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FAQ

About the Company

Solutionz Innovations is an LLC based in Tampa Florida.  TripProximity is the core smart trip technology that powers the various products offered by the Company.  The product was first launched in the marketplace in 2015.

The company was formed in the early 2000s as an incubator of a global strategic advisory services firm, the Game Changer Network (GCN).  That firm was originally founded by Chicke Fitzgerald in 1996 as Solutionz Holdings, providing consulting services to the top names in the travel industry and working with the investment community on mergers and acquisitions.

Who is the founder?

Cbicke Fitzgerald is the founder of the Company and the inventor of the TripProximity product.  Chicke spent the 1st half of her career working for industry leading travel distribution tech and telecom companies. If you have ever made a travel booking online or checked in for a flight, chances are Chicke worked for or consulted to one of the companies that pioneered that technology. The second half has been spent turning trip tech and travel storytelling on its head. In her role as CEO of Solutionz, she is is the chief rainmaker and she clears the way for her team to get real work done.

Click the image to see an interview that she did with Kathy Ireland on Worldwide Business describing the TripProximity venture and launching her book, The Game Changer.

Her co-founders include Paolo Resteghini and Adam Keesey, who were instrumental in building out Chicke’s vision of the TripProximity Portal, taking the product to a new level.  The co-founder team also included Mary Jo Becker and George Lynch, who helped to build out the support and marketing infrastructure for the Company.  Becker and Lynch are no longer active members of the Executive Team, but continue to provide advisory level support.

Who are the target customers for the company's products

B2B Tech Firms – CRM, calendaring, contact management and event ticketing and registration.

B2C Publishers and Aggregators of events, venue information and company information.

Our smart trip tools can be used by corporations as a VISIT US page, by events for spectators and other participants coming to the event and for individuals, groups and non-profits for travel from anywhere to anywhere,.

How big is the Company?

Solutionz has a core team of 8.  We outsource some functions to partner companies.

https://www.solutionz.com/the-team/

Our professional advisor partners are listed here, as are our board and our advisors and investors.

https://www.solutionz.com/board-advisors-investors/

TripProximity

The TripProximity Toolkit allows companies, non-profits, groups or individuals to build their own smart trip tools.

The tools can be used for a venue or specific location, for an event and also for fund raising, using our “anywhere” tool to travel for anywhere to anywhere.

These tools can be installed on a website or blog, a Facebook page or we can store they on our site.  We also have a dynamic tool that can be used to insert integrated trip planning into an enterprise system.

TravelingToGive

The TravelingToGive product is for non-profits and organizations that wish to support or sponsor a non-profit.  It uses the same basic technology from the TripProximity portal to build their own smart trip tools.

The tools can be used for a venue or specific location, for an event and also for fund raising, using our “anywhere” tool to travel for anywhere to anywhere.

These tools can be installed on a website or blog, a Facebook page or we can store they on our site.  We also have a dynamic tool that can be used to insert integrated trip planning into an enterprise system.

What is the difference between the TripProximity tool and TravelingToGive?

They are the exact same tool.  The only difference is that when the TravelingToGive brand is selected (this is the default for non-profits), the following is true:

  1. The consumer sees the TravelingToGive brand on the back end booking results.
  2. The designated non-profit receives 25% of the revenues.
  3. The charity field is mandatory in the widget.

Is there a license fee?

No, there is no recurring fee for our product, but there is a 10 booking minimum before we begin revenue sharing.  New accounts that are built using our self-service tools are known as Level 1.

When a client hits the 10 booking mark (or are added to the portal through a sales person or channel partner referral link), they are automatically promoted to being a Level 2 client, which is eligible for revenue sharing.

Who powers the TripProximity booking capabilities?

Currently powered by Priceline, Booking.com and Agoda, but the product was built to be inventory agnostic.  What this means is that we have the flexibility to create unique versions of our product that link to different inventory sources.

When I book my hotel through your system, do I get to earn frequent traveler points/miles?

Frequent traveler program rules vary by hotel brand, but in most cases, if you book through one of our platforms, you can call the hotel reservations line and ask them to add your frequent traveler number to the booking.

On the confirmation you will see a TripID and also the vendor confirmation.  Give them the second number.  You may also just show your frequent traveler information upon checkin.

For car and air, the system prompts for your frequent traveler information.

What if I need to change or cancel my booking?

The cancellation policies can vary from hotel to hotel and even for different rates within the property.  The cancellation policies are outlined clearly on the checkout page, so please ensure that you review them before completing your booking.  Some rates are non-refundable.

Simply click on My Itineraries on the smart trip tool to view your record.  The system requires your Trip ID# and the email that you used to do the booking.

If you have already booked a hotel reservation and need assistance, you can contact our Customer Service at 877-477-7441. If you call this 800 number please have your trip number, phone number and email that you entered while making your reservation available.

Hours of Operation

24 hours a day, 7 days a week

What about your 110% best rate guarantee?

One of the questions that people have about shopping for travel online is “am I getting the best price?”  In their quest for the best value, Expedia reports that consumers visit 38 websites.  Even if each one just took two minutes to navigate, that would mean investing more than an hour.

The trip planning capability that you are using is powered by TripProximity, a brand of Solutionz Innovations.

TripProximity™ belongs to the Priceline Partner Network.  Priceline is the largest company in the travel industry, being valued at over $89 billion at the end of 2017.  Priceline owns other major brands in travel, including Kayak, Booking.com and Agoda.com, as well as OpenTable.com.  As a result, Priceline is also the largest aggregator of hotel inventory in the world.

Solutionz Innovations is so confident that the rates are competitive, that we back it up with a 110% best rate promise.  

If prior to check-in, the traveler finds a lower rate on another website for the same room, at the same hotel, on the exact same date range, within 24 hours of making your booking with us, we guarantee you that we’ll match it PLUS pay you 10% of the difference in price.  No questions asked.

It is that easy.  Simply click the Best Rate Guarantee link on the widget or click HERE to submit a claim.

Can I use your smart trip tool for my business travel?

We were not built as a corporate travel platform for travel managers to manage staff travel.

Having said that, absent a corporate mandate to use a particular agency or tool, we can very effectively be used for business travel.  See SMART USES for more information.

Can I use your smart trip tool for my personal travel?

Yes, absolutely.  If you have set up your own account, you can build an ANYWHERE tool for your travel and store your travel preferences.  The tool can be hosted on our site, so you can retrieve it by bookmarking your own customized URL or you can insert it on your website, blog or Facebook page.

Can I book condos, apartments or private homes with your service?

Yes, absolutely.  Unlike other sites where you either look at hotels or non-traditional lodging, in TripProxmity’s TheHotelsNearby results, you will see all lodging options, in proximity order, based on your actual destination.  In some major cities, you will see primarily hotels, due to the large number of hotels available, but in others, you will see both in the first page of the display.  The order that the lodging options are shown are always from closest to furthest away by default.

How many hotel options are there in your system?

  • Over 700,000 hotels worldwide
  • Hotels in more than 20,000 cities
  • 100,000+ Promotional Rates
  • Hotel inventory including non-standard inventory (condos, apartments, private homes)
  • 4 million customer reviews
  • Largest source of deeply discounted rates – up to 60% off
  • Available in 36 languages

How many car rental companies are there in your system?

  • Partnered with 18 car brands – the only Online Travel Agent with all major brands
  • Inventory from RentalCars.com and Priceline.com
  • Rental cars in 180+ countries
  • Over 28,000 pick-up and drop-off locations

How many airlines are there in your system?

  • Partnered with 229 airlines worldwide
  • Operating in 5690 airports
  • Flights from and to 180+ countries

How do I use TravelingToGive for Fund Raising for my non-profit

First, after creating your own account for your non-profit, create an ANYWHERE tool.

You may store the tool on our site and direct others to that link or you may insert it on your website, blog and/or Facebook page.

The magic is sharing it with others and letting them know that they can support your cause all year long.  We can help your team with their marketing rollout plan.

What if one of our Corporate Sponsors wants to use TripProximity?

You are assigned a “referral code”.  You can find it on the Account Page and it is also on any tool that you host on our site.  They should use that code to register.

  • If they elect to use TravelingToGive and want to donate the full benefit to your charity, we will dontate 2.5% of their gross hotel sales to you on a monthly basis.
  • If they wish to use TripProximity and want to keep a royalty, we will give them 1% cash back and you will get a 1% donation on a quarterly basis.

Can we put TravelingToGive on our Facebook page?

Yes, absolutely.  You can access the implementation instructions on our Support Center.

How much is the donation?

Solutionz donates 2.5% of the gross hotel and car bookings to your 501c3.  The donation is made monthly.

This is 5x what Amazon Smile donates when people purchase goods using their platform, on a much higher dollar amount.

Can our staff, board and volunteers use TravelingToGive?

Absolutely! You can build a generic Anywhere tool for all fund raising, or you can give each individual their own.  The benefit of doing separate tools is that each one can have their own travel preferences and you can track their travel separately.

What if my non-profit is outside the US?

At this time, we only do donations to charities that are registered with the IRS as a 501c3.  If your organization is not listed on the dropdown for the charity lookup on our site, talk to us and we can see if there are other ways that we can work with you.

What if I have a client to refer to TripProximity?

We have a Channel Partnership program that provides a revenue stream to our partners.  We will invest time to train you on how to present the tool to prospects.

Click HERE to check out the program.

I have an idea for new features for TripProximity

Please feel free to contact our CEO, Chicke Fitzgerald, with any ideas.


How long does it take to implement?

For our venue, event or anywhere tools, it takes literally minutes to install on your website, blog or Facebook page.  Once you are done building your tool, you simply indicate that you want to put it on your website and then you can either grab the embed code or you can send it to your webmaster.

If you are installing our dynamic tool in your enterprise system, it may take up to an hour to write the custom script to pass your data to the tool in real time.  You will couple that with the embed code and then you will be ready to test.  We will assist you with the testing and can even help with implementation if needed for a small fee.

Do you have a Support Desk?

During business hours, we have online chat on http://www.tripproximity.com and http://www.travelingtogive.com.

Our Support Center provides a wide range of documentation on the product.

If you are a Level 3 account, we provide phone support.  You may upgrade on your TripProximity Portal.

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