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By Jack
Riggs
It
inevitably happens to any long-time Miami Beach residents.
Relatives and friends plan to come to see the incomparable
beauty of Miami Beach and ask for suggestions on hotels,
restaurants, services, sites, etc. One certainly does not want
to offer advice that is dated or could otherwise lead friends
and family astray.
Enter
MiamiBeach411.com, a one-stop, up-to date, and comprehensive web
site that offers virtually any information visitors – or
residents – might need in regard local businesses, sites and
activities.
MiamiBeach411.com is the brainchild of Gus Moore. With a
background in video and film production in California, Moore,
who became enamored with Miami Beach when he lived here
initially in the heyday of the 1990s, launched the web site
service in June 2002.
Moore,
founder and site administrator for MiamiBeach411.com, was
working at a popular local restaurant and doing some web design
(such as the City’s visitor web site, he said), when he
recognized a hole in the market for information access.
“I saw
no real source to research Miami Beach information
comprehensively,” said Moore. “I took it upon myself to create a
homegrown local directory of businesses and events. A friend was
coming to town and I knew there was a [nearby] golf course, but
I couldn’t find anything about it. The same was true of
restaurants, etc.”
Moore
took the project on as a side project with no intention of it
becoming his primary business. But the popularity of the site
expanded as he provided free exposure for local companies.
Finally, opportunities arose to permit the business to become
profitable and since then, it has experienced exponential
growth, popularity and word of mouth appeal.
“We’re
like a web concierge service,” Moore said. “We also give tools
for research and we started community forums for people to
express themselves.”
Today
MiamiBeach411.com provides a litany of information on all
aspects of business, entertainment and hospitality in Miami
Beach. It has obviously, also, found success.
“We’ve
grown to become one of the top 25 affiliates of the 5,00
affiliated with Hotels.com,” Moore said. “We book more hotels in
Miami Beach than anyone else.”
The
homegrown business provides constantly updated information,
making it timelier than printed travel guides. And Moore said he
has loved every minute of it.
For more
information, visit
www.miamibeach411.com.
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