SmartMeetings
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2002
- HeadquartersSausalito, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What SmartMeetings does
Smart Meetings, operated by Bright Business Media LLC, is a privately held, woman-owned (WBENC-certified) B2B media company serving the North American meetings and events industry. Founded in 2002 by Marin Bright in Sausalito, California, the company publishes a monthly (12x/year) print and digital magazine, runs an editorial website at SmartMeetings.com, and operates a multi-channel content portfolio including CEU-accredited Knowledge Exchange webinars, the What One Thing? and Smart Start Radio podcasts, and a MeetSmart Hub community application. Its core go-to-market combines enterprise field sales into hospitality suppliers with an event-driven hosted-buyer model that pioneered preset one-on-one appointments between qualified meeting planners and hotels, venues, and destinations in the United States.
The company monetizes a 145,000+ member planner community through advertising and sponsorships across print and digital channels, hosted-buyer events (regional Smart Meeting events and the national Smart Woman Summit at JW Marriott Las Vegas), and a portfolio of recurring award programs — Platinum Choice Awards (now in its 23rd year), Smart Stars (13th year), Smart Women in Meetings Awards, and Catalyst Awards — that double as recognition platforms and revenue lines. Supporting products include the Smart Marketplace, the Smart Site Selector RFP platform, and Ms. B, an AI-powered chatbot virtual assistant launched in December 2024 to help planners with venue recommendations, budgeting, and event design. Distribution also encompasses a SmartCast Central multimedia hub and a FIFA World Cup 2026 editorial vertical.
Following founder Marin Bright's death in January 2024, President Luc Troussieux (her husband and co-founder) continues to lead the company alongside VP and Content Director JT Long and Publisher Eric Haase. The business is bootstrapped with no disclosed external funding, serving both sides of a two-sided market — free content for meeting planners and paid access/sponsorship for hospitality suppliers — and has recently expanded through partnerships with EVA, virsitour, IAEE, HopSkip, and Destinations International.
SmartMeetings firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- SmartMeetings
- Legal name
- Bright Business Media LLC
- Website
- https://smartmeetings.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2002
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
SmartMeetings industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Business Trade Media & Events
- NAICS
- Convention and Trade Show Organizers (56192), Information (51)
- SIC
- Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Meeting & Conference Planning & Coordination (HSACADAA)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Customer/User Conferences & Client Advisory Boards (THAHAMAD)
Keywords
Where SmartMeetings is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Sausalito
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
SmartMeetings business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Magazine Subscriptions and Advertising: Print and digital magazine published 12 times per year featuring meetings industry content. Generates revenue through subscriptions and advertising from hospitality suppliers.
- Events and Sponsorships: Revenue from hosted-buyer regional events, Smart Woman Summit, and sponsorship opportunities. Suppliers pay for access to qualified meeting planners with active RFPs at events.
- Marketing and Advertising Services: Tactical marketing approaches including print, online advertising, sponsored content, and integrated marketing programs targeting meeting planners. The marketing microsite promotes reaching planners through the company's database.
- Webinars and Knowledge Exchange: CEU-accredited webinars providing professional development content to meeting professionals.
- Awards and Recognition Programs: Revenue from award programs including Platinum Choice Awards, Smart Stars Awards, Smart Women in Meetings Awards, and Catalyst Awards that showcase hospitality partners.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Magazine Subscription - Print and Digital |
| Other | Multi-year contract | Event Attendance - Smart Woman Summit and Regional Events |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels12 records
SmartMeetings product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Smart Meetings is an integrated B2B media company serving the meetings and events industry. It publishes a print and digital magazine 12 times per year, operates an interactive website with news and destination guides, runs hosted-buyer networking events connecting planners with hotel and venue suppliers, produces podcasts and CEU-accredited webinars, and administers industry awards programs such as Platinum Choice Awards, Smart Stars Awards, Smart Women in Meetings Awards, and Catalyst Awards.
Product overview
Smart Meetings operates as an integrated media company serving the meetings and events industry with a multi-platform portfolio. The core offerings include Smart Meetings Magazine (print and digital, published 12 times yearly), the SmartMeetings.com website, and Smart Meetings Events (in-person hosted-buyer networking events with one-on-one appointments). Supporting content products include the What One Thing Podcast, Smart Start Radio podcast, and Knowledge Exchange CEU-accredited webinars. The company runs several prestigious awards programs including Platinum Choice Awards, Smart Stars Awards, Smart Women in Meetings Awards, and Catalyst Awards. Smart Woman Summit is the company's flagship annual conference. The portfolio also includes the MeetSmart Hub community app, Smart Marketplace, and Ms. B, an AI chatbot virtual assistant launched in December 2024. These offerings work together to provide meeting professionals with inspiration, industry news, venue sourcing, professional development, and networking opportunities.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Meet Smart Hub: Community app platform for meeting professionals to connect and share resources.
- SmartCast Central
- Smart Woman Summit
- What One Thing
- Smart Start Radio
- Platinum Choice Awards
- Smart Stars Awards
- Smart Women in Meetings Awards
- Catalyst Awards
- Ms. B
Products and services
- Smart Meetings Magazine A print and digital magazine published 12 times per year covering meetings industry content, trends, corporate event planning, venue recommendations, and industry leader profiles. Sold via subscription to meeting professionals.
- SmartMeetings.com Award-winning interactive website serving as a news portal and resource hub for meeting professionals, featuring industry news, destination guides, case studies, and digital content.
- Smart Meetings Events In-person hosted-buyer networking events featuring preset one-on-one appointments between meeting planners and hotel/destination suppliers, educational sessions, expert speakers, and networking opportunities. Events offer up to 25 prescheduled appointments per attendee.
- Knowledge Exchange Webinars CEU-accredited webinar programs providing educational content on meeting industry topics, featuring expert speakers and thought leaders.
- What One Thing? Podcast
Companies that use SmartMeetings
Customer profileNamed customers6 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
SmartMeetings technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability1 record
Feature3 records
SmartMeetings partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- EVAcoreStrategic partnership with EVA, an event-tech platform specializing in curated talent, speakers, and interactive experiences. Collaboration expands Smart Meetings' year-round support for planners by providing scalable, technology-enabled programming resources. EVA becomes an ongoing resource for the Smart Meetings planner community, supporting event design and execution across formats and destinations.
- virsitourcorePartnership with virsitour, a platform connecting planners, suppliers, and destinations through virtual site tours and RFP tools. Meeting professionals gain direct access to virsitour portal through Smart Meetings' library of Destination Guides. Suppliers signing up through the partnership benefit from zero upfront fees under virsitour's commission-based model.
- IAEE (International Association of Exhibitions & Events)corePartnership with IAEE to bring both audiences together and amplify their voices. The groups share content and support respective events including Smart Woman Summit, IAEE's Women's Leadership Forum, Smart Meetings calendar, and Expo! Expo! IAEE's Annual Meeting & Exhibition.
- Destinations InternationalminorPartnership with Destinations International on white paper 'Best Practices for Managing Event Risk,' providing actionable insights on event safety and security for planners.
- HopSkipminorPartnership with HopSkip, a platform empowering meetings and hospitality professionals to streamline room blocks and event space sourcing at hotels. Alignment gives meeting professionals easy access to HopSkip portal through Smart Meetings' Destination Guides and a special discount on the first year's subscription.
- Destination DCminorSponsor of Smart Meetings white paper on DMOs. Destination DC is the official DMO for Washington, D.C., promoting the capital as a convention and tourism destination.
- IT'S (Travel Savings Partner)minorTravel partnership helping Smart Meetings attendees save on travel costs to events.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
SmartMeetings competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Northstar Meetings Group: Publishes Meetings & Conventions and Successful Meetings magazines and runs the MICE-oriented events portfolio — the closest direct print, digital, and event competitor to SmartMeetings in the North American corporate meetings vertical.
- BizBash: B2B media brand covering the events and meeting planning industry through editorial content, awards programs, and conferences — directly comparable to SmartMeetings' magazine-plus-events-plus-awards model.
- MeetingsNet: Long-running B2B publication serving corporate meeting planners with editorial coverage, webinars, and awards — a head-to-head competitor for SmartMeetings' planner audience and supplier sponsors.
- Event Marketer: B2B media brand focused on experiential marketing and corporate event professionals — closely comparable audience and editorial/events model to SmartMeetings, with overlapping awards and editorial.
- Trade Show News Network (TSNN): B2B media site covering trade shows, exhibitions, and conventions with event listings, industry news, and awards — comparable to SmartMeetings' events/news/media model in the adjacent trade-show segment.
- Special Events: Long-standing B2B media brand for event planners and producers covering corporate, social, and association events with editorial, awards (Gala Awards), and conference content — directly comparable to SmartMeetings' offering.
Broad incumbents
- Skift: Larger, venture-backed B2B media brand covering the broader travel and meetings industry with research, events (Skift Meetings Forum), and editorial — overlaps with SmartMeetings' audience of corporate planners but at greater scale and breadth.
- PCMA (Professional Convention Management Association): Industry association for meeting and event professionals offering Convene magazine, education, and major industry events (Convening Leaders) — overlaps with SmartMeetings in audience and awards but operates as a member association rather than commercial media company.
- Cvent: Market-leading event management software platform for venue sourcing, registration, and attendee management — competes with SmartMeetings' Smart Site Selector and virsitour partnership on the venue-sourcing workflow.
Regional players
- IAEE (International Association of Exhibitions & Events): Industry association for the exhibitions and events industry and an existing SmartMeetings GTM partner — comparable through overlapping content, member events (Expo! Expo!), and Women's Leadership Forum, but association-led rather than commercial.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
SmartMeetings social profiles
Digital presenceSmartMeetings financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
SmartMeetings leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
SmartMeetings funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
SmartMeetings 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 SmartMeetings
What does SmartMeetings do?
Smart Meetings is an integrated B2B media company serving the meetings and events industry. It publishes a print and digital magazine 12 times per year, operates an interactive website with news and destination guides, runs hosted-buyer networking events connecting planners with hotel and venue suppliers, produces podcasts and CEU-accredited webinars, and administers industry awards programs such as Platinum Choice Awards, Smart Stars Awards, Smart Women in Meetings Awards, and Catalyst Awards.
Is SmartMeetings a public or private company?
SmartMeetings is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was SmartMeetings founded?
SmartMeetings was founded in 2002. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is SmartMeetings based?
SmartMeetings is headquartered in Sausalito, United States, in the North America region.
How does SmartMeetings make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Magazine Subscriptions and Advertising is the primary driver. The others are events and Sponsorships, marketing and Advertising Services, webinars and Knowledge Exchange and awards and Recognition Programs.
Who are SmartMeetings's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Northstar Meetings Group, BizBash, MeetingsNet, Event Marketer, Trade Show News Network (TSNN) and Special Events. Broad incumbents are Skift, PCMA (Professional Convention Management Association) and Cvent. IAEE (International Association of Exhibitions & Events) is listed as a regional player.
Does SmartMeetings have an API?
No public API is recorded for SmartMeetings.
What industry is SmartMeetings in?
SmartMeetings's product category is Business Trade Media & Events. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HSACADAA, Meeting & Conference Planning & Coordination, with a secondary code of THAHAMAD, Customer/User Conferences & Client Advisory Boards. Its NAICS code is 56192 and its SIC code is 8742.