1. Introduction In the functional market economy, because of the progressively aggressive competition, the providers of tourist products and services are more and more forced to consider the needs, requests and expectancies of clients and consumers as - better informed and trained - they prefer more and more often to purchase products and services of maximum quality at the lowest prices. Consequently, the managers and employees from the hospitality industry should aim to provide only services of high quality at minimum prices. The quality of the services provided by the Romanian tourist units as well as their image represents a vital issue for them. Both the excessive industrialization during communism and the misunderstood capitalism which followed had a powerful impact upon the Romanian tourist base and also upon managers’ mentality, who found themselves powerless in the face of the wave of changes occurring over night. In the last years, a trend has been noticed which shows that the young generation of managers learned their lesson and their efforts, although timid, seem to get a contour. The providing of high quality services is not possible without serious management knowledge,