The first Golden Tulip-branded hotel will be opened this August outside Bucharest, said Paul Marasoiu, a representative of the Dutch company in Romania.
He says the unit will be opened in Prahova Valley, under the Golden Tulip Resort brand.
"We will have two Golden Tulip hotels in Prahova Valley, one at the entrance and one at the exit from this area," he specified.
Officials of the Dutch hotel network had previously stated they were planning to open such a unit in Azuga resort.
"We will progressively launch six hotels by yearend," says Marasoiu.
The Golden Tulip chain is present in Romania in a franchise system only. The company''s representative says this system is not sufficiently clear on the Romanian market.
"We are receiving requests for financial participation in construction works or related to the management of the hotel. These concepts are not clear," explains Marasoiu.
The hotel industry has witnessed solid growth on its four-star hotel segment in recent years as a reaction to the rising inflow of businesspeople coming to Romania. Given the upcoming European Union integration, an increasing number of international companies are setting up branches on the domestic market.
"There is a correlation between franchise suppliers. When a brand emerges in a locality, the others need to come up, too. Thus, there will be similar market growth for everybody," he added.
Marasoiu considers this does not necessarily imply there is a fight for market share, as each hotel product has a well-defined target, different from that of the other units. "There''s no intense competition, just a confrontation between products of different types and concepts," he concluded.
Golden Tulip is present on the Bucharest market with four units. In terms of the number of owned hotels, the main contender of the Dutch network will be the Cendant chain, which is planning to open another three hotels under the Ramada brand in Bucharest, where it already holds a unit.
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