StarCite Marketplace Reaches Key Milestone of One Million RFPs
Tuesday May 2, 10:49 am ET
Marketplace Provides Buyers with Connectivity, Access, and Rapid Response to a Database that Exceeds 80,000 Listings and 40,000 Properties
StarCite Expects Marketplace to Reach Two Million RFPs by 2008
PHILADELPHIA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 2, 2006--StarCite, Inc., the leading provider of On Demand Global Meeting Solutions(TM), announced today that its StarCite Marketplace has successfully processed its one-millionth Request for Proposal (RFP). Since its inception in 1999 StarCite's Marketplace has revolutionized the way corporate meeting planners and hotels conduct business, by providing an efficient, reliable and convenient platform for meeting managers and suppliers to connect.
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The StarCite Marketplace was created with the goal of lending organization and accountability to the meeting planning process. The Marketplace allows meetings professionals to access StarCite's database and quickly send and receive electronic RFPs, with the confidence that comes from StarCite's industry leading technology. After six years in operation the StarCite Marketplace reached the 500,000 RFP threshold. From this point it took a mere eighteen months for Marketplace to reach its one-millionth RFP. Amazingly, 150,000 RFPs were processed through its Marketplace in the first quarter of 2006 alone.
"Starwood, and more specifically the Sheraton New York Hotel and Towers, are honored to be the recipient of the one-millionth lead from the StarCite Marketplace. Because of our strong partnership with StarCite over the years, we have been able to see continued growth in our business and more leads delivered to our hotels," said Carol Lynch, Starwood's V.P. Global Sales Group North America Division, who successfully sourced the one-millionth RFP.
"The StarCite Online Marketplace is a critically important business channel for our Meeting Services department," said Susan Owens, Manager, Travel & Meeting Services, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc., who placed the one-millionth RFP. "We have adopted this process and now conduct our meetings business using StarCite exclusively. It is the only meeting service channel we utilize for centralized eRFP management, and we are thrilled to be a part of such a significant milestone."
"We could not be more pleased about reaching 1,000,000 RFPs," said Michael Boult, President and CEO of StarCite. "The Marketplace has always been at the heart of our business, and this very significant milestone serves as validation that StarCite's business model works! The Marketplace allows our corporate clients to source their meetings more efficiently, while saving money and gaining valuable insight into their meetings program. Simultaneously, our supplier community of over 40,000 hotels is receiving substantive leads which translate into more business. It is important to note that these RFPs are exclusive to our Marketplace and do not take into account the private label electronic platforms which StarCite also supports for many of the leading hotel chains, such as Fairmont, Omni, Hyatt, and Morgans."
"The exceptional growth of the StarCite Marketplace is testament to its tremendous value proposition and indicative of a significant shift in how meetings professionals and suppliers conduct business," said John Pino, Executive Chairman and Founder of StarCite. "Everyday more and more meeting managers and hotels are bridging the gap between customer and supplier and discovering the tangible benefits of utilizing StarCite's Marketplace. For the past seven years the Marketplace has demonstrated the viability, and inherent value, of a properly managed Business to Business marketplace and proven that 'B to B' is alive and well."
About StarCite, Inc.
StarCite, Inc. is the leading provider of On Demand Global Meeting Solutions(TM). StarCite optimizes global investments in corporate meetings and events delivering visibility, savings and control. StarCite provides process efficiency, enabling technology and proven adoption management support to drive significant cost reduction to buyers and enhanced revenues to suppliers. StarCite is based in Philadelphia. Investors in StarCite include Internet Capital Group (NASDAQ: ICGE - News); Maritz Travel Company; Seaport Capital; and TL Ventures. For more information about StarCite, or its technologies and services, please visit www.starcite.com.
Products and services include:
* StarCite GMS(TM) - the integrated platform that powers StarCite's Global Meeting Solutions approach and five steps to guaranteed success - Plan, Budget, Buy, Attend and Measure.
* StarCite Marketplace - the world's largest online meetings marketplace with $2 billion in revenue opportunities.
* StarCite Adoption Management - proven implementation, training, benchmarking, customer support, account management and outsourced services that help you target achievable
savings and improve overall results. |
