Several new companies are trying to make bookings meetings as easy as booking a hotel room. We caught up with Ciaran Delaney, founder of MeetingsBooker to see what his company is doing in this area and to hear about the growth it has had so far.
When were you launched?
I launched MeetingsBooker in 2009 using my own funding, I bootstrapped the company in the early years and then decided to raise investment in 2014 which allowed us to really grow the company internationally.
How many people are working for the company?
Today we have 14 team members. Thankfully, as we have an automated booking solution the team are free to work on our technology development, marketing and support.
Sum up what your company/product does in one sentence
We allow you to discover amazing new places to meet around the world and book them online in minutes.
Why is it unique?
For small meetings we offer the widest venue choice with 125,000 meeting spaces, immediate access to pricing and special offers with a quick online booking solution. So no RFPs, phone calls or emails. Thanks to our revenue management technology venues can deliver dynamic pricing and special offers. Thanks to this technology 41% of bookings include either a discounted rate or free item.
What problem does it solve?
We help you find an interesting place to meet at any type of venue ranging from hotels, co-working spaces, conference centres and even museums and thanks to our online system you can book the meeting room in minutes. It is the fastest way to book the world's best venues.
What platforms is it available on and can integrate with?
MeetingsBooker is now integrating directly with the main meeting room suppliers around the world. We have a direct connection with all Regus meeting rooms for example, this means you can book more than 20,000 Regus meeting rooms instantly. Overall we offer more than 125,000 meeting spaces in 134 countries.
Which companies are using it already?
More than 500,000 companies use MeetingsBooker to search for new exciting places to meet. We have also now partnered with Carlson Wagonlit Travel (CWT) allowing their corporate clients to access a white label version of our technology to efficiently source and save on their small meetings procurement.
What do travel managers like about it?
Travel managers like the control, savings and reporting our company account system provides. A travel manager can create their free company account in minutes, load staff who book regularly, set up approval rules and add preferred hotels as well as centralised billing. The company account system provides a travel manager with the world's most innovative strategic meetings management solution for small meetings using state of the art technology to drive increased savings from preferred hotels as well as accessing existing offers on the MeetingsBooker inventory.
Why do travellers like it?
Choice. Travellers love the fact that they can find interesting different types of meeting venues. 48% of our bookings are to non-hotels. Travellers also like the fast online booking and ability to book by the hour.
What are your growth plans?
We are experiencing rapid growth as more and more companies and agencies look to automate their meeting reservations. We are focused on continuing to lead the way in developing innovative ways to make it easier to book the world's best venues.