Aventri & VenueBook team up to deliver direct booking in meetings & events space

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The integration adds 1,500 non-traditional venues to the Aventri database.

Event professionals will be able to book non-traditional venues directly through their event management software (EMS) platform, thanks to an agreement announced today by Aventriand VenueBook.

The partnership will integrate VenueBook’s industry-first direct booking technology and database of non-traditional venues with Aventri’s enterprise EMS platform.

VenueBook is the only end-to-end solution available today for booking non-hotel meeting and event space directly, across multiple brands. The tool provides real-time access to available space, transparent pricing and a proprietary booking engine.

The Aventri/VenueBook partnership aims to create the first, all-in-one sourcing, negotiating and booking platform for group space. The comprehensive solution will enable planners to manage the entire procurement process – from sourcing and negotiating to contracting, paying and reporting – through a single, secure platform.

Planners will use the new solution to:

  • Research non-traditional venues in key markets
  • Find availability in real time
  • Get quick quotes from venues
  • e-Sign contracts
  • Pay online
  • Gain visibility into meeting activity enterprise-wide
  • Personalize concession requests
  • Negotiate with venues
  • Manage stakeholder communications
  • Get duty of care visibility
  • Gain real-time transparency into performance to increase savings and mitigate risk
  • Create easy reports providing spend visibility to improve return on events

“This is a unique product offering,” said Brad Langley, vice president, Channel and Partner Management. “After integrating our Strategic Venue Sourcing solution into the Aventri platform, we realised VenueBook is the next logical step in our mission to streamline procurement for busy planners.

“Our integration with VenueBook will give them the ease and efficiency of direct booking along with access to unique event space in top U.S. markets. It will also provide robust reporting capabilities to help deliver a solid return on every meeting.”

The integrated platform will be available as part of Aventri Strategic Venue Sourcing. Planners will access VenueBook’s non-traditional event space and booking engine directly through the Aventri dashboard. Tight integration will eliminate the need for duplicate data entry and ensure a seamless sourcing and booking experience.

Unique booking engine

“VenueBook’s intuitive booking technology combines automation and customisation,” explained Kelsey Recht, founder & CEO, VenueBook. “Planners can pre-format their M&E package and complete 80% of the process in less than 15 minutes. From there, they can tailor the rest to fit specific meeting requirements. Our research shows planners and venues prefer this type of efficient yet customised booking experience.”

Using VenueBook, planners search spaces across availability, budget, market and meeting type. Then, they create the event framework, choosing the space, pricing, and food and beverage packages through the system’s “Instant Quote” functionality.

Planners can work with the venue manager to customise the rest of their event, taking into account dietary restrictions, audio-visual needs, extra food and beverage offerings and more. To complete the process, they submit their request to the venue, sign a contract and pay the deposit directly within the system.

The integration with Aventri will add capabilities for venue negotiations, budget management, duty of care visibility, stakeholder communications, data analytics, reporting and more.

Non-traditional venues

The VenueBook database includes more than 1,500 non-traditional venues in the New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Denver and Washington DC markets with expansion planned in 2020 to multiple additional U.S. markets.

To meet growing demand for unique meeting and event space, the new partnership expands Aventri’s range of venues. In addition to meeting hotels and convention centres, the database will include restaurants, wellness centres, boats, vineyards and wineries, sports and entertainment venues, team building activity spaces, bars and lounges, boutique hotels, museums, renovated mansions, theatres, breweries and even a WWII-era hangar.

These venues accommodate gatherings from intimate board retreats to large-scale events for up to 6,000 people.

A win-win

The Aventri/VenueBook integration will add value not only for planners, but also for their venue partners. In a tight labour market, the platform will save venues time. It will deliver qualified leads and booking requests automatically into their event reservation system. Plus, it will promote venues to a large global audience of leading corporate and independent planners. 

“We’re delighted to partner with an innovator like VenueBook,” Langley said. “With market dynamics changing fast, the industry will benefit greatly from our robust offering. Working together, we will bring a much-needed solution to the marketplace. Our partnership will simplify planning for event professionals, strengthen marketing for venues and enrich the event experience for attendees.”

Molly Hookings
Author: Molly Hookings

Molly joined the editorial team in March 2019. She has several years’ experience working in broadcast and journalism, as well as marketing and PR. Past experience includes working for the BBC and independent publishing houses. If you have a story you think Molly might be interested in, please email: molly@eventindustrynews.com