SpeedRFP Surpasses $1 Billion in Meeting Requests in 2012
Buyer membership grows 300% to more than 42,000
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Santa Barbara, Calif.: January 23, 2013
– Elite Meetings International (EMI) announced
that SpeedRFP surpassed
projections
for 2012 in two areas: volume of unique events and buyer membership.
Unique
group RFPs surpassing 3 million room nights were submitted via SpeedRFP in 2012, representing more
than
$1.1 billion in potential revenue for hotels and resorts who accept Speed
RFPs. In terms of membership, the cloud-based eRFP system now has
more than 42,000 group buyer members who have submitted one or more SpeedRFPs since its launch.
“We are extremely pleased by the level of buyer engagement in the last 12 months,” says Kelly Foy, CEO of EMI, the company that developed SpeedRFP. “Of the 42,000 buyers, more than 30,000 buyers came on board in 2012—a growth rate of 300 percent over the previous year.”  The product was released in 2010 with early adopters like Dolce Hotels and Resorts and Destination Hotels & Resorts. “In 2011, after affirming positive results, we took the product to market,” explains Travis Hodge, director of business development for SpeedRFP. “Those early successes went on to include adoption by independent hotels, brands and DMOs alike, most recently, Atlantis, Paradise Island; The Boulders, A Waldorf Astoria Resort; Bacara Resort; Noble House Hotels & Resorts, Grand and Little America Hotels, and Visit Vail Valley.“ Today, SpeedRFP is present on more than 200 portals, representing more than 4,000 hotels and CVBs in 85 countries. Hodge attributes the surging adoption rates, in part, to the system’s plug-and-play approach, which makes it surprisingly easy to implement on any hotel/resort/CVB or conference center website. Once added to a website, SpeedRFP gives event planners the ability to quickly clone and repurpose their existing RFPs in as few as four clicks of the mouse. “The system was designed to save time and create efficiencies, for both sides of the industry,” concludes Hodge. About SpeedRFP™ SpeedRFP is a cutting-edge product for creating, submitting and tracking Requests For Proposals (RFPs) online. SpeedRFP recently surpassed the 42,000-user mark, and is rapidly generating RFPs for meeting planners and hotels in the U.S. and internationally. SpeedRFP is a plug-and-play RFP technology that any hotel/conference center/destination can easily add to their existing website, and its use is free for meeting professionals. For more information, please visit www.SpeedRFP.com, or call 805-879-4479. About Elite Meetings International  Based in Santa Barbara, Calif.,
Elite Meetings
International (EMI) provides free, time-saving tools for planners and
integrated marketing solutions to suppliers that enhance the connection
of
meeting and hospitality professionals. EMI supports this community
through a
combination of innovative technology, direct sales support, customized
marketing programs and face-to-face business-building events. Additionally, www.EliteMeetings.com serves
as a
comprehensive vehicle for sourcing luxury, upper-upscale and upscale
properties. EMI's innovations include FaceTime™ Appointment Scheduler (www.FaceTimeScheduler.com)
a sought-after
program for helping conference attendees identify synergies, manage
appointments and make direct connections with one another; and SpeedRFP™
(www.SpeedRFP.com),
a new time-saving
product for creating, submitting, and managing RFPs online. For
additional
information, please visit www.EliteMeetings.com or call
805-730-1000.
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