Krishna, Hyderabad
Free couple entry to the following Taj discotheques on Sundays:
•Incognito- Taj Bengal, Kolkata
BENEFITS THAT CUSTOMERS ENJOY AS A SILVER & GOLD MEMBER
In addition to rewards, customers enjoy a host of privileges that have been created to enhance
customer’s experience at the Taj. From the moment customer check in at any of participating
hotels, they will be treated as a very special guest, in more than one way:
o Customers will be greeted with flowers & fruits in their room
o Check-in & departure formalities will be easier, faster & flexible
o Receive special discount on rooms at Taj leisure hotels
o Avail of double occupancy at no extra cost
o Entitled to a priority wait-list.
5. Points RedemptionEpicure points can be redeemed to settle stay or dining bills at
participating Taj hotels in India. Points will be instantly deducted from the accumulated points in
the membership account. Members can even entertain or holiday at exotic Taj hotels in
exchange of Epicure points.
Redemptions for holidays are subject to availability and prior reservation.
Participating Taj hotels or restaurants can close out bookings for these redemptions. Please
note that only Inner Circle points can be accumulated at Rambagh Palace, Jaipur. Epicure
points cannot be earned at this hotel. Taj Epicure Diners Club Card: Experience the art of fine
living with this exclusive card, guests can receive exclusive benefits across 43 Taj properties
and over 200 Taj restaurants.

Any future initiatives in improving the

CRM at the company
Chapter # 6. Example of CRM Implementation
This is according to VisiGlobe solutions (for CRM):-
VisiGlobe offers variety of CRM solutions. These solutions can be ranged from providing CRM
software to providing turnkey solutions including project management, software, training and
support. Guest satisfaction is the most important aspect of CRM approach of VisiGlobe. Guest
requests are continuously observed, services improved and provided seamlessly. On the other
hand, staff performance and guest satisfaction surveys are tracked. It helps hotels to improve
guest satisfaction at least 20%. This increase provides a minimum of 5% increase in revenue.
Happy guest returns and advises
VisiGlobe is used for guest satisfaction survey, guest request and problems follow-up, staff
performance tracking, department performance tracking, guest satisfaction in overall hotel
performance. It has a direct connectivity to PMS - Property Management Software. All available
information in PMS are retrieved directly into VisiGlobe.CRM and processed. A call center is
established. All reported problem and request are entered into the system and dispatched to
runner to solve the issue. Closed issues are instantly closed in the system. All issue is solved
timely. Each department manager tracks related issues and if necessary, he can act
immediately. This ensures all guest problems are solved before he leaves. Some part of our
CRM solutions:
o Guest Recognition
To know more about guests and to serve better.
o Incident Tracking
Solving problems on time without leaving any un-solved issue.
o Rapid Responce
Priority required requests are tracked and solved.
o Improvement Analysis
To improve service quality and reduce cost.
o Guest Comment Card Tracking
To evaluate and analyze guests feedbacks.
o Relationship Marketing

Marketing through guest history analysed with requests and

comments.
o Facilities Maintenance
Planned room and property maintenance to offer problem free service.
o Communication Server
All requests are delivered to specific person on time via electronic
transmission.
CRM means different things to different companies. Just as customers are unique, companies
are unique. James Dunham, general manager, Travel and Transportation for Siebel Systems,
said, “Our customers apply CRM tools differently depending on their businesses’ drivers. A
property that has optimized occupancy uses CRM differently than one with low occupancy
because their needs are different.”
Think of CRM as a way of life rather than a technology. Having said that, today’s technical
possibilities are a crucial enabler for doing a much better job of embracing our customers than
we ever could have in the past. Structured databases, robust wide area networks and
technologically aware hotel guests are all part of the mix that has elevated the art of customer
relationship management. The technology allows us to do it better, but without effective
leadership in the hotel companies and buy-in from line employees it remains only a good idea.
Strategic Elements of CRM:-
Our experience and research identifies five crucial elements required for a
successful CRM initiative in any service organization.
For some companies, additional elements may become equally crucial, but
we see these strategic concepts as universal:
1. Guest recognition
2. Data capture and maintenance
3. Channel integration and consistency
4. Ranking and discrimination
5. Two-way personalized dialogs
Let’s examine each of these areas in more detail.
Guest Recognition
Recognition means many things. A smiling face, recalling a preferred room type or a welcome
back greeting are all common recognition experiences in the hotel industry. These are all typical
recognition interactions between a repeat visitor to a given hotel and a front of house employee
endowed with a hospitality work ethic.
When recognizing a customer of the brand more so than of the hotel, the challenges
expand geometrically, but so do the opportunities. Many of the multi-brand companies
succeed in this area by training reception staff to acknowledge the guest’s participation
in the multi-brand frequency program (i.e. I have your frequency program number on
your reservation.), but that is only part of the story. The trick is to get the relevant
information in front of the line employees rather than keeping it locked up in an offline analytical
database or centralized system not available to hotel personnel. If you want to impact service
delivery, the information must be in the hands of line employees.
An essential concept in discussing guest recognition is that of preferences. Capturing, retaining
and making effective use of expressed customer preferences is the essence of guest
recognition. You are not only acknowledging that the guest has a prior relationship with the
enterprise, but you are able to do something useful for the guest with that knowledge.
A corollary conclusion is that in order to manage preferences effectively, you must limit the
number of preferences you are willing to track to some number that can be communicated
across the enterprise. The GuestWare Enterprise Edition (www.guestware.com) offers an
interesting enhancement to this strategy: The platform stores and communicates global or
universal preferences for the guest across all hotels in the company (smoking or newspaper
preferences, for example). Yet it also supports the capture of local preferences, unique to the
individual property, so that a preference of room away from snowmaking appears at the ski
resort, but not the center city property.
Taking this approach to a deeper implementation than most hotels, the Wequassett Inn of
Chatham, Mass. (www.wequassettinn.com) sends lifestyle data capture forms out to past
guests during the off-season. The responses are added to the guest history records in the
resort’s Lodging Touch property management system (www.hotelinfosys.com).
Each week the management team reviews the profiles of returning guests prior to arrival and
takes action accordingly. Some Wequassett guests actually get items added to the dining room
menu specifically for them based on management using the captured data effectively.
Data Capture and Maintenance
In order to present information about a guest’s preferences to a guest service agent, you first
have to capture it and scrub it. As time goes on, you also need to maintain it. A crucial
consideration in capturing data is to make sure that you have vehicles for data input from all
plausible touch points with the guest. Property-level personnel must have both a means and an
incentive to capture relevant data about a guest’s expressed preferences.

Scrubbing data means standardizing the address and other crucial fields to
ensure mailability. Standardized data is crucial to support effective house
holding (the process of matching similar records into a single customer
master record or into creating a new master). A related requirement is
NCOA matching, periodically passing records through the National Change
of Address database, to identify people that have moved and told the postal
service, but not you. (And you always wondered how that pesky CD club
keeps finding you…)
A number of software vendors offer licensed or hosted solutions to data hygiene challenges.
Some are shrink-wrapped and some are large-scale mainframe applications. Group 1 Software
(www.g1.com), well established in the gaming segment of the industry, offers a broad range of
data quality and CRM tools to optimize the mailability of every record in your system.
Finally, guest profiles and preferences change over time. A complete CRM strategy needs a
vehicle for updating the profile accessible to both the guest and to staff.
Channel Integration and Consistency
Many of today’s consumers prefer to conduct transactions over the Internet. As long as the
Web-based front-end systems are integrated into the other systems (PMS and CRS for
example), this is a good thing for the hotel enterprise. Some travelers would prefer to speak to a
live reservations agent, whether at the property or in the central reservations office.
The key thing for the hotel company is to ensure that the guest receives the same recognition
and differential treatment no matter what channel they prefer to use to interact with the firm. Just
as we strive to offer consistent rate and availability from all channels, we must strive for
consistent guest recognition from all channels.
Likewise, as we work for channel integration in guest recognition, so must we reach for it in
service delivery. Integrating many of the various hotel management functions at the database
level is one strategy that has been attempted by several industry stalwarts, notably M I C R O S
-F i d e l i o (www.micros.com)
and
Springer-Miller
Systems
(www.springermiller.com). A new entrant to the market includes Enablez (www.enablez.com), a
Toronto-based provider of an integrated property- level platform extending to spa management
and ski lift ticketing as well as the more typical PMS/ POS functions.

Another approach is to utilize best-of-breed applications with robust interfaces. Manhattan East
Suite Hotels’ (www.mesuite.com) MAGIC (Marketing And Guest Information Center) effectively
links the CRS, PMS, CRM database and the Web site (see figure 3). This integration delivers a
single, integrated view of the customer and his needs across all 10 hotels and all customer
touch points.
Ranking and Discrimination
Some customers are worth more to your business than others and you need to invest more of
your scarce resources in the most valuable customers, and less in the others. This strategy is
perhaps the most difficult element of CRM for hoteliers to accept, but it is absolutely essential.
While the grand tradition of hospitality is to value every guest and deliver outstanding service to
all of them, in practice it simply isn’t possible.
Furthermore, there are certainly toxic customers that are simply bad for your business and you
want to make sure they don’t come back. Ask any casino about their black-list policies…
certainly a legitimate form of CRM in action. There are any number of ranking methods available
to the industry, among them frequency program production, recency/frequency/ money (RFM)
scores or simply number of room nights. Siebel’s Dunham said, “Whatever scoring metric
makes the most sense for your organization, you must include a multi-channel strategy to
advise the agent on the right product bundle at the right price to that high- or low-value guest at
the right moment in order to cross-sell or upsell them. That is one way a complete CRM strategy
drives top-line revenue.”

Part of your CRM strategy needs to be a means of ranking your guests to identify the most
valuable and then servicing them differentially. By extension, you also want to identify low-value
customers who are potentially better customers, and offer them enhanced services as well.
Two-way Personalized Dialogs
This area is perhaps the most exciting and potentially rich CRM strategy active today. Rather
than relying on mass-market advertising or segmented newsletters to members of a frequency
program, this element pursues personalized communications with customers as individuals, with
content specifically about the customer’s interests and preferences.
Most of these communications include a tangible and specific call to action, encouraging the
customer to do something with the communication, thus establishing a two-way dialog. These
dialogs serve both to reinforce the connection between the firm and the customer and to provide
opportunities for more information and sales with the customer.

Chapter # 7. CONCLUSION AND

RECOMMENDATIONS
CONCLUSION
Implementing an effective CRM solution is not complex. Adequate planning, effective
communication, stakeholder involvement and mistake avoidance will ensure that your initiative
gets off the ground easily.
From this study, we can conclude that all the three leading hotels –ITC,
Oberoi and Taj are following organized and well established CRM
practices. They have realized that a happy and satisfied customer is a
retained customer and that’s the key in creating superior brand equity and
better returns.
ITC HOTELS
At ITC, the management has identified ‘data capture vehicles’ or ‘touch points’ (as they call it) -
like loyalty programs, reservation systems and call centers to maintain a data bank of their
customers and to access the information as and when needed. This helps in providing quicker
and more customized solution to queries and complaints, if any and also helps in building a
rapport between the hotel executives and the customer which goes a long way in satisfying and
retaining the customers, building a superior brand image and turning them into loyal patrons.
Ultimately, this leads to measurable & substantial returns to the hotel.
Other benefits extended to the loyal clients of ITC include Welcome Award, Welcomlink,
Sheretonplus which are aimed at rewarding the regular clientele of their patronage and building
a better relationship with them.
THE OBEROI
The brand value that The Oberoi has created for itself is a result of its consistent delivery of
exceptional services to its customers. Traditionally, at The Oberoi, CRM and relationship
management has been considered to be a single function, but to maintain its market share and
fight the competitive situation, the marketing department at The Oberoi is now focusing on
building co-operative and collaborative relationships with the customers
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CRM in Hotel Industry

with the result that they have a loyal patronage from their guests, and are,
thus, able to charge a premium for the value given to the customers.
The CRM programs at the Oberoi include The Oberoi Plus for the
customers and also for the Bookers to motivate them.
 The Oberoi also organizes Food Festivals regularly and sends invitations to its regular clientele
and the top CEOs, MDs and business people to further enhance the CRM functions’
effectiveness.
THE TAJ
The Taj Group is also investing heavily on CRM systems to maintain customer databank with
their profiles to give a quicker and personalized service to their loyal clientele. The Taj gives
high priority to guest satisfaction.
They even have an SMS service to keep track of lost/missed calls by the
customers while they are away.
They have employed applications like PMS, CRS and CIS to keep track of customers’ profiles
which includes information such as their spending patterns and their special needs also. They
employ data mining technique to get and act on data and also give credit to the employees who
get compliments from the guests.
Other reward programs include Taj Inner Circle and the Epicure plan to
give the customers a host of privileges as silver and gold card holders.
The challenge is to balance between the long-term goals and short-turn
gains.
Some key learning’s are:
 Long turn, profitable relationships can be built when both, the service
provider and the customer, rise above the 'transaction' approach, and
work in an atmosphere of mutuality and trust.
 Relationships, like real life, goes through ups and downs, and it takes a
great amount of maturity and courage to handle the 'lows'.
 Relationships provide 'security'. Strategic bundling of services is a useful
methodology in this context.

 Top management must be committed to the relationship, as their

example is followed throughout the organization.
 Cross functional teams are required to meet the goals, especially where
quick responses are required.

RECOMMENDATIONS
In this era of globalization where ‘Customer is the King’, customer expectations are going up
which is making the situation more and more competitive. As the product is becoming generic in
nature, the hotel industry can no longer rely on the traditional marketing strategies to retain the
customers.
Customer Relationship Management is one of the key tools to fight this cut
throat competition and stand out as a superior brand.
On the basis of the study, I would like to recommend some suggestions
which could be implemented profitably by the industry.
1. Surveys: Conducting monthly guest/customer surveys, club surveys,
room comment cards, toll free guest assistance centers can help in
getting customer feedback and to improve in the areas where there is
a lag as suggested by the feedback.
2. Maintaining suggestion boxes at every touch point/point of
 interaction with the customers.
3.Taking feedback not only from external customers but also the
internal customers i.e., the employees.
4. Proper check on the hotel staff’s and processes’ efficiency by the
management, say by employing Mystery Customers.
5. Keeping regular track of the sales data for further leads and follow-
up
6. Employing effective CRM software to improve guest satisfaction,
lower operating costs, build guest loyalty, and increase revenues.
7. Having Guest History programs- keeping a databank of customer
profiles along with such details as room preferences, amenities
preferred, special requests, meal preferences, wallet services,
sending birthday cards to the loyal guests and even their spouses and
giving them a hassle-free check-in procedure-like sending them pick-
up and drop facilities.
62

8. Employing an efficient system of complaints handling as complaints

are the opportunities to improve, to impress the customers and to
turn complaining customers into loyal ones.
9.Giving recognition awards to attract old customers.
10. Giving the customers a more personalized and empathic services as building good rapport with
the customers goes along way in having satisfied and return customers.