2011 starts today – The Era of Social Commerce is here – Solutionz Media and GuestCentric Systems partnership announced

In the “The Future of the Social Web,” report released by Forrester in April 2009, by Jeremiah Owyang, a Forrester senior analyst, laid out the past, present and future state of the social Web into five overlapping eras. According to Owyang, the era of social commerce was slated to begin in 2011.Well, social commerce is here. Today.

Solutionz Media and GuestCentric Systems Partner to Introduce Revolutionary Social Distribution Service for Accommodations Industry Customer Engagement Platform “Cracks the Code” on Monetizing Social Networking TAMPA, Fla., December 8, 2009 – Solutionz Media social media think tank innovator today announced a partnership with GuestCentric Systems, the premier Software-as-a Service provider for the independent hotel industry, providing the first end-to-end social media solution for the accommodations industry. “For the first time, hospitality companies will be able to use Twitter and Facebook as booking channels, versus just a way to communicate with customers and prospects, changing the distribution landscape. Now hotel operators, resorts, campgrounds, bed & breakfasts and other hospitality providers can plan, implement, maintain, drive revenue and measure results from each of their social media channels,” said Solutionz Media Managing Partner, Tiffany Topcik. “This new solution takes the use of social media marketing to a whole new level by combining proven social media strategies with the technology to drive and measure the ROI.” “Engaging and driving business through virtual communities of over 200million users is now a vital component of the accommodations industry’s distribution strategy,” said GuestCentric President and CEO Pedro Colaco. “Our new Customer Engagement Platform is an extremely powerful, easy-to-use, comprehensive solution to build brands and increase the customer base, quality of relationships and loyalty at an affordable price while improving online revenues and lowering online distribution-related expenses.”
Topcik said that up until now, many of the smaller, independent accommodations operators have lacked the expertise and tools to effectively integrate social media marketing into their traditional marketing and distribution strategies. “The Customer Engagement Platform solves this problem by providing the functionality to manage extensive media campaigns and measure the effectiveness of promotions and ROI with a booking engine and relevant analytical tools,” said Topcik. “Our combined solution also offers channel cost analysis, monitoring and alerts, a social media reputation audit and ongoing social distribution management to insure that users avoid spamming by successfully moving their customers up the ‘social engagement ladder’.” “Social media allows accommodations providers to know their customers intimately, anticipate their needs and service them better than ever before,” said Colaco, “and increase brand awareness, bookings and word-of-mouth referrals in the process.” He said the service is immediately available by contacting either Solutionz Media or GuestCentric. About GuestCentric Systems GuestCentric Systems develops and markets web services that revolutionize the way independent hotels work. GuestCentric has built a Software as a Service platform that allows independent hotels to develop long-standing relationships with guests, improve online revenues and lower expenses associated with online distribution. Through use of Web 2.0 technologies, GuestCentric provides easy-to-use tools at reasonable prices that up until now were only available for hotels with big budgets. For more information please visit www.guestcentric.com, or contact Karla Martinez at karla.martinez@guestcentric.com and +1 203 517 0715. About Solutionz Media Solutionz Media, founded in 2009, is a social media think tank and innovator, integrating the traditional marketing disciplines with the new array of social media tools to build brand and reputation. Opportunity assessments, strategic planning, training, facilitation and brand audits are provided by sister company, the Solutionz Group. Founded in 1996 by Chicke Fitzgerald, CEO, this business development and strategic consulting group offers worldwide resources comprised of travel industry veterans, business leaders and experts in a number of business disciplines, with special expertise in the GPS/Navigation, telecommunications, financial services and member services industries. For more information please visit www.solutionzmedia.com, email tiffany@solutionz.com, or call Tiffany Topcik at +1-(847) 224-0153 or Steve Holub at +1-(813) 716-0041