Purpose – The study aims to investigate the effect of four customer relationship management (CRM) dimensions, namely, customer orientation, customer relationship management organization, managing knowledge and CRM based technology, on customer satisfaction in the hospitality sector of Kashmir. Design/methodology/approach – A survey instrument with a slight modification is adapted from literature and is exercised on the customers of three- and four-star hotels operating in Kashmir. A total of 176 responses received using systematic random sampling were subjected to exploratory factor and regression analyses to uncover the underlying relationships among dependent and independent variables. Findings – The results revealed a significant and positive relationship between CRM dimensions, namely, customer orientation, managing knowledge and CRM organization on customer satisfaction. Though the results also indicate a significant positive effect of CRM-based technology on customer satisfaction, the magnitude of this effect is very weak. This suggests that hotel organizations use technology as a mere tool to store customer information only. Thus, CRM-based technology should be used by the hotels to analyze customer information and, subsequently, design customized products. This will unravel the full potential of the technology and lead to better customer satisfaction. Practical implications – The findings of this study provide significant insights to the practitioners to understand the role of successfully implementing a CRM strategy. It reflects that establishing an effective CRM strategy helps managers in improving customer satisfaction and in maintaining a long-term relationship with customers to achieve the organizational goals. Thus, establishing an efficient and effective CRM strategy should be (one of) the key objectives for all hotel managers. Moreover, the hotels that successfully implement CRM strategy and manage customer knowledge properly will reap the rewards in terms of better customer loyalty and long-term sustainable profitability. Originality/value – This study approaches the implementation of CRM strategy from a customer perspective with a specific focus on investigating the effect of four CRM dimensions on customer satisfaction in the hospitality sector. This will provide a novel impetus to the hotel managers to devise and manage a CRM strategy that leads to (better) customer satisfaction.