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ezRez Software, Inc. Acquires Topguest
Social Media Startup Allows Loyalty Programs to Reward Check-Ins and Other Social Actions; Complements ezRez's Loyalty and New Digital Wallet Products
SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 13, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- ezRez Software, Inc., a software-as-a-service provider of travel, loyalty and payment solutions, today announced it has acquired Topguest, a San Francisco-based startup company providing loyalty and social network engagement products to travel companies. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Topguest enables members of leading travel loyalty programs, such as United MileagePlus, Continental One Pass, IHG Priority Club and Hilton HHonors, to earn reward points for geo-located check-ins via their mobile devices. Powering direct links to Facebook, Foursquare, Instagram and Twitter, Topguest helps travelers build their reward balances and receive exclusive offers and bonuses for simply using some of these popular social services. For example, a Virgin America Elevate member waiting to board a flight can take a couple of minutes to check-in on Foursquare and earn bonus Elevate points.
"Topguest has tapped into an exciting niche in the loyalty space, enabling members to generate tangible value from their daily interaction with Facebook, Twitter, and other social networks," said Daniel Farrar, CEO of ezRez. "Loyalty programs, in turn, can leverage this increased engagement to help build stronger brand loyalty and enhance their direct marketing efforts."
"We created Topguest to help travel companies tap into the social behavior of consumers, while enabling these consumers to earn more rewards and receive offers relevant to them," said Geoff Lewis, CEO and co-founder of Topguest. "The team at ezRez shares our philosophy that loyalty programs can and should go beyond their traditional models and we're excited about joining forces to make a long-term impact on the industry while also bringing tangible benefits to consumers."
Topguest recently announced a white label product that will enable traditional loyalty programs to implement a fully branded social network component. Based on data derived from their members' social networking activity, loyalty programs can carefully target and customize offers that are relevant to each member. The white label product is currently in beta with select Topguest partners.
The acquisition complements ezRez's existing product suite for loyalty programs. The combined company will offer a complete SaaS-based technology platform for loyalty programs, with the ability to comprehensively manage how program members earn and redeem loyalty points. Loyalty points can be earned through Topguest's social engagement tools and ezRez's existing travel booking platform for airlines, hotels and online travel agencies. Points can then be redeemed for travel via ezRez's loyalty travel platform, or for merchandise via ezRez's new digital wallet product that allows points to pay for merchandise and services across the internet. The digital wallet product was announced in October with inaugural partners PayPal and United MileagePlus, and will launch in 2012.
All Topguest employees are joining the ezRez team and will continue to operate Topguest.com and its white label B2B loyalty platform under the current brands. Both companies are based in San Francisco.
About ezRez Software, Inc.
ezRez Software, Inc. is a global software-as-a-service provider that helps travel companies, loyalty programs and financial services institutions engage with their highest value customers. The ezRez product suite includes a white label travel commerce and loyalty redemption platform, a loyalty payments engine for digital wallets, social network engagement products through Topguest and personalized marketing solutions. ezRez works with more than 200,000 travel suppliers, loyalty programs and payment providers globally, including AirAsia, American Airlines, United Airlines, Starwood Hotels, Intercontinental Hotels, JetBlue, American Express and PayPal. Collectively, more than 20 billion reward points are redeemed through the ezRez platform annually. Based in San Francisco, ezRez was founded in 2003 and has secured $17 million in venture funding led by Canaan Partners with participation from Azure Capital Partners. For more information, visit http://www.ezrez.com.
About Topguest
Topguest is a technology company that translates social media activity by loyalty program members into incremental engagement and transaction opportunities. Launched in 2010, their clients include the largest travel loyalty programs including Hilton HHonors, Priority Club, Wyndham Rewards, Choice Privileges, Caesars Total Rewards, and many more. The Topguest platform seamlessly connects client loyalty programs with top social media services including Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare and Instagram. The Company is backed by notable Silicon Valley venture capital firms, including the first investors in Facebook. Topguest is headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area.
http://www.topguest.com | http://www.facebook.com/topguest | http://twitter.com/topguest
SOURCE ezRez Software, Inc.
ezRez Software, Inc.
CONTACT: Kate Sullivan for ezRez Software, Inc., +1-973-568-7589, kate.sullivan@lyon-share.com
Web Site: http://www.ezrez.com
ezRez Software, Inc. Acquires Topguest
Social Media Startup Allows Loyalty Programs to Reward Check-Ins and Other Social Actions; Complements ezRez's Loyalty and New Digital Wallet Products
SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 13, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- ezRez Software, Inc., a software-as-a-service provider of travel, loyalty and payment solutions, today announced it has acquired Topguest, a San Francisco-based startup company providing loyalty and social network engagement products to travel companies. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Topguest enables members of leading travel loyalty programs, such as United MileagePlus, Continental One Pass, IHG Priority Club and Hilton HHonors, to earn reward points for geo-located check-ins via their mobile devices. Powering direct links to Facebook, Foursquare, Instagram and Twitter, Topguest helps travelers build their reward balances and receive exclusive offers and bonuses for simply using some of these popular social services. For example, a Virgin America Elevate member waiting to board a flight can take a couple of minutes to check-in on Foursquare and earn bonus Elevate points.
"Topguest has tapped into an exciting niche in the loyalty space, enabling members to generate tangible value from their daily interaction with Facebook, Twitter, and other social networks," said Daniel Farrar, CEO of ezRez. "Loyalty programs, in turn, can leverage this increased engagement to help build stronger brand loyalty and enhance their direct marketing efforts."
"We created Topguest to help travel companies tap into the social behavior of consumers, while enabling these consumers to earn more rewards and receive offers relevant to them," said Geoff Lewis, CEO and co-founder of Topguest. "The team at ezRez shares our philosophy that loyalty programs can and should go beyond their traditional models and we're excited about joining forces to make a long-term impact on the industry while also bringing tangible benefits to consumers."
Topguest recently announced a white label product that will enable traditional loyalty programs to implement a fully branded social network component. Based on data derived from their members' social networking activity, loyalty programs can carefully target and customize offers that are relevant to each member. The white label product is currently in beta with select Topguest partners.
The acquisition complements ezRez's existing product suite for loyalty programs. The combined company will offer a complete SaaS-based technology platform for loyalty programs, with the ability to comprehensively manage how program members earn and redeem loyalty points. Loyalty points can be earned through Topguest's social engagement tools and ezRez's existing travel booking platform for airlines, hotels and online travel agencies. Points can then be redeemed for travel via ezRez's loyalty travel platform, or for merchandise via ezRez's new digital wallet product that allows points to pay for merchandise and services across the internet. The digital wallet product was announced in October with inaugural partners PayPal and United MileagePlus, and will launch in 2012.
All Topguest employees are joining the ezRez team and will continue to operate Topguest.com and its white label B2B loyalty platform under the current brands. Both companies are based in San Francisco.
About ezRez Software, Inc.
ezRez Software, Inc. is a global software-as-a-service provider that helps travel companies, loyalty programs and financial services institutions engage with their highest value customers. The ezRez product suite includes a white label travel commerce and loyalty redemption platform, a loyalty payments engine for digital wallets, social network engagement products through Topguest and personalized marketing solutions. ezRez works with more than 200,000 travel suppliers, loyalty programs and payment providers globally, including AirAsia, American Airlines, United Airlines, Starwood Hotels, Intercontinental Hotels, JetBlue, American Express and PayPal. Collectively, more than 20 billion reward points are redeemed through the ezRez platform annually. Based in San Francisco, ezRez was founded in 2003 and has secured $17 million in venture funding led by Canaan Partners with participation from Azure Capital Partners. For more information, visit http://www.ezrez.com.
About Topguest
Topguest is a technology company that translates social media activity by loyalty program members into incremental engagement and transaction opportunities. Launched in 2010, their clients include the largest travel loyalty programs including Hilton HHonors, Priority Club, Wyndham Rewards, Choice Privileges, Caesars Total Rewards, and many more. The Topguest platform seamlessly connects client loyalty programs with top social media services including Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare and Instagram. The Company is backed by notable Silicon Valley venture capital firms, including the first investors in Facebook. Topguest is headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area.
http://www.topguest.com | http://www.facebook.com/topguest | http://twitter.com/topguest
SOURCE ezRez Software, Inc.
ezRez Software, Inc.
CONTACT: Kate Sullivan for ezRez Software, Inc., +1-973-568-7589, kate.sullivan@lyon-share.com
Web Site: http://www.ezrez.com