CACTUS - Journal of tourism for research, education, culture, and soul

15-22

Authors: Oana-Diana Crismariu, Gabriela Tigu

The ambiance in the hospitality industry is represented by the material, social or moral environment, where customers can enjoy the facilities. The correct perception of this has a very important role in creating a truthful experience. In the actual context, the customers are not willing to compromise anymore, accepting some services of bad quality. Because they have a various scale of restaurants and hotels, they are looking for good experiences, which means serving excellent food, sleeping in great places, living unforgettable moments in an agreeable surrounding, this way benefiting by the best services. The present paper is made of four components synthetically presented. The first one, named "Outlooks of client experience in the hospitality industry" contains the main aspects about what experience means in hotels and restaurants, the second one ”Hotel and restaurant ambiance – a tool used to outline the client experience” explains what ambiance is in the hospitality industry. The third part contains “Main components of hotel and restaurant ambiance”. In the last part named "The impact of hotel and restaurant ambiance over Romanian tourists" the results of two quantitative investigations are presented, applied to find out what characteristics related to the restaurant and hotel surroundings are influencing the creation of a positive experience. The aim of this investigation is to discover the importance of the perception of a restaurant and hotel’s surroundings has in creating the experience of customers. The success in this meaning can come from a professional landing regarding a succession of surroundings factors, which can determine the improvement of the restaurants’ and hotels’ services

31-37

Authors: Andreea Fortuna Schiopu, Daniela Georgiana Zloteanu

This article takes a customers’ perspective approach to reflect on the importance of innovation in the restaurant industry. Innovation in restaurants is vital for the business to remain distinct, to attract new customers, and to differentiate themselves from competitors. The aim was to identify the main characteristics and habits of restaurants’ customers, to find out what customers value in a restaurant offer, and to identify the perspective of customers on new and innovative dishes from restaurants’ menus. The focus was on the innovations that the customers expect from restaurants. The authors conducted a survey which reveled that most people dine out for dinner and lunch and have a varied diet. Image is a significant feature in choosing a dish; the combination of ingredients is the most prominent innovative aspect of a dish. In terms of dishes that people want but could not find in restaurant menus, a special mention goes to desserts such as semolina/rice pudding, or plum dumplings, followed by vegetarian options such as cashew cheese and vegan broths. Modern dishes are associated with exotic ingredients such as avocado, Chia seeds, Matcha powder, or vegetable noodles. People seem to be ready to try new things and ready to take in new offers from operators. The likelihood of picking a new dish f

7

Authors: Aura-Mihaela Voicu

The competitive advantage of a company brings together the unique elements and attributes that it owns and exploits them in order to set apart significantly from its competitors. Advantage benefit sources are multiple, and a combination thereof leads to a series of unlimited opportunities for strengths diversification against the competitors. One of the most valuable sources is the employees, whose contribution is vital to gaining competitive strengths. This paper aims to investigate the perception of the employees of the luxury hotels in Bucharest regarding their own contribution to the creation of the competitive advantage. The research was conducted using a questionnaire applied to people with work experience in 4- or 5-star hotels in the capital city, regardless of the position held, and was based on three main objectives. The first set goal was aimed to test the hypothesis according to which employees are the most important source of competitive advantage, but this was not fully confirmed by the respondents. The second hypothesis refers to the fact that all positions held within a luxury hotel can contribute to the creation of the competitive advantage, which is unanimously confirmed by the interviewees. The third objective of the research was to discover how the employees of the luxury hotels in Bucharest assess their own contribution to the creation of the competitive advantage within the hotel where they work; The conclusion for the proposed objective was that they assess on average their own contribution with a grade of 8 out of 10. The implications of this article may be found in other researches that could, for example, address the competitive advantages of luxury hotels in other cities worldwide, compared to those in Bucharest or the differences between luxury hotels in Bucharest and those located in other large cities in Romania, in terms of competitive advantage

10

Authors: Vlad Diaconescu

Students’ perception regarding a career in sales has long been studied, especially in the US, but with fewer studies in Europe. There is less research in Romania. The present paper questions students from five faculties within the Bucharest University of Economic Studies, the number of valid answers being 167. The main research results show that although they do not have a negative perception on the field, as it was generally indicated by the previous studies carried out in the Anglo-Saxon countries, students are not very attracted to a career in sales as a first professional option. The situation changes to some extent if there is a firm job offer that many more would accept. Another important aspect is the influence of socio-demographic variables on the decision to pursue a career in sales, with particular regard to differences between boys and girls and income levels. Although in general, they believe that the subjects studied in college would be of use for them in order to work in sales, most of the students do not intend to make this professional choice. The overall conclusion of the study is that students from Bucharest University of Economic Studies do not have a deepened knowledge of the field, and the lack of interest in a sales job is the result of the unawareness of this field rather than a negative perception.