WESTON, FL, Aug. 23, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via NEWMEDIAWIRE -- Monaker Group (NASDAQ:
MKGI) (“Monaker” or the “company”), a travel and technology company focused on the alternative lodging rental (ALR)
market, has appointed former Accenture partner and executive, Donald P. Monaco, as chairman of the Board of Directors of the
company. Mr. Monaco brings to his new role over three decades of senior management and consulting experience in the global software
industry, including a long track record of leadership as an executive, board member and advisor to numerous public and private
institutions.
Mr. Monaco has served as a Monaker director since July 2015 and, through entities he controls, is the company’s
largest shareholder with 21% ownership. He succeeds William Kerby, who has been appointed Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors
and will remain the company’s Chief Executive Officer.
“Don’s appointment as Chairman reflects how Monaker is now transitioning from the development and buildout stage
to revenue generation and business growth. We are excited for some of the strong talent on our Board, like Don, to take on greater
roles with the company,” said Mr. Kerby, who continued, “Given Don’s extraordinary business experience and visionary technology
leadership, Monaker is now better positioned to take advantage of our recent progress and the multitude of opportunities
ahead.”
The company recently releasedits next-generation Monaker Booking Engine (MBE) and Application Programming Interface
(API), in addition to a new mobile-friendly version of its B2B NextTrip.BIZ business travel solution website. The API has been
delivered to 12 contracted travel distributors, with more anticipated to soon follow. The company expects the first few
distributors to complete their integration and certification by the end of this month, and begin transacting reservations in
September 2018.
Monaker is looking to benefit from the growing demand for ALRs and the growth in digital travel sales. The global
ALR industry is expected to grow at a 7% compound annual growth rate to $194 billion in 2021, according to Technavio, making
it one of the fastest growing sectors in the travel industry. Monaker’s highly-flexible booking engine creates a unique B2B
solution for travel companies wanting to access vacation rental properties for display and instantaneous booking alongside their
website offerings for air travel, car rentals and tour packages.
Mr. Monaco concluded, “As a board member and shareholder, I have been closely observing Monaker’s design and
buildout phase and I am convinced that the strategy is the right one. I am excited to get started in the chairman’s role and look
forward to working in partnership with Bill and the rest of the team to apply my experience at the start of the company’s next
business growth phase. The travel industry - and especially the alternative lodging space - is rapidly evolving and I believe that
B2B synergistic technologies such as Monaker’s are poised to drive value for stakeholders.”
Donald P. Monaco Career Bio
For 28 years, Mr. Monaco was a partner, senior executive, and international information technology and business
management consultant at Accenture, a leading global professional services company providing a range of services and solutions in
strategy, consulting, digital, technology and operations. He is currently the owner of Monaco Air Duluth, a full-service aviation
services business located at Duluth International Airport, serving airline, military, and general aviation customers.
Appointed and reappointed twice by Minnesota governors, Monaco also serves as a commissioner and as the chair of
the Finance and Administration Committee of the Metropolitan Airports Commission in Minneapolis and as the vice-chair of the Board
of Directors of Republic Bank in Duluth, Minnesota.
Mr. Monaco has also launched and remains actively involved in several aviation industry, economic development, and
charitable organizations serving northeastern Minnesota and northwestern Wisconsin.
He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Computer Science Engineering and a Master of Science in Computer Science
Engineering from Northwestern University.
About Monaker Group
Monaker Group, Inc. is a technology-driven travel company focused on delivering innovation to the alternative
lodging rental (ALR) market. The Monaker Booking Engine (MBE) contracted more than one million instantly bookable vacation rental
homes, villas, chalets, apartments, condos, resort residences, and castles. MBE offers travel distributors and agencies an industry
first: a customizable, instant-booking platform for alternative lodging.
The company has recently made significant upgrades to all its travel websites including:
- Expanded ALR inventories and the introduction of a rewards program for
Nexttrip.com,
- Expanded luxury home rentals
for ExtraordinaryVacation.com or exvg.com,
- Expanded tour products for Maupintour.com, and
- Enhanced business solutions for NextTrip.BIZ.
NextTrip.biz offers customizable business travel booking and management solution for small and medium-sized
businesses. Business owners and employees can search for and securely access exclusive discounted pricing across air, hotel/ALR,
car, and other ancillary travel services. NextTrip.BIZ can be configured to a company’s particular travel policies, with bookings
recorded for easy corporate expense tracking and reporting. Visit www.NextTrip.BIZ to sign up for a free trial.
For more about Monaker Group, visit www.monakergroup.com.
Important Cautions Regarding Forward Looking Statements
This release includes ''forward-looking statements'' within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of
1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements give our current
expectations, opinions, belief or forecasts of future events and performance. A statement identified by the use of forward-looking
words including ''will,'' ''may,'' ''expects,'' ''projects,'' ''anticipates,'' ''plans,'' ''believes,'' ''estimate,'' ''should,''
and certain of the other foregoing statements may be deemed forward-looking statements. Although Monaker believes that the
expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, these statements involve risks and uncertainties that may
cause actual future activities and results to be materially different from those suggested or described in this news release.
All forward-looking statements are expressly qualified in their entirety by the “Risk Factors” and other cautionary statements
included in Monaker’s annual, quarterly and special reports, proxy statements and other public filings with the Securities and
Exchange Commission (“SEC”), including, but not limited to, the company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the period ended February
28, 2018, which has been filed with the SEC and is available at www.sec.gov. Investors are cautioned that any forward-looking statements are not guarantees of
future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected. The forward-looking statements in
this press release are made as of the date hereof. The company takes no obligation to update or correct its own forward-looking
statements, except as required by law, or those prepared by third parties that are not paid for by the company.
Company Contact: Monaker Group, Inc. Richard Marshall Director of Corporate Development Tel (954) 888-9779 rmarshall@monakergroup.com MKGI Investor Relations & Media Contacts: CMA Ronald Both Tel (949) 432-7557 MKGI@cma.team Chesapeake Group Tel (410) 825-3930 info@chesapeakegp.com
