Washington, DC 6/9/11 – The Knowland Group, a leading provider of business development solutions for the hospitality industry, is announcing a partnership with EchoSign, the premier online electronic signature service. The California-based company offers a fast, easy-to-use system to get contracts signed, tracked and filed instantaneously and from anywhere in the world.
 
EchoSign allows meeting planners and sales teams to make changes to contracts, proposals, banquet event orders and other time-sensitive documents right from their iPads and smartphones. EchoSign automates the entire contract process from beginning to end and shows the user where to sign or initial, what has already been signed and by whom. Documents are then converted to PDF and sent to the necessary people. Signed contracts are automatically stored in the user’s EchoSign account for future access.
 
In the first quarter of 2011, Knowland launched Target Net for the iPad. This mobile edition streamlines the entire sales process and gives sales teams the freedom to utilize Target Net both on-and-off site. The integration of EchoSign into this cloud-based application allows sales teams to seal the deal without wasting precious time and resources and allows meeting planners to make changes to an event in the blink of an eye. This tool helps hoteliers and meeting planners avoid mistakes that could leave guests unsatisfied and unhappy.

“Joining forces with EchoSign is a natural fit because we are always pushing the innovation envelope,” Knowland CEO Michael K. McKean said. “The future of hospitality sales force automation and meetings management software is in the cloud on iPads and smartphones. This partnership will not only allow clients to sign contracts, but to make adjustments instantly from their mobile devices.”
 
EchoSign has more than 35,000 customers and 3 million users and serves big-name clients such as Google, Dell, Verizon and Nike.

About The Knowland Group
The Knowland Group is a proven innovator, developing intuitive marketing products and services that streamline and support event and group sales in the hospitality industry. The company, headquartered in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, serves more than 3,000 hotel clients and 25,000 users globally. Knowland was ranked as the fifth fastest growing software company (public or private) in North America by Deloitte and the second fastest growing private company in the travel industry for both 2009 and 2010 by Inc. Magazine. For more information, visit www.KnowlandGroup.com, call 410-860-2270, or follow us on Twitter @knowlandgroup.