The aim of this study is to assess the implementation of relationship marketing by independent Egyptian hotels and to determine the organisational and environmental factors affecting its implementation. The study consisted of two phases: a telephone interview and an email survey. Telephone interviews were conducted for the purpose of identifying hotels that are familiar with and/or implementing some sort of relationship marketing. Information generated from the interviews contributed to the selection of 86 hotels for the email survey. Findings revealed that hotel size in terms of the number of employees, financial resources allocated for relationship marketing, business expertise (the period of time the hotel is in the business) and customer pressure are the dominating factors affecting the implementation of relationship marketing. The study provides evidence on the relatively under researched area of independent Egyptian hotels. Appropriate consideration of these factors will help hotels to improve the effectiveness of relationship marketing. Future research should focus on further factors influencing the implementation of relationship marketing and address the customer’s perspective.
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