Interview with Stephen Joyce, CEO of Rezgo
08 February 2010 - We asked Stephen Joyce, CEO of Rezgo, a few questions about his company and his view of the markets they serve.
GETAPP.COM: Who are you and what is your role in the company?
JOYCE: CEO.
GETAPP.COM: Can you briefly present your management team?
JOYCE: Stephen Joyce, CEO Stephen has been working as a travel & tourism technology consultant since 1995. Stephen is very active in fostering tourism technology and is the Chair of the OpenTravel Alliance. In 2007, Stephen published the Tips from the T-List , a ground-breaking book that brings together travel industry bloggers from around the World. You can find out more about Stephen by reading his T4 Blog. He is also a regular contributor for Tnooz.com and speaks regularly at conferences around the Globe on social media, tourism technology, and messaging standards. June Ohashi, COO June has been in web development since 1999. As the founder and principal operator of Bit Creative Studio Corp. June was instrumental in the development of the first multi-language version of the Sentias Administration Framework (one of the precursors to Rezgo) and continues to play an important role in the development of the Rezgo System. Her background in graphic and print design have helped to shape the user interface of Rezgo.
GETAPP.COM: Are you a cloud or a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) company?
JOYCE: Rezgo is both a cloud based and SaaS reservation platform for small tourism businesses.
GETAPP.COM: How do you use and promote usage of cloud computing?
JOYCE: Rezgo is hosted on multiple instances on the Amazon EC2 platform using Amazon's AWS for storage and back-up. We actively promote the fact that Rezgo is in the cloud... check out this page on our website: http://www.rezgo.com/features/rezgo-hosted-on-amazon-ec2.
GETAPP.COM: What are the points of difference of your solutions?
JOYCE: Rezgo is very specific to tour and activity businesses. Most (if not all) of our competitors offer booking services that include accommodation products. By focusing on tour and activity businesses, we better serve the specific needs of this market. Rezgo also combines front-end booking with management tools and a point of sale interface. This package of web bookings, point of sale (or offline bookings), and ticketing is unique for the tour and activity market.
GETAPP.COM: How would you like to be evaluated by a prospect?
JOYCE: We do not require prospects to request a demo or speak to a sales person before evaluating Rezgo. Anyone can sign-up and start playing with the system. The best way to evaluate Rezgo is to sign-up and give it a test drive. There's no commitment and no pressure.
GETAPP.COM: Why do your customers buy from you?
JOYCE: By specializing in the tour and activity market, we have been able to build a deep understanding of the needs of small tourism businesses. Much of the system was developed in response to our customers needs. Unlike many of our competitors we are deeply invested in the travel and tourism space. Our customers see us as leaders because we participate with the industry by being involved in the development of standards bodies like the OpenTravel Alliance. Stephen Joyce is the current Chair of the Board of OpenTravel. His profile can be seen here: http://www.opentravel.org/AboutUs/Board.aspx. The other reason why our customers love Rezgo is because we are fanatical about providing great support. We are transparent and approachable. We do simple things like answer the phone in person, respond to emails using our direct email accounts, and we provide a direct human contact for all customers. In a world of electronic messaging, we work hard at providing our customers with a human touch.
GETAPP.COM: Can you mention some of your key clients?
JOYCE: Amsterdam City Tours Seldovia Bay Ferry Napa Valley Wine Train V Theatre Mount Rainier Scenic Railway You can see more featured customers here: http://www.rezgo.com/features/featured-members.
GETAPP.COM: What do you see as the key trend emerging in the industry?
JOYCE: The biggest trend is the use of mobile devices. Not just smartphones but tablets and netbooks as well. The ability for businesses to access their cloud apps on the go and the ability for customers to book on location. Although we see current penetration of mobile devices to be relatively low, the intent to use mobile devices for purchasing and research are quite high. Thanks to our cloud based platform and our industry leading XML API, we will be ready to integrate Rezgo into any new channels as they emerge.
GETAPP.COM: What is THE most important message you feel you should get across to someone considering buying your solutions?
JOYCE: Committing to a software platform, especially for a small business, can be a daunting task. There are two important things to consider when evaluating a solution; relevance to your business and commitment to growth. Rezgo is specific to tour and activity providers and has a long term commitment to serving the travel and tourism industry as a whole.
GETAPP.COM: Thanks for your time, Stephen.
GETAPP.COM: Who are you and what is your role in the company?
JOYCE: CEO.
GETAPP.COM: Can you briefly present your management team?
JOYCE: Stephen Joyce, CEO Stephen has been working as a travel & tourism technology consultant since 1995. Stephen is very active in fostering tourism technology and is the Chair of the OpenTravel Alliance. In 2007, Stephen published the Tips from the T-List , a ground-breaking book that brings together travel industry bloggers from around the World. You can find out more about Stephen by reading his T4 Blog. He is also a regular contributor for Tnooz.com and speaks regularly at conferences around the Globe on social media, tourism technology, and messaging standards. June Ohashi, COO June has been in web development since 1999. As the founder and principal operator of Bit Creative Studio Corp. June was instrumental in the development of the first multi-language version of the Sentias Administration Framework (one of the precursors to Rezgo) and continues to play an important role in the development of the Rezgo System. Her background in graphic and print design have helped to shape the user interface of Rezgo.
GETAPP.COM: Are you a cloud or a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) company?
JOYCE: Rezgo is both a cloud based and SaaS reservation platform for small tourism businesses.
GETAPP.COM: How do you use and promote usage of cloud computing?
JOYCE: Rezgo is hosted on multiple instances on the Amazon EC2 platform using Amazon's AWS for storage and back-up. We actively promote the fact that Rezgo is in the cloud... check out this page on our website: http://www.rezgo.com/features/rezgo-hosted-on-amazon-ec2.
GETAPP.COM: What are the points of difference of your solutions?
JOYCE: Rezgo is very specific to tour and activity businesses. Most (if not all) of our competitors offer booking services that include accommodation products. By focusing on tour and activity businesses, we better serve the specific needs of this market. Rezgo also combines front-end booking with management tools and a point of sale interface. This package of web bookings, point of sale (or offline bookings), and ticketing is unique for the tour and activity market.
GETAPP.COM: How would you like to be evaluated by a prospect?
JOYCE: We do not require prospects to request a demo or speak to a sales person before evaluating Rezgo. Anyone can sign-up and start playing with the system. The best way to evaluate Rezgo is to sign-up and give it a test drive. There's no commitment and no pressure.
GETAPP.COM: Why do your customers buy from you?
JOYCE: By specializing in the tour and activity market, we have been able to build a deep understanding of the needs of small tourism businesses. Much of the system was developed in response to our customers needs. Unlike many of our competitors we are deeply invested in the travel and tourism space. Our customers see us as leaders because we participate with the industry by being involved in the development of standards bodies like the OpenTravel Alliance. Stephen Joyce is the current Chair of the Board of OpenTravel. His profile can be seen here: http://www.opentravel.org/AboutUs/Board.aspx. The other reason why our customers love Rezgo is because we are fanatical about providing great support. We are transparent and approachable. We do simple things like answer the phone in person, respond to emails using our direct email accounts, and we provide a direct human contact for all customers. In a world of electronic messaging, we work hard at providing our customers with a human touch.
GETAPP.COM: Can you mention some of your key clients?
JOYCE: Amsterdam City Tours Seldovia Bay Ferry Napa Valley Wine Train V Theatre Mount Rainier Scenic Railway You can see more featured customers here: http://www.rezgo.com/features/featured-members.
GETAPP.COM: What do you see as the key trend emerging in the industry?
JOYCE: The biggest trend is the use of mobile devices. Not just smartphones but tablets and netbooks as well. The ability for businesses to access their cloud apps on the go and the ability for customers to book on location. Although we see current penetration of mobile devices to be relatively low, the intent to use mobile devices for purchasing and research are quite high. Thanks to our cloud based platform and our industry leading XML API, we will be ready to integrate Rezgo into any new channels as they emerge.
GETAPP.COM: What is THE most important message you feel you should get across to someone considering buying your solutions?
JOYCE: Committing to a software platform, especially for a small business, can be a daunting task. There are two important things to consider when evaluating a solution; relevance to your business and commitment to growth. Rezgo is specific to tour and activity providers and has a long term commitment to serving the travel and tourism industry as a whole.
GETAPP.COM: Thanks for your time, Stephen.