Santa Fe, N.M., February 22, 2012 – JackRabbit Systems, Inc., a developer of custom search engines for the travel industry, has launched its first statewide mobile application for Destination Marketing Organization (DMO) partners with VISIT FLORIDA. The mobile application enables DMOs to leverage JackRabbit’s BookDirectTM search engine technology on mobile devices, making real-time rates and availability accessible to customers on the go.

Visit Florida MobileJackRabbit’s state of the art mobile technology allows DMOs to offer direct bookings to travelers through their smartphones and tablets. Depending on the features a DMO has chosen to implement, upon visiting the DMO mobile site from their device, travelers can choose to search for lodgings, events or special offers by selecting desired dates. After comparing rates, they then have the option to click for more details or call to complete the booking directly with the service provider. The map function of the BookDirect mobile application also allows travelers to view the closest hotels, events and deals while they are on their journey – all in real time. It is the only mobile application available to DMOs that facilitates real time bookings with the lodgings, events and activities in their destination area.

“Now, as families travel down a highway, they can use their mobile device to view rates and availability from nearby lodging properties. The content is updated in real time, so consumers know the closest properties to them,” says Andrew Van Luchene, CEO of JackRabbit Systems, “Making a booking is as easy as clicking to call the front desk of the property right from the mobile website and then clicking the map to get directions from your current location.”

The BookDirect mobile application is now available throughout Florida, benefiting all lodging providers and travelers in the area. Using this mobile technology sends the most referrals to the lodging properties by directly connecting travelers with the front desk of a hotel. Additionally, BookDirect mobile provides the best customer experience by eliminating middleman costs that traditionally exists when booking with OTAs.

“JackRabbit’s BookDirect mobile application gives VISITFLORIDA.com users real-time information on rates and availability.” Jill Stewart, Marketing Operations Manager, VISIT FLORIDA. “With the implementation of this technology statewide, consumers have a new way to visit Florida.”

“We are very excited to be working with JackRabbit Systems,”said Greg Maxon, Group Travel & Sports Sales Manager of Greater St. Charles Convention & Visitors Bureau. “One of the main reasons we chose the BookDirect™ Search Engine technology is due to the ability for B&Bs and smaller properties to have their own reservation page at no extra charge, which is something that was not offered elsewhere. The JackRabbit team has been wonderful to work with and we look forward to a long and successful relationship.”

KEY BENEFITS

Overall

• JackRabbit BookDirect™ allows travelers to go directly to www.historicstcharles.com
• to book accommodations; bypassing online booking fees, travel agency commissions, and eliminating the “middleman.”
• Website visitors can search by preferred location, category, and check–in and check–out dates from the BookDirect™ toolbar located directly on HistoricStCharles.com‘s home page and other site profile pages.
• Date-driven BookDirect™ search results provide information on the lowest average rate per night, hotel amenities, location, and type of accommodations available.
• JackRabbit BookDirect™ benefits city and state tourism bureaus by keeping 100% of valuable tax revenue in the market where the lodging property is located, instead of fees and commissions being paid to other online travel agency sites, which can result in lower net revenue taxed.

Lodging Tax Revenue

• Government officials say destinations are losing an estimated $1 billion a year in tax revenue to online travel agency net rate bookings.
• Tourism Bureaus are able to keep lodging properties’ gross reservation and tax revenue in their markets when they utilize the JackRabbit BookDirect™ software, since JackRabbit does not charge properties any fees or commissions for reservations driven from the BookDirect™ Search Engine.
• The resulted change in lodging taxes collected is significant. For example, instead of lodging tax being collected on 70%-75% of the rate with many major online travel agencies, it is collected on 100% of the rate via BookDirect™. This not only keeps 100% of the lodging tax in the market, but also drives commission-free booking revenue for properties.
• These important funds can go toward promoting tourism and in some cases pay for schools, law enforcement and other municipal services in the city or county where the property resides. These dollars are especially important during tough economic cycles when treasuries are lean and every penny counts.

About JackRabbit Systems

In just four years, JackRabbit Systems has become the tourism and travel industry’s preferred choice for development of custom travel search engines on destination and travel portal websites. JackRabbit’s innovative BookDirect™ Search Engine helps over 1 million satisfied consumers each month book their stay and tickets directly through city and state tourism destination (DMO) websites within hundreds of destinations. BookDirect™ provides DMOs with tools to create a better, more engaging online guest experience while generating the greatest financial return for travel service providers with increased bookings and higher margins. By eliminating online travel agency commissions and other costly ‘middlemen’ fees, BookDirect™ allows consumers to search for real-time rates and availability, driving DMO website visitors to book directly with local lodging and event providers.

The BookDirect™Search Engine is the only booking solution in the marketplace 100% dedicated to facilitating direct reservations to all lodging properties in each individual tourism bureau destination. BookDirect™also keeps 100% of the gross lodging revenue within the DMO market (and 100% taxable).

Travelers will now interface with the BookDirect™ system when they visit www.Aruba.com to search for accommodations. The BookDirect™ Search Engine is branded to match the Aruba.com website with functionality that operates like any other booking solution, allowing visitors to compare rates & availability and select their desired lodging from Aruba’s website. The key difference is that the visitor is then redirected to complete their transaction directly with the lodging property.

“We are very happy to be working with JackRabbit Systems and their BookDirect™ Search Engine technology,” said Jim Hepple, President & CEO off the Aruba Hotel and Tourism Association. “We are adding BookDirect™ to our Aruba.com website to greatly enhance the visitor experience and send visitors directly to our hotels to book. It’s the right solution for Aruba’s hotel industry and fits our strategy perfectly as we are redesigning Aruba.com and moving forward into the future with a focus on digital marketing in order to align with the consumer demand for simple and direct online bookings.”

Compared to Third Party booking engines, BookDirect™ eliminates the “middleman” fees for hotels and lodging properties, saving them between 15% and 30% on the total reservation amount while increasing visitor functionality on tourism bureau web sites – all at no additional cost to the property. The BookDirect™ search functionality helps increase tourism for destinations inclusive of all lodging partners in the market without the need for each lodging property to manage inventory into the BookDirect™ system. This is unlike online travel agencies (OTAs) and Third Party booking engines, where lodging properties must manage additional inventory into their systems. Furthermore, the customer experience is enhanced by allowing them to communicate directly with the lodging property, should they make any changes to their reservation or want additional insight and information on the property.

The BookDirect™ Search Engine is the only booking solution in the marketplace 100% dedicated to facilitating direct reservations to all lodging properties in each individual tourism bureau destination. BookDirect™ also keeps 100% of the gross lodging revenue within the DMO market (and 100% taxable).

KEY BENEFITS

Overall
• JackRabbit BookDirect™ allows travelers to go directly to www.Aruba.com to book accommodations; bypassing online booking fees, travel agency commissions, and eliminating the “middleman.”
• Website visitors can search by preferred location, category, and check–in and check–out date from the BookDirect™ toolbar located directly on Aruba.com’s home page and other site profile pages.
• Date-driven BookDirect™ search results provide information on the lowest average rate per night, hotel amenities, location, and type of accommodations available.
• JackRabbit BookDirect™ benefits city and state tourism bureaus by keeping valuable tax revenue in the market where the lodging property is located instead of being paid to other online travel booking sites.

Lodgings Tax
• Government officials say destinations are losing an estimated $1 billion a year in tax revenue due to other travel agencies.
• Tourism departments are able to keep lodging properties’ gross reservation and tax revenue in the market when they lease the JackRabbit BookDirect™ software, since JackRabbit does not charge properties any fees or commissions for reservations driven from the BookDirect™ Search Engine.
• The resulted change in bed taxes collected is significant. Instead of bed tax being collected on 70%-75% of the rate with many major online travel agencies, it is collected on 100% of the rate via BookDirect™. This not only keeps 100% of the lodging tax in the market, but also drives commission-free booking sales for properties.
• These important funds can go toward promoting tourism and in some cases pay for schools, law enforcement and other municipal services in the city or county where the property resides. Those dollars are especially important during tough economic cycles when treasuries are lean and every penny counts.

About JackRabbit Systems

In just four years, JackRabbit Systems has become the tourism and travel industry’s preferred choice for the development of custom travel search engines for destination and travel portal websites. JackRabbit’s innovative BookDirect™ Search Engine helps over 1 million satisfied consumers each month directly book their stay and tickets within hundreds of destinations through city and state tourism destination (DMO) websites. BookDirect™ provides DMOs with the tools to create a better and more engaged online guest experience while generating the greatest financial return for travel service providers with increased bookings and higher margins. By eliminating online travel agency commissions and other costly ‘middlemen’ fees, BookDirect™ allows consumers to search DMO websites for real-time rates and availability and exclusively drive their site visitors to book directly with local lodging and event providers.

SEMINOLE COUNTY, Florida (January 24, 2011) – Reserving accommodations in Seminole County is now as simple as the click of a mouse thanks to the JackRabbit -powered booking widget on the Seminole County Convention and Visitors Bureau’s (CVB) website. The cutting edge online tool, which went live on January 20, 2011, allows website visitors to purchase hotel or motel room nights quickly and conveniently, without having to go to another booking agent site or picking up the telephone.

“We are so excited about the addition of the JackRabbit software to our award-winning website and believe it will bring significant new business to the area,” stated Seminole County CVB Executive Director, Sharon Sears. “Business, leisure and group travelers, alike, can take advantage of this handy tool from any page on the CVB’s website to book their accommodations.”

The industry leading JackRabbit software is available for any Seminole County CVB Website visitor to book accommodations up to a year in advance. Users may choose the area which they would like to stay as well as the type of accommodations, including hotels, motels, camp grounds, bed and breakfasts, lodges, and vacation rentals. Once the user has chosen specific dates, type of accommodations and location, the software provides detailed information about the facilities’ amenities, prices, website and any special rates that are available at that time. This one-stop booking agent makes planning travel simple for even the most novice computer consumer.

The addition of this high-tech software is also an amazing benefit for area facilities. Unlike other online booking agents that charge hefty fees for hoteliers to use, the JackRabbit booking widget on the CVB’s website is free of charge for hoteliers. The Seminole County CVB has graciously provided this exciting feature to help drive business to the area’s accommodations.

Seminole County’s numerous hotels and bed and breakfasts are, on average, one-third lower than comparable lodging in neighboring Orlando. New hotels, including the Hyatt Place, Residence Inn and Westin, offer outstanding service for a fraction of the price.

For more information about Seminole County, please call 1-800-800-7832 or visit www.VisitSeminole.com.

About Seminole County: Just a short drive from the major attractions of Central Florida, and within a 15-minute drive from Orlando, Seminole County offers great accommodations, fine dining, upscale shopping, superb golf courses, and state-of-the-art sports facilities and training complexes – nestled among charming historical villages.  Surrounded by the beauty of natural Florida, Seminole County also offers the classic Florida experience of peaceful rivers, fishing, boating, hiking and more.  For destination information call 1-800-800-7832 or visit www.VisitSeminole.com.

Santa Fe, NM, December 16, 2010 –JackRabbit Systems, Inc., a developer of online travel software for destination and travel portal websites, has extended its BookDirect services to include two new search engines that make it easier to book hotel packages and tickets to local entertainment options. With the “Packages & Special Offers” and “Events & Attractions” search engines, city and state websites can now offer comprehensive and competitive pricing for hotel stays while highlighting regional tourist attractions.

Two popular tourist destinations already using BookDirect – Park City, Utah and National Harbor, Maryland – have recently implemented the “Packages & Special Offers” search engine in an effort to make it easier for visitors to book hotels. By using JackRabbit Systems’ BookDirect technology, both Park City and National Harbor officials are able to capture the maximum bed tax which keeps tax dollars within the municipalities where the facilities reside and generates funding for other local projects including parks and education initiatives. Additionally, National Harbor has implemented the “Events & Attractions” search engine which provides access to regional activities and attractions while Park City has plans to integrate this system in the future.

“As a premier destination in the greater Washington, DC area it’s incredibly important that National Harbor not only make the travel experience as effortless as possible but also keep critical bed tax dollars in the county where lodging facilities are located,” said Rocell Viniard, vice president, director of marketing for National Harbor. “With BookDirect, we can increase hotel bookings and direct traffic to other local attractions in a way that is more efficient and accurate than ever before.”

How it works
JackRabbit’s BookDirect software allows travelers to go directly to the destination website, such as www.parkcityinfo.com andwww.nationalharbor.com, bypassing online booking fees, hassle and eliminating the middleman. The Packages & Special Offers Engine and Events & Attractions Engine build on this technology to offer travelers the same ease of booking. The Packages & Special Offers Engine gives Destination Marketing Organizations (DMOs) a tool to promote direct bookings of hotel packages that lodging properties make available on their own websites. Similarly, JackRabbit indexes tickets for select events and attractions through the Events & Attractions Engine by interfacing with ticket reservation systems in order to make tickets available in a date query, readily-accessible format on the DMO site.

“The benefit of these technology packages is twofold. First, the traveler has a one-stop shop for entertainment and lodging options. Second, DMOs can offer stronger value to local lodging facilities and encourage tourist activity,” said Andrew Van Luchene, president and CEO of JackRabbit Systems, Inc.

Each BookDirect engine indexes offers and events, compiles them, and then makes the compilation available for DMO partners on their own websites. Consumers enter dates that they want to travel and can review special offers and regional events on a customized results page. To book a special offer or event, the consumer clicks on a link from the results page and is redirected to the lodging property or event website to complete the booking. The compilation of special offers and events can be used by DMO partners as a stand-alone engine on their websites; as an engine that is integrated into JackRabbit’s Pricing and Availability Search Engine on their websites; as an e-mail template that can be sent to a distribution list; as a bookable form on a banner ad, Facebook page, or other third party application; or as a bookable form on a mobile website.

“JackRabbit continuously develops bigger and better features to help us generate hotel leads without an additional cost to our local lodging facilities,” said Bill Malone, president and CEO, Park City Chamber of Commerce. “The fact that travelers can now search for lodging packages and special offers from our own website is a much valued feature that we are proud to provide visitors of Park City.”

For more information please visit, www.JackRabbitSystems.com

About JackRabbit Systems and BookDirect™
JackRabbit Systems develops online travel software for destination and travel portal websites. The BookDirect™ search engine from JackRabbit is designed to improve website functionality and usability in order to enhance the visitor’s experience and increase room nights in the selected destination on city and state tourism (DMO) websites in North America. Consumers enter dates into the engine to search for rates and availability for rooms and then click to book directly with the lodging properties, rather than an online travel agent. By linking consumers directly to lodging properties to complete their bookings, the BookDirect™ search engine creates the best consumer experience for booking rooms that leaves the most profit with the lodging property. Over 400,000 consumers a month use the BookDirect engine that is embedded on over 200 city and state tourism websites. For more information, visit www.JackRabbitSystems.com.
#####
CONTACTS:
Katie Busch, JackRabbit Systems
katie.busch@ogilvypr.com
+1 312 397 6025

Jon Rahl, who heads tourism and marketing for the City of Seaside said the booking engine is similar to ones operated by more popular sites like Travelocity and Expedia. Rahl has worked with representatives at JackRabbit Systems to create what he calls a “widget” for the Visitors Bureau’s website, www.SeasideOR.com. Rahl has been at the Seaside Visitors Bureau for five months. Prior to moving to Seaside, he worked for six years at the Salt Lake Convention and Visitor’s Bureau.

According to Rahl, it is quite commonplace for destination cities to have booking engines on their sites. “It provides better information for consumers on the website,” he said. Rahl has been working with the booking engine company for a few months, completing testing and demonstrations through the Seaside site. “Jackrabbit has been working in the booking engine business for more than three years,” he said. “They have a solid reputation and a good clientele, which includes Las Vegas, Park City, Utah and Sun Valley, Idaho.”

A big selling point for Seaside is the company doesn’t pass along commission fees. “We have made the initial investment,” Rahl said about the $800 a month fee to be linking through to the booking engine. Cutting down on consumer clicks or making it easier for them to find what they need is key to the process of bringing more people to Seaside.

“Our goal is to make it easier for the consumer to gather the information they need and then to hopefully book a trip to Seaside,” he said. He noted travel bureau statistics show people like to research their travel destinations so they know what they can do when they are here. “Our goal is to provide as much information as we can as the official site for visitor information in Seaside,” he said. Rahl expects the new booking engine to be fully operational by mid-December. “We are still doing some testing and making sure there are no kinks,” he said. When fully operational, the site will allow consumers to be able to find room rates and room availability by using the booking “widget.”

There are between 85 and 90 lodging opportunities in the area, including hotels, motels, campgrounds, vacation rental units as well as property management companies representing individually owned homes or condominiums. The booking engine is also building a stronger working relationship between the Visitors Bureau and local lodging entities. “Jackrabbit will be able to provide tracking on the system, but it will also be up to our local lodging partners to let us know if they are actually booking a room,” Rahl said. “I think it is very exciting. Anytime you can empower the consumer with more tools the end result is more positive.”

About JackRabbit Systems and BookDirect™
JackRabbit Systems develops online travel software for destination and travel portal websites.  The BookDirect™ search engine from JackRabbit is designed to improve website functionality and usability in order to enhance the visitor’s experience and increase room nights in the selected destination on city and state tourism (DMO) websites in North America.  Consumers enter dates into the engine to search for rates and availability for rooms and then click to book directly with the lodging properties, rather than an online travel agent.  By linking consumers directly to lodging properties to complete their bookings, the BookDirect™ search engine creates the best consumer experience for booking rooms that leaves the most profit with the lodging property.  Over 400,000 consumers a month use the BookDirect™ engine that is embedded on over 200 city and state tourism websites.  For more information, visit www.JackRabbitSystems.com.

November 5, 2010 – as reported by An Exceptional Blog – JackRabbit Systems develop software for travel portal websites, many of which you’ll know and use regularly. Their primary offering, BookDirect™, offers everything needed to help website visitors find and assess accomodation and make bookings easily.  JackRabbit use Exceptional so to ensure they never miss a booking.  When anything goes wrong, Exceptional tells them straight away, and lets them know who the user was and how to recover the booking!

About Exceptional
Exceptional was launched at RailsConf 2008 in Portland.  They convinced 600 odd friendly developers to try their beta and many of them still use the service to this day.  Today it runs on Amazon Web Services and Heroku.  Exceptional is owned and run by Contrast, a web app design and development agency.  They built Exceptional to monitor our client’s apps but quickly realised we weren’t the only ones who found it useful. In the summer of 2010, Exceptional passed 6,000 live, monitored apps.  In total, these apps were sending us over 15,000 errors per minute.

Contrast is Eoghan McCabe, Des Traynor, David Barret, Wal McConnell and Ciaran Lee. Previous members of Contrast who worked hard on Exceptional too are Paul Campbell, David Rice and Darragh Curran.  For more information or to make a reservation, please visitwww.getexceptional.com.

About JackRabbit Systems and BookDirect™
JackRabbit Systems develops online travel software for destination and travel portal websites.  The BookDirect™ search engine from JackRabbit is designed to improve website functionality and usability in order to enhance the visitor’s experience and increase room nights in the selected destination on city and state tourism (DMO) websites in North America.  Consumers enter dates into the engine to search for rates and availability for rooms and then click to book directly with the lodging properties, rather than an online travel agent.  By linking consumers directly to lodging properties to complete their bookings, the BookDirect™ search engine creates the best consumer experience for booking rooms that leaves the most profit with the lodging property.  Over 400,000 consumers a month use the BookDirect™ engine that is embedded on over 200 city and state tourism websites.  For more information, visit www.JackRabbitSystems.com.