StarCite Reports Results For Q1 2005; Meetings Marketplace Grows 69%; Marketplace Delivers $7.4M in Opportunities To Hotels Daily
5/9/2005 2:24:13 PM
PHILADELPHIA, May 09, 2005 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- StarCite, Inc., the leading provider of technologies and services for the $300 billion global meetings and events industry, today announced that it provided hotels with $464 million in group meeting lead opportunities in the first quarter of 2005. Commerce flowing through its Marketplace rose 69 percent compared to the same period in 2004. At the current pace, the company expects its growing, global user base to deliver more than $2 billion in revenue opportunities to hotels by year-end.
"We are enthused by the number of proposals that corporations are sending through our Marketplace. But, of keener interest is the nearly 30 percent jump in the average number of room nights per RFP over the same quarter," said John Pino, Chairman and Founder of StarCite, Inc., Philadelphia. "Larger, longer meetings mean higher value leads," he added.
Meetings Marketplace Grows 69%
The StarCite Online Marketplace delivered 10,113 unique RFPs in the first quarter, 32 percent more than the same quarter last year. These RFPs provided 1.7 million room night leads to databased suppliers. The number of gross RFPs sent through the StarCite Online Marketplace rose 44 percent to nearly 92,000. Users typically send each "unique" RFP to multiple properties or chains for rate and availability, which is then defined as gross RFPs.
On a daily basis, StarCite provides about $7.4 million worth of lead opportunities to hotels in its database, up 69% from one year ago. These figures exclude private-label sites, which StarCite supplies to Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, Omni Hotels and a number of other suppliers.
Corporations, Hotels License Attendee Mgt. Technology
StarCite expanded use of its leading corporate strategic meeting management technology and processes to Diebold, TWI Extras meeting management firm and several blue-chip corporations. StarCite also licensed its attendee management technology to hotel management firm Pyramid Advisors, which is selectively offering registration sites as an incentive for meeting planners to book at two of its properties. On the supplier side, StarCite also expanded its relationship with a major hotel chain and renewed a technology deal with another.
StarCite International in the first quarter formed a new Scandinavian Consortium with leading hotels and destination management companies in Sweden, Norway and Denmark. StarCite International also expanded its technology and destination marketing relationships, signing the Austrian Tourist Office and the Netherlands Board of Tourism and Conventions.
About StarCite, Inc.
StarCite, Inc. provides the most comprehensive suite of applications and services to the $300 billion meeting and events industry. StarCite helps drive efficiencies and cost savings to both corporate buyers and suppliers. More than 400 corporate, association and third-party meeting buyers rely on StarCite's Enterprise Meeting Solutions for workflow, procurement, supply chain management, spend analysis and attendee management. Thousands of industry suppliers rely on the StarCite Online Marketplace, Supplier Marketing Programs and Enabling Technologies to increase meeting revenues. Its StarCite International division represents destination management companies and other premier international travel suppliers using both technology and traditional means. StarCite is based in Philadelphia. Investors in StarCite include Internet Capital Group (ICGE); Maritz Travel Company; Seaport Capital; Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.; and TL Ventures. For more information about StarCite, or its technologies and services, please visit www.StarCite.com. |
