Today we’d like to introduce you to Shawn Pigg.
Shawn, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
In 2005, I noticed an infomercial about a company that can help people save money on travel. I called the company up and I became an authorized dealer because I immediately saw the value in the concept. I then purchased the exclusive rights to several states including Georgia and began hiring commission only sales reps to start selling. After selling over 100,000 in memberships the first 30 days we discovered the discounts did not work which caused us to issue over $100,000 back in refunds to our customers. Once we finished refunding our customers I called up the current owner of Hotels Etc. and informed him of the situation and provided one possible solution. The only solution I could come up with was to sell me the company. After months of negotiations, I finally purchased Hotels Etc. in March 2006 at which point I crashed the entire system and began to build a new system. The biggest issue I faced was the fact that I was new to the industry and had zero contacts. I started dialing the phone, reading, studying and understanding the industry in and out. Within 30 days of buying the company, I relaunched the company with a new look, feel, design and most importantly, technology. The first month after we relaunched we generated 6 figures and continued to stay steady and strong throughout the recession. Hotels Etc. now has the deepest travel, entertainment and recreation discounts on the net in which we supply to consumers through our membership platform and supply to businesses via our white label hotel booking engine technology. We maintain excellent records across the internet and in a very good position to take a big piece of the marketplace as we strive for excellence and stay on top of technology.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
This has not been a smooth road by any means. It has defiantly been a roller coaster rides of up and downs over the last decade laying off employees and very close to filing bankruptcy. The great news is after 11+ years in business we know what to expect and when to expect it. The only struggle that we currently have is staying on top of new technology, services, competition and marketing.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
Hotels Etc. is a private membership club that has negotiated discounts with over 1,000,000 online and offline businesses in 141 countries. we are a membership-based company, also known as a closed user group. We focus on bringing in the best-negotiated discounts and in return supplying those discounts to our members and business clients for employee benefits, white labels or fundraising.
We are most proud of the fact that we have great customer service and great employees. I am personally involved in the day to day operations of the company and overseeing all departments. If we receive any type of complaint then my staff is instructed to forward to me so I can speak directly to the customer to find out the issue. Once we discover the issue we fix it so nobody else will experience the same issue. Feedback from our members and clients is very important and separates us from anyone else because we care, listen, and correct the issues. In our closed user group industry, we don’t have much competition which makes Hotels Etc. an excellent avenue to help people save money.
Because of the parity rate law that is being enforced the public can’t receive hotel or travel discounts anymore. The only way they can receive a true discount is to be part of a closed user group like Hotels Etc. With this law being enforced almost in every country around the world, it puts Hotels Etc. in a great position because hoteliers still need to sell discounted inventory and they have to turn to us to sell that inventory and can’t use public OTA’s like Expedia.
What were you like growing up?
I was very energetic and funny. I was willing to learn and try anything to see if it was for me or not. I enjoyed following, reading and learning about entrepreneurs.
Growing up I was always considered the leader. Friends, family and co-workers would come to me for advice. I have the ability to come up with ingenious ideas for new products, brands, technology and marketing. I would call myself a very strong innovator.
Pricing:
- Annual Membership Card $199
- Distributorships $495
- White Label $995 PM
Contact Info:
- Address: 910 Athens Hwy Suite K-214 Loganville, GA 30052
- Website: www.hotelsetc.com
- Phone: 1-877-967-7283
- Email: info@hotelsetc.com
- Instagram: https://www.bbb.org/atlanta/business-reviews/travel-clubs/hotels-etc-in-loganville-ga-27211914
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/hotelsetc
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/hotelsetc
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/hotels-etc-loganville
- Other: www.youtube.com/hotelsetc
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