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What Does It Take to Be a Top Entrepreneur?
Michael Wasik, CEO of RoomLinX, Inc. is about to transform the hospitality industry's approach to in-room internet access and entertainment. When it comes to computers and connectivity, one of the most significant changes since the turn of the century has been the advent followed by the explosion of wireless internet. With expanded access, business travelers have learned to rely more heavily on their networks for productivity. Hotels initially started offering wired, then wireless access as a daily fee-based service in order to attract more guests while expanding their profit centers; but after the first competitors began offering free in-room internet service, competition soon forced most of the industry to follow suit. By the beginning of 2007, free internet access for guests had become the standard and a necessary expense without providing any competitive edge to the hotel operator. With in-room connectivity rapidly approaching 100% and wireless already surpassing 80%, the hospitality industry was ripe for the next generation of internet service, one that could provide the competitive edge while returning internet access to the profit side of the hotel's financial statement. One man saw this opportunity coming and positioned himself and his company to lead the industry into the next paradigm of guest room services. That man is Michael Wasik.
Michael S. Wasik Chief Executive Officer/ Interim Chief Financial Officer/Director
Mr. Wasik joined the RoomLinX Executive Management team in August of 2005 after executing the merger of his company, SuiteSpeed, Inc. with RoomLinX, a publicly trading company, which trades on the Over-the-Counter Market under the symbol RMLX. Currently Wasik is responsible for leading RoomLinX, which supports over 30,000 internet connected (wired and wireless) hotel rooms in 20 U.S. States, UK, Canada, and continues to grow organically and through potential acquisitions.
Prior to the RoomLinX merger Wasik was the CEO/Founder of SuiteSpeed Inc., a wireless internet provider within the hospitality market. Having launched SuiteSpeed in late 2002, Wasik was responsible for defining technology architecture, market direction, and the overall vision for this fast growing company. Since starting SuiteSpeed, Wasik expanded the company's geographical coverage from its Denver backyard to serving hotel chains and independents across the U.S. Under his direction, SuiteSpeed has been on Mercury's top 100 fastest growing companies list for 2003 and 2004.
Wasik was nominated for the 2005 Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year award and has been asked to speak at the University of Colorado on Entrepreneurship and currently sits on the Editorial Board for Hotel Executive publication. Wasik is a BA graduate from Lake Forrest College with an emphasis on finance.
SuiteSpeed built its products around a premise of quality guest support and giving the control back to the hotel. The company's efforts paid off as respected hotel chains began installing SuiteSpeed service in their rooms. In the process of successfully growing the company, Mr. Wasik negotiated the acquisition of RoomLinX, a publicly traded competitor of SuiteSpeed, thereby adding another layer of opportunity with which to successfully grow the company. The acquisition closed in August 2005. IN THE HOTEL INDUSTRY AND INTERNET SERVICE SECTOR, HAS ANY COMPANY BEEN ABLE TO DOMINATE? IF NOT, WHY NOT?
Wasik: "Within the hotel industry no one player owns all the hotels, so you will not see a fortune 500 company make one phone call and monopolize the industry; this diversity allows smaller, more nimble companies to capture market share and succeed. Within the first three months following the SuiteSpeed-RoomLinX merger, Wasik achieved positive operating income, clearly justifying his nomination for the 2005 Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year award. He accomplished this by cutting all the "fluff" as he called it and terminating unproductive personnel, including some of the previous RoomLinX management. He refocused the company on closing sales in the pipeline, looking for additional revenue streams within existing properties and held onto his fundamental principle: ONLY sign deals that would be profitable from the outset. As Wasik says, "Be long-term smart, not short-term greedy." Throughout this time, RoomLinX management listened to their customers as they continued to improve the quality of their service while simultaneously designing an innovative Media and Entertainment System capable of delivering a one-of-a-kind guest experience while providing an exceptional financial program for the hotelier. The Next Generation of Internet Integration: TV/Internet/Services.
In October 2007, RoomLinX began marketing their new suite of services to their existing base of customers and new properties. The feedback to date has confirmed the viability of RoomLinX's next round of expanded services. Media and Entertainment - RoomLinX is the sole source solution for in-room technology redefining how the hotel guests access television network programming, contemporary web content, adult and Hollywood movies, high-definition content, music, business tools and hotel concierge services during their stay. All of this is delivered via their user-friendly, streamlined interface displayed on a sleek flat-panel HD LCD television. With somewhere in the neighborhood of 4 million hotel/motel rooms in the USA alone, the upside to a leader with the right technology interface is huge. According to a recent press release, the revenue model for this upgraded offering is over 20 times the current products.
USER INTERFACE: Note that at the click of your wireless mouse and keyboard, you are online, can watch TV, access movies, software programs, email accounts, games, and hotel services, airlines, movies, regional restaurants, etc. This is TOTAL access.
Mr. Wasik has assembled an experienced and talented team to bring this to the market. His team consists of experts pertaining to integrated technologies, the hospitality industry, finance and sales. He keeps the team focused and productive. As he told me, "I work with people that know more than I do and I create an environment that aligns personal goals with the company's goals; when RoomLinX hits its goals so do the team members," a key characteristic of successful entrepreneurs.
We all remember the burst of the bubble of the DOT COM companies at the turn of the century. And yet, from the rubble, the internet and companies that provide real value are thriving today. RoomLinX has developed a product offering with significant revenue streams for themselves and the hotel. (Revenue is generated through system fees, movie rentals, printing, E-Commerce, and Advertising.) Today, most of us MUST have access be it at home, the office or when we travel. The fusion of television with the internet has always been at the holy grail of access, and now, RoomLinX is bringing us this vision of tomorrow, today. Now, if I just could figure out how to program my cell phone.
For more information on the company, go to: www.realstockdiscoveries.com Contact information: CB Maxwell, Maxwell Media Marketing cbmaxwell@sonnet.com 1-209-533-8291
Keywords: Hotels, internet, high speed, Wi-Fi, access when traveling, profit, technology, internet access, bundling
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