VenueScanner
VenueScanner is a London-based online marketplace where event organisers can search, enquire, chat, and book event venues for free, served by 19,000+ unique spaces across 25+ cities in the UK and internationally, with revenue generated via commission and subscription charges on the venue host side.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2015
- HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What VenueScanner does
VenueScanner is a London-headquartered, privately-held online marketplace founded in 2015 that connects event organisers with venue hosts across the UK and internationally. The platform enables free search, enquiry, chat, booking, and payment for event organisers, and offers 19,000+ unique spaces across 25+ cities covering meetings, conferences, parties, weddings, and team away days. A US corporate entity (VenueScanner, Inc., Pennsylvania) supports North American operations, with a New York market launched in 2025.
The core technology stack comprises an online venue marketplace with a search/ranking algorithm that weighs capacity, pricing, location, host performance metrics (response rate, conversion), reviews, and subscription status; integrated messaging and calling with compliance recording; VS Direct (Flexipay) payment processing acting as a limited payment collection agent; and a host performance analytics dashboard. Supporting infrastructure includes ChargeBee for subscription billing, Digital Ocean for hosting and CDN, Intercom for chat, Mailchimp for email, and WordPress/Google Tag Manager for content and analytics. Two distribution channels operate in parallel: a self-serve online marketplace (PLG) and a free concierge-assisted VenueScanner for Business service for corporate organisers.
The business model is freemium for event organisers and monetises exclusively on the supply side. Venue hosts pay a 12.5% (UK) / 15% (US) commission on Total Booking Fee, optional annual subscription Marketing Plans (Essentials, Premium, Bespoke), a one-off Listing Fee, and a 12-month post-termination tail commission on bookings from introduced organisers. A HotelPlanner channel partnership extends inventory into hotel accommodation. Customer concentration is low on both sides of the marketplace, with 1M+ event organisers per year and a long tail of small venue operators, and named brand logos (Chanel, Google, Amazon, McKinsey, Nasdaq, Reddit) reflect demand-side usage rather than anchor customers.
VenueScanner firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- VenueScanner
- Legal name
- BKBM Enterprise Limited
- Website
- https://venuescanner.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2015
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- VenueScanner is a London-based online marketplace where event organisers can search, enquire, chat, and book event venues for free, served by 19,000+ unique spaces across 25+ cities in the UK and internationally, with revenue generated via commission and subscription charges on the venue host side.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
VenueScanner industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Event Venue Marketplace
- NAICS
- Convention and Trade Show Organizers (56192), Tour Operators (561520)
- SIC
- Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Venue & Facility Reservations (Private Rooms, Event Spaces) (HSACALAJ)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Venue Sourcing & Site Coordination (HSACAAAD), Nightlife & Club Guest List / Table Reservations (HSACALAG), Party Venue Sourcing & Booking Services (HSACACAL)
Keywords
Where VenueScanner is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- London
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
VenueScanner business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Marketplace commission on bookings: Commission on Total Booking Fee charged to Venue Hosts for bookings made through the VenueScanner Marketplace or via VenueScanner employees. Standard rate is 12.5% in UK (plus VAT) and 15% in US. Lower rates may apply for charities and non-profits. Commission also applies for 1 year after a rebook following initial introduction.
- Subscription / Marketing Plans: Annual subscription plans sold to Venue Hosts (Essentials, Premium, Bespoke) that entitle them to enhanced visibility, access to direct contact details, premium event tags, VenueScanner for Business enquiries, analytics dashboard, account management and additional space pages. Auto-renews annually with 30-day cancellation notice.
- One-off Listing Fee: Venue Hosts wishing to list their Venue are charged a one-off Listing Fee, confirmed via mutual agreement, with VenueScanner reserving the right to waive or amend this price. Provides access to unlimited photos, directory placement, mobile profile, contact details, analytics dashboard and Flexipay.
- VenueScanner for Business / Concierge service: Free-of-charge assisted venue finding service for corporate event organisers that matches them with ideal spaces, recommends trusted suppliers and negotiates best rates. Bookings generated via this service are chargeable at the standard commission rate (12.5% UK / 15% US).
- Post-termination commission (tail revenue): Following termination of a Venue Host account, any booking confirmed by an event organiser introduced via VenueScanner enquiry or VenueScanner for Business within 12 months remains commissionable at 12.5% of Total Booking Fee in UK.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Free for event organisers |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Venue Host Marketplace Commission (UK) |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Venue Host Marketplace Commission (US) |
| Subscription | Annual | Marketing Plans (Essentials, Premium, Bespoke) |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | One-off Listing Fee |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels7 records
VenueScanner product offering
Product offeringCore offering
VenueScanner operates an online marketplace where venue hosts list their spaces and event organisers search, enquire, and book them. The platform is free for event organisers and monetises via commission on bookings, subscription Marketing Plans sold to venue hosts, and a one-off listing fee. It also offers a concierge-style B2B service (VenueScanner for Business) for corporate organisers.
Product overview
VenueScanner operates as a platform-plus-modules architecture: the core VenueScanner Platform is an online marketplace where Venue Hosts list spaces and Event Organizers search, enquire, and book venues, and it is augmented by several modular offerings. VenueScanner for Business is the B2B concierge/agency arm that matches companies with venues and negotiates rates; Venue Finder is the free venue search tool filtering by location, price, capacity, and amenities; Company Retreats is a specialised service for offsites and away days; List Your Venue is the host onboarding and listing service; VS Direct (Flexipay) is the payment processing module with a 15% VenueScanner Commission; and the Hotels Search is delivered as a partner integration with HotelPlanner. The State of the UK Events Industry Report sits alongside the product as an industry insights publication, with the platform also recently expanding into a New York market offering.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- VenueScanner Platform Online marketplace where Venue Hosts list spaces and Event Organizers search, enquire, chat, and book venues; comprises 19,000+ unique spaces across 25+ cities and is the central product around which other modules are organized. Free for event organisers.
- VenueScanner for Business B2B concierge/agency arm for corporate organisers that matches businesses with suitable venues, recommends trusted suppliers, and negotiates best rates at no charge to the organiser.
- Venue Finder Free venue search tool that filters by location, price, capacity, and amenities to save event organisers time and money when sourcing spaces.
- Company Retreats Specialised service focused on company offsites, team away days, and full company retreat venue hire, layered on top of the core marketplace.
- VS Direct (Flexipay) Payment processing service enabling venue hosts to take payment from event organisers either through VenueScanner payment products (Flexipay) or directly; the platform deducts a 15% VenueScanner Commission on US transactions (12.5% in UK).
- Hotels Search Partner integration that extends the marketplace into hotel venue searches via venuescanner.hotelplanner.com, complementing the meeting and event venue inventory with hotel options.
Quantifiable outcome
- Over 2 million people have used VenueScanner to search for a venue
- +5 more outcomes
Companies that use VenueScanner
Customer profileNamed customers10 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
VenueScanner technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration4 records
Feature6 records
VenueScanner partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core / flagship billing vendor, core infrastructure vendor, supporting technology vendor, supporting employee benefits vendor, supporting distribution partner and supporting trust/reputation partner.
- ChargeBeecore / flagship billing vendorChargeBee powers VenueScanner's subscription checkout for Marketing Plans (Essentials, Premium, Bespoke). Venue Hosts are invited to subscribe via credit/debit card through ChargeBee, with auto-renewal on monthly or annual payment terms.
- Digital Oceancore infrastructure vendorPersonal data for VenueScanner's US-facing platform is stored on secure servers situated in a virtualised environment with Digital Ocean (headquartered in New York, USA). References to venuescanner-static.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com on the homepage confirm Digital Ocean Spaces CDN usage for assets.
- Intercomsupporting technology vendorIntercom is listed as a third-party optimisation service provider assisting VenueScanner with chat and customer communication tooling.
- Google (Tag Manager / Analytics / Ads)supporting technology vendorGoogle Tag Manager and Google Analytics are used for analytics, ad measurement and tag management across the VenueScanner platform. VenueScanner also references allowing login via Google/Gmail.
- Mailchimpsupporting technology vendorMailchimp is used to deliver VenueScanner marketing email messages and newsletters to opted-in users.
- Sleeknotesupporting technology vendorSleeknote is used as a third-party optimisation service provider for on-site lead capture and messaging.
- Smartlooksupporting technology vendorSmartlook is used as a third-party analytics and session recording optimisation service provider for VenueScanner.
- WordPresssupporting technology vendorWordPress is used by VenueScanner as part of its web platform stack and is referenced in the cookie policy.
- Spillsupporting employee benefits vendorSpill provides VenueScanner employees with therapy sessions, manager mental health training and regular check-ins as part of the company's mental health support benefit.
- HotelPlannersupporting distribution partnerHotelPlanner powers a dedicated Hotels portal linked from VenueScanner's main navigation (venuescanner.hotelplanner.com) to extend VenueScanner's offering into hotel accommodation bookings for event organisers.
- Reviews.iosupporting trust/reputation partnerReviews.io (Reviews.co.uk) integrates customer review collection and display, powering the 4.94/5 star rating and 'Excellent' badge shown on the VenueScanner homepage.
Scale indicators9 records
Recent moves8 records
Expansion highlights6 records
VenueScanner competitors and assessment
Company assessmentEmerging players
- Peerplaces (formerly Lefrec): B2B SaaS and marketplace platform helping restaurants, bars and hospitality venues monetise unused space for private events, with a similar two-sided model and overlap in venue host supply.
Direct peers
- Headbox: UK-based two-sided venue marketplace for meetings, parties, weddings and corporate events, directly overlapping VenueScanner's UK inventory, target customers (corporate planners and consumers), and self-serve booking model.
- Hire Space: London-headquartered venue hire marketplace offering free search for event organisers and subscription/listing plans for hosts, closely mirroring VenueScanner's product, GTM, and customer segments in the UK.
- Peerspace: US-focused marketplace for hourly venue rentals (meetings, productions, events) with a similar two-sided model, take rate on bookings, and host subscription tiers, making it a direct US analog of VenueScanner's proposition.
- Splacer: US marketplace for unique, design-forward event and meeting spaces, charging hosts a commission per booking. Highly comparable to VenueScanner in product, supply mix (unique/independent venues), and customer type.
- Tagvenue: Global online venue marketplace operating in the UK, US, Australia, and Singapore, offering free venue search for organisers and listing options for hosts. Closely comparable in product scope, target geographies, and revenue model.
Broad incumbents
- Eventbrite: Large global self-service event and ticketing platform that has expanded into venue discovery and booking. Comparable as a broad incumbent serving overlapping SMB and consumer event organisers with marketplace economics.
- Cvent: Enterprise event management software and venue-sourcing platform with a venue marketplace and group housing tools. Comparable as a broad incumbent targeting the same corporate event organiser segment that VenueScanner for Business serves.
- The Knot Worldwide: Large wedding marketplace including venue discovery, vendor directory, and planning tools, overlapping with VenueScanner's consumer wedding/celebration segment and offering direct comparisons on supply acquisition.
- Airbnb: Global accommodation marketplace increasingly competing for group/event stays and experiences. Comparable as a broad incumbent with a two-sided booking model, brand power, and capital base that could encroach on VenueScanner's category.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
VenueScanner social profiles
Digital presenceVenueScanner compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
VenueScanner financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
VenueScanner leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
VenueScanner subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
VenueScanner funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds3 records
Investors2 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
VenueScanner M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about VenueScanner
What does VenueScanner do?
VenueScanner operates an online marketplace where venue hosts list their spaces and event organisers search, enquire, and book them. The platform is free for event organisers and monetises via commission on bookings, subscription Marketing Plans sold to venue hosts, and a one-off listing fee. It also offers a concierge-style B2B service (VenueScanner for Business) for corporate organisers.
Is VenueScanner a public or private company?
VenueScanner is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was VenueScanner founded?
VenueScanner was founded in 2015. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is VenueScanner based?
VenueScanner is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does VenueScanner make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Marketplace commission on bookings are the primary driver. The others are subscription / Marketing Plans, one-off Listing Fee, venueScanner for Business / Concierge service and post-termination commission (tail revenue).
Who are VenueScanner's main competitors?
Peerplaces (formerly Lefrec) is listed as an emerging player. Direct peers are Headbox, Hire Space, Peerspace, Splacer and Tagvenue. Broad incumbents are Eventbrite, Cvent, The Knot Worldwide and Airbnb.
Does VenueScanner have an API?
No public API is recorded for VenueScanner.
What industry is VenueScanner in?
VenueScanner's product category is Event Venue Marketplace. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HSACALAJ, Venue & Facility Reservations (Private Rooms, Event Spaces), with a secondary code of HSACAAAD, Venue Sourcing & Site Coordination. Its NAICS code is 56192 and its SIC code is 7900.