Company Information

Topaz Hotel Services provides Internet Reservation Systems, Voice Center Services, Website Development, Website Hosting, and e-Marketing to the hotel industry. Our clients include independent hotels, hotel management groups, and destination-based reservation companies. THS’s products and services help our clients increase their presence in the marketplace and maximize revenue by increasing bookings.

With over 20 years of success in the San Francisco Bay Area, the THS team has expanded its services by adapting to the changing needs of the hospitality industry. Since its inception, THS has worked in partnership with San Francisco hoteliers to sell more rooms and generate revenue. The products and services developed, tested, and proven in this market are now offered nationwide.

In 2001, THS began providing regional booking technology to Californiastay.com, representing Southern California beach cities and the Palm Springs area. In 2003, THS established partnerships with Monterey Peninsula Reservations, and Napa Valley Reservations, again providing regional booking technology. In the same year, two-way connectivity was accomplished with AutoClerk’s Property Management System (PMS).

These THS products and services provide a packaged network to connect a hotel PMS, booking engine, central reservation system and web portal with a single point of update.

The hallmark of THS has always been the objectivity and integrity with which hotels are presented through its destination-based Voice Center and locally managed web portal, www.HotelRes.com. As an industry partner, THS ownership, management and staff strive to maintain its longstanding reputation of loyalty and reliability.

Team Members

Eric Gustavson, Co-Founder and President brings over twenty-five years of lodging, voice and Internet reservations product development experience to Topaz. In 1986 he pioneered the central-800# concept for City-based central hotel reservation systems in San Francisco. With Eric Fraser, consulting engineer, he co-created one of the first on-line hotel reservation systems, www.hotelres.com, in 1994. In 1998, he brought that capability to individual hotels and hotel groups with BookAbility.net. Under his direction, in 2006, Topaz chose Ajax technology to position the Topaz Internet reservation system, BookAbility.net, at the forefront of hotel booking systems.

Jill Gustavson, Co-Founder and Vice President for Marketing and Customer Service, brings hotel client relations and marketing experience to the company from her work at McGraw-Hill with Byte Magazine and operational experience directing the launch of Popular Computing with this Fortune-Five-Hundred company. She developed the concept of presenting hotels to clients based on their relative value and suitability to the guests needs. Jill directs the ongoing marketing and PR efforts at Topaz and oversees customer relations with the company’s larger clients.

Jackson Thompson, Vice President for Information Technology, originally joined Topaz in 1997. Jackson left for a position with Netscape and then Sun Microsystems, where he held Engineering and Management positions, coming back to Topaz as head of Technology in 2005. He has worked in all aspects of IT in his over twenty-year career, including software, hardware, networking and services. Applications he has helped develop include CD-R, Internet video conferencing, and core web server technology. 

Donald Miller, Director of Operations, joined Topaz in 1989 and currently manages general business operations including hotel representation in the voice center and on the Internet. Don is also responsible for the telecommunication systems and services. Additionally he oversees the companies financial accounts.

Susan Marie Shebalin, Director of Reservations has been with the company since 1995 and oversees call center reservations processing. Her current responsibilities include directing the Topaz voice center operations. She participates in and oversees voice center staff hiring, training and supervision. Her staff consistently receives accolades for accuracy and service quality.

Eric Fraser, Consulting Engineer has been with Topaz since 1992. Currently a staff lead at U.C. Berkeley, his experience includes all aspects of Internet-based systems and high-performance computing. Eric has designed and implemented the company’s computer system architecture including security firewalls and system redundancy. He brings state-of-the-art systems and programming knowledge to Topaz, insuring the company’s lead in the field of on-line hotel reservation technology.