Site Selection Services

What Site Selection Services does

Site Selection Services is a privately-held, founder-owned meeting planning firm founded in 2002 and headquartered in Carlsbad, California, with a satellite office in Portland, Oregon. The company specializes in worldwide hotel sourcing, RFP management, site inspection coordination, and contract negotiation for corporate meetings, conferences, and incentive programs requiring at least 10 hotel rooms. Its client base spans Fortune 500 enterprises (Wells Fargo, Pfizer, Genentech, Medtronic, Volaris Group), pharmaceutical and medical meeting sponsors, hospitality partners (Hyatt, Starwood, Fairmont-Raffles-Swissotel), government and academic clients (US Air Force, UC San Diego), and nonprofit organizations (Spencer Foundation, AssetWorks-Fleet). The team is small (1-10 employees) and led by President Scott Sentonaris (ex-Marriott, hospitality career since 1991) and Vice President Kim Paine, supported by Global Account Directors with prior hotel-side sales leadership at Starwood, Hilton, Destination Hotels & Resorts, and Two Roads Hospitality.

The core technology stack is intentionally lean: no proprietary platform or AI/ML capability is disclosed. Operational tooling is built around partner integrations with established event-management platforms, including Cvent, Aventri, Whova, and Vario (the latter being a strategic partnership for virtual and hybrid event production). Product offerings are structured as a freemium service — complimentary site selection and contract negotiation for qualifying meetings (10+ hotel rooms for at least one night), with paid add-ons including Full Service Meeting Management and Strategic Meetings Management (SMM) for end-to-end program execution. The firm also offers Virtual Meetings capabilities through Vario, covering virtual conference websites, breakout sessions, networking features, attendee engagement, virtual tradeshows, and continuing education credit tracking.

Revenue is generated primarily through hotel placement commissions paid by properties after client groups depart, supplemented by custom-priced fees for premium full-service meeting management and SMM engagements. Go-to-market is sales-led, relying on direct engagement with corporate meeting planners, third-party event organizers, and association clients, supported by industry conference attendance (Connect Marketplace, MPI World Education Conference), content marketing via the company blog, and a newsletter launched during the pandemic. The firm contracts over 50,000 room nights annually across 30+ countries, with no institutional investment, parent company, or external shareholders identified.

Name

Site Selection Services

Legal name

Site Selection Services

Website

https://site-selection-services.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Site Selection Services is a Carlsbad, California-based meeting planning firm founded in 2002 that provides complimentary hotel sourcing, RFP management, and contract negotiation for corporate meetings of 10+ rooms, monetizing via hotel placement commissions and paid full-service management.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Meeting Planning Services

NAICS

Convention and Trade Show Organizers (56192), Other Travel Arrangement and Reservation Services (56159)

SIC

Services-Facilities Support Management Services (8744)

akta.pro primary industry

Venue Sourcing & Site Selection (HSACADAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Venue Sourcing & Site Coordination (HSACAAAD), Attendee Mobile Apps & Engagement Platforms (THAHAFAE)

Keywords

• Hotel site selection
• Meeting planning services
• Contract negotiation
• RFP management
• Venue sourcing

Headquarters

HQ city

Carlsbad

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Hotel Commission/Placement Fees: Primary revenue stream. Site Selection Services receives placement fees from hotels after the client group's departure. The service is provided at no cost to clients, with hotels paying commissions based on room night bookings negotiated through the company's platform.
2. Full Service Meeting Management: Premium service offering complete meeting management including pre-planning, on-site logistics, AV production, F&B negotiation, budget analysis, registration, housing, and group air. Offered at a minimal/custom charge in addition to the complimentary base services.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Site Selection Services is a worldwide meeting planning company that sources hotels and venues, manages the Request for Proposal (RFP) process, and negotiates hotel contracts on behalf of corporate clients planning meetings and events. Its primary offering—complimentary site selection services for meetings requiring at least 10 hotel rooms—is paid for through commissions received from hotels after the group's departure. Premium paid add-ons include full-service meeting management, strategic meetings management programs, and virtual/hybrid event services.

Product overview

Site Selection Services offers a suite of meeting planning services centered around hotel site selection and contract negotiations. The core offering is complimentary site selection services (including mass RFP distribution, site selection research, proposal consolidation, contract negotiations, site inspection coordination, and contract review) for meetings requiring at least ten hotel rooms. Premium add-on services include Full Service Meeting Management and Strategic Meetings Management (SMM) for complete end-to-end meeting execution. The company has also expanded into Virtual Meetings and hybrid event solutions through a partnership with Vario, enabling virtual conference capabilities including website/marketing, keynote presentations, breakout sessions, networking, attendee engagement, virtual tradeshow, and continuing education credits.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Site Selection + Meeting Services Core offering providing complimentary hotel sourcing, RFP management, contract negotiations, site inspection coordination, and contract review for organizations planning meetings and events requiring at least 10 hotel rooms.
• Full Service Meeting Management Premium end-to-end meeting management service covering pre-planning and on-site logistics, audio-visual production, food and beverage planning/negotiation, budget analysis and reporting, post-event management, registration, housing, and group air arrangements. Offered at a custom charge.
• Strategic Meetings Management (SMM) Comprehensive meetings management program that evaluates event-related processes, tracks and quantifies companywide meeting spend, develops and implements approval processes, and maximizes value through results tracking.
• Virtual Meetings Virtual and hybrid event planning solution delivered in partnership with Vario, including virtual conference website and marketing, keynote presentations, breakout sessions, networking events, attendee engagement tools, virtual tradeshow, continuing education credits, and ongoing post-conference engagement.

Quantifiable outcome

• Guaranteed lower rates than 'business rates' or 'negotiated rates' quoted directly
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers13 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Cvent: Cvent is a leading event management platform offering venue sourcing (Cvent Supplier Network), registration, and onsite tools widely used by corporate planners. While Site Selection Services integrates with Cvent, Cvent's sourcing marketplace overlaps with the firm's core venue selection service.
• BCD Meetings & Events: BCD Meetings & Events is one of the largest global meeting management agencies, offering strategic meetings management (SMM), venue sourcing, and event production to multinational corporations. Operates at greater scale and breadth than Site Selection Services but addresses the same enterprise meetings budget pool.
• ITA Group: ITA Group is a global incentive, engagement, and meeting solutions provider serving Fortune 500 clients with strategic meetings, events, and incentive travel. Comparable to Site Selection Services on the incentive/incentive travel portion of its book and on full-service meeting execution.
• Eventbrite: Eventbrite is a broad event technology and ticketing platform that has expanded into corporate event management. Not a direct site selection peer, but represents the broader event-tech competitive context shaping how meeting planners evaluate technology-enabled alternatives to traditional intermediaries.
• Maritz Global Events (Experient): Maritz Global Events, including the Experient division, is a broad incumbent providing full-service meeting planning, registration, housing, and SMM to large enterprises and associations. Comparable to the premium Full Service and Strategic Meetings Management tiers offered by Site Selection Services.

Direct peers

• ConferenceDirect: ConferenceDirect is a competing hotel sourcing and meeting management company, earning commissions from hotels for placing group room blocks and meetings. Overlaps directly with Site Selection Services on RFP management, contract negotiation, and full-service meeting support for mid-to-large corporate programs.
• HPN Global: HPN Global is a global hotel site selection and meeting solutions firm operating on a commission-based model similar to Site Selection Services. Targets the same enterprise and association clients with comparable venue sourcing, contract negotiation, and onsite support offerings.
• Meetings & Incentives Worldwide: Meetings & Incentives Worldwide is an independent meeting planning and incentive house serving corporate clients, competing on the same RFP, venue selection, and contract negotiation services as Site Selection Services.
• HelmsBriscoe: HelmsBriscoe is the largest global hotel site selection and contract negotiation firm, paid by hotel commissions, serving the same corporate and association meeting-planner customer base with an analogous free-to-client model. It is the closest head-to-head competitor to Site Selection Services.

Others

• Aventri: Aventri is an event management platform partner of Site Selection Services for virtual and hybrid event registration and engagement. Adjacent ecosystem participant rather than direct competitor, but increasingly competes for budget previously spent on in-person meetings.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Site Selection Services