Hilton eyes four-star market

Hilton could enter the four-star market in Romania with its Scandic brand, should it receive a tempting offer from a hotel that is ranked at this level, says Friedrich Niemann, general manager of Athenee Palace Hilton Bucharest, a five-star hotel. “The three to four-star market has the biggest growth potential in Romania,” he stated. “Bucharest is a very important destination for us. The demand for the business segment is very high,” he continued. To appeal to the American company, the location should have some 120-150 rooms, as well as a suitable geographic position, which could be in Bucharest or in another city, the Hilton official added. The new hotel would be operated by Hilton under a management contract. The three to four-star segment was the most prolific last year, once a number of international hotel chains entered the Romanian market, such as Golden Tulip (four franchised hotels in Bucharest), NH Hoteles (one hotel in Bucharest and one in Timisoara), Accor (which opened another Ibis in Constanta), as well as many new hotels that opened for business on this segment in Bucharest. ZF