“We asked that the hotel be downgraded to four stars this year in order to get more business from the pharmaceutical sector, which is a very good market for events,” says Sonia Nastase, the hotel’s general manager. 285-room Howard Johnson hotel now features on booking websites with a four-star rating rather than five stars before.
Events organized by pharmaceutical companies, which are an important source of income for hotels, can no longer be held in five-star establishments, according to an ethical code of the Romanian Association of International Medicine Manufacturers (ARPIM).
There is no public information available on the number of events organized by pharmaceutical companies in Romania, but the Romanian medicine market amounts to EUR2.6 billion per year.
“It is not allowed for ARPIM to organize events (this includes accommodation for healthcare professionals) in five-star hotels. This restriction concerns events organized in Romania,” reads the ethical code for 2012 posted on ARPIM’s website.
The first hotel to ask for a downgrade from five to four stars last year was Crowne Plaza in Bucharest, owned by Romanian businessman George Copos. This was also done so the hotel could host events in the pharmaceutical industry.
(English version by Daniela Stoican)