Press Releases History .Community .Network

History of
MetroGuide.com, Inc.

Throughout its history, our company has been a pioneer in the publication and technology of local content and travel guides. In 1992, our company’s founder envisioned a dramatically transformed world of digital information services that would one day replace what is now referred to as "old media." By the following year, the first MetroGuide website debuted in electronic format, and MetroGuide has been in continuous service ever since

1992 Yes, you saw that right: 1992. In that year, the company’s founder, Mark Metz, envisions building a series of electronic, networked city guides that will be useful to both visitors and local residents. Prototype work begins in June, 1992.
1993 The MetroGuide service, with information about Miami and Fort Lauderdale, Florida, is deployed on a touch screen interactive kiosk system called TouchGuide ®. By the end of the year, the first broadcast fax edition of EventGuide is distributed to a list of hotel concierges.
1994 Fax on demand is added to the EventGuide service, using the phone number 861-MIAMI. EventGuide Fax Edition recipients punch in a 4-digit code associated with an event and receive a fax with complete event details.
1995 MetroGuide first appears on the World Wide Web, initially under the domain thesinglesource.com.
1996 MetroGuide is formally incorporated in the State of Florida, originally formed as "Metz Advertising & Publishing Corporation".
1997 Using its HotelGuide Network® and related sites, the company begins taking travel reservations over the Internet.
1998 The HotelGuide Network®, located at http://hotelguide.net, begins a significant affiliate relationship with Hotel Reservations Network (now known as hotels.com). Using deep-linking on a scale never before seen on the web, HotelGuide rapidly becomes a showcase for contextual commerce.
1999 Company President, Scott Rogers, Esq., joins the company as vice-president and general counsel.
2000 The “dot com bubble” bursts, but it has negligible impact for the venture. Both private and profitable, the company proves immune to the boom and bust fiasco that, unfortunately, has been associated with anything that possesses “.com” in its name. Instead, the company continues a rapid revenue growth trajectory that validates its business model where so many others failed.
2001 The attacks of September 11th deal a heavy blow to the travel industry, one of the company’s main revenue sources. The company’s founder, a reserve military officer, volunteers to and rejoins his Army Reserve unit. Despite the strains of a changed business environment, the company’s hyper-efficient operations, extensive brand recognition, and sophisticated technology enable it to continue profitably and add staff.
2002 The company, then called RealMetros.com, Inc., acquires the domain name metroguide.com and formally changes its names to MetroGuide.com, Inc. Having found evidence of massive theft of its copyrighted content on the Internet, the company begins a campaign of pursuing pirates in open court.
2003 MetroGuide's premier content service, EventGuide, celebrates ten years of continuous service to the community. The Company begins the technological preparations to switch from a contextual commerce model to a contextual advertising mode.
2004 MetroGuide revamps and launches The Dining Channel® discount dining service during the Florida Restaurant Association annual trade show in Orlando. MetroGuide successfully integrates its DiningChannel.com site with its DiningGuide site, MetroGuide's international restaurant locator service.
2005 MetroGuide acquires the domain name DiningGuide.com, which replaces the DiningGuide.net site and significantly strengthens its brand theme.
2006 Through its MetroData subsidiary, the company establishes its Link-Back Syndicate program, making listings from its information-packed EventGuide and DiningGuide website content available for placements on community-oriented websites (Realtors, radio stations, professionals, etc.) With its acquisition of YellowPagesGuide.com, MetroGuide considers its portfolio of domains ready to deliver the full vision of its founder from some 14 years prior. The Company begins beta testing of its MetroGuide.Community project, scheduled for full rollout in 2007.

Press Releases About TouchGuide