Hi,

The Fall version has been upgraded, and brings more exciting news. With the Winter 2009 Release your GuestCentric platform usability has been improved. It reveals the results from the work done in analyzing your feedback and daily usage. We want to boost your direct business and are listening closely to your suggestions. If you have anything you would like to tell us, do not hesitate to send us an email to suggestions@guestcentric.com, and keep checking back for additions and improvements.

New login access
	The new look shows a more professional and interactive login. Now you can easily have access to key areas like Phone Support, Live Support or to Report a problem. When you access GuestCentric’s platform you will find a new look and feel. None of the older options were changed; we only added some key shortcuts. In Phone Support, you will find GuestCentric worldwide support phone numbers. The Live Support allows you to chat with our Support team in real time. Or if you wish you can send a message to the support team on the Report a Problem area.
All dashboards in a unique area
	Performance reports and metrics are now located in the Dashboard area, together with Webs metrics, Revenue performance or Conversion ratios. The Dashboard area is now fully packed with all the reports and metrics available in the platform. Perform your daily tasks in several existing areas like Contacts, Guests, Reservations, Revenue and Website, but don’t forget to analyze your business assessing the reports of the Dashboard area.
Backoffice setup improvements
	In this new release, we have implemented a new layout and grouped the several actions you may perform Home, Administration and Webmaster are the new three areas available. Use the Setup Home page to set your booking engine essentials, edit the way you market your property and insert data about your hotel to populate your website pages. Administration will allow you to create / edit users, setup taxes, change login and credit card access passwords. While the Webmaster area allows you to change settings of the domain and access the hosting of the website.

Enjoy!
GuestCentric Team
Filipe Machaz
VP of Product Management

Pedro Colaco GuestCentric’s president and CEO talks about GuestCentric Systems

Enjoy!

GuestCentric’s New Hotel Customer Engagement Platform Leverages Power of Viral Marketing Strategies

GuestCentric, the Software-as-a-Service provider for the independent hotel industry, announced the launch of a new customer engagement platform. The word-of-mouth revolution led by the explosive growth of social networking sites Twitter and Facebook… (read more)

Earlier this week GuestCentric attended the PhoCusWright Conference and participated at the Travel Innovation Summit. The Travel Innovation Summit is an event that showcases the travel industry’s hottest, most innovative Web and mobile-based solutions.

The first day was full of excitement and preparations, we would like to share the highlight of the day with you:

GuestCentric Introduces Breakthrough Customer Engagement Platform for Hotels

GuestCentric, the premier Software-as-a-Service provider for the independent hotel industry, announced the launching of a breakthrough customer engagement platform. (read more)

GuestCentric introduces breakthrough customer engagement platform for hotels

The new platform allows hotel operators to easily expand their brand

GuestCentric announced the launching of a breakthrough customer engagement platform. The word-of-mouth revolution… (read more)

Fairfield, NJ – GuestCentric, the premier Software-as-a-Service provider for the independent hotel industry, announced the launching of a breakthrough customer engagement platform. The word-of-mouth revolution led by the explosive growth of social networking sites Twitter and Facebook gives hotels access to a new direct distribution and marketing channel to customers.

This new platform allows hotel operators to easily expand their brand with the use of viral marketing strategies and at the same time engage social networking customers by making them feel special.

GuestCentric’s Customer Engagement platform includes:

• Guest finder – GuestCentric’s Guest finder helps hoteliers to easily find potential customers that are planning a trip to a specific city or are looking for specific dates, features etc.
• Portable booking link – This gadget enables hoteliers to create a link to the booking engine and sell a specific promotion or room type at a specific date and easily send it to a specific social media customer, embed in an email, etc.
• Special Twitter Promotion – GuestCentric has the first booking engine with a native Twitter follower restriction that allows hoteliers to offer special deals and packages to hotel followers.
• Itinerary sharing– GuestCentric is the first booking engine that allows sharing trip information with friends. This viral marketing tool extends the brand by reaching out to thousands of people using the social media outlets.
• Reputation – The Customer Engagement platform searches, monitors and consolidates what people are saying about a property in a multitude of social media channels like TripAdvisor, Twitter, blogs, news, Facebook and others.

“Social media allows hoteliers to engage customers, know who they are, what they want, anticipate their needs and service them better.” said Pedro Colaco GuestCentric President and CEO “GuestCentric’s customer engagement platform enables hoteliers to make guests forget about their bad experiences prior to arrival to the hotel, and encourage them to write about great experiences. This positive energy will generate brand awareness and increased bookings.”

GuestCentric unveils New Customer Engagement Platform at the PhoCusWright Travel Innovation Summit

On November 17, 2009 at 9:01 AM, Pedro Colaco President and CEO of GuestCentric Systems, will showcase GuestCentric’s latest technologies at the Travel innovation Summit @ The PhoCusWright Conference.

For the past year, GuestCentric has been revolutionizing the online presence of innumerous independent hotels allowing them to close the online gap and compete effectively with traditionally stronger hotels. GuestCentric’s innovative e-Commerce optimization features are delivered in an unbeatable Software-as-a-Service model that provides independent hotels access for the first time with easy-to-use high-end technologies at affordable prices.

To register please visit:  http://www.phocuswright.com/the_phocuswright_conference_register

When: November 17, 2009 at 9:51 AM

Where: The Travel Innovation Summit at the PhocusWright Conference in Omni Orlando Resrot at Championsgate – Orlando, FL

By: Pedro Colaco, CEO, GuestCentric Systems

“Reprinted with persimssion by www.hotelexecutive.com”

Many independent hotel managers are unhappy with the amount of business generated by the websites. This should come as no surprise as only 14% pursue a structured online strategy. Yet, embracing e-commerce is the best opportunity for independent hotels in the downturn of 2009/10 as online bookings continue to grow and travelers show a healthy appetite for booking directly at the hotel’s official website. This article tackles the issue of how independent hotels should create a structured online strategy to ensure e-commerce success for their official websites.

Read full article: Three Key Success Factors for an Independent Hotel’s Website