Convention Planit

What Convention Planit does

Convention Planit (legal name ConventionPlanit.com) is a privately-held US company founded in 2003 and headquartered in Hagerstown, Maryland, operating a web-based search directory and RFP portal serving the meetings and events industry. The platform connects meeting professionals — drawn from associations, corporations, and SMERF/government organizations — with supplier-side advertisers including hotels, resorts, CVBs, convention centers, conference centers, special event venues, and meeting-service providers. Founder-led by Principals & Co-Founders Katherine S. Markham and David B. Markham, the company has been bootstrapped since inception with no disclosed external funding; SRJ Marketing Communications handles website development under a services relationship.

The core platform consists of a Search Marketplace with advanced filtering across destinations, hotels, convention centers, and service providers, combined with RFP Valet — a free personalized RFP assistance service staffed by personnel with 25+ years of meetings-industry experience that organizes supplier responses on customizable virtual charts and offers a 48-hour response guarantee. Additional modules include the My Meeting Space Calculator (with MaxFit and Space Required tools), RFP Templates, Global Tools, Best Practices resources, an e-Newsletter, and Special Offers. The technology stack is a traditional web application; no public API, SDK, mobile app, or documented AI/ML capability exists.

The business model is two-sided and commission-free to planners. All consumer revenue mechanics sit on the supplier side: tiered annual listing subscriptions (Ruby at $1,495, Sapphire at $1,995, Diamond at $2,695), display banner advertising (geotargeted and directory-specific), e-Blast direct email marketing, e-Newsletter advertising distributed to 20,000 opt-in meeting professionals, and THI$ (Total Hospitality Industry Solutions) professional services. Customer-mix commentary indicates approximately 55% association planners, 35% corporate planners, and 10% SMERF/government planners, with the platform's supplier footprint extending across 25+ countries and partnerships with SPIN, ASAE, HSMAI, IMEX, IBTM, and the Events Industry Council.

Name

Convention Planit

Legal name

ConventionPlanit.com

Website

https://conventionplanit.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Convention Planit operates ConventionPlanit.com, a commission-free web-based search directory and RFP portal connecting meeting professionals with hotels, resorts, CVBs, and venue suppliers. Founded in 2003, the privately-held bootstrapped company monetizes through tiered annual supplier advertising subscriptions and complementary media products.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Meetings Industry Search & RFP Platform

NAICS

Travel Agencies (561510)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYTHAHACAH

Venue Sourcing & Contract Negotiation Specialists

Travel & Hospitality/MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences & Exhibitions)/Professional Conference Organizers (PCOs) & Meeting Planners

SECONDARYHSACADAC

Venue Sourcing & Site Selection

Home & Personal Services/Event & Personal Concierge Services/Corporate Event & Meeting Services

SECONDARYTHACAFAC

Venue Sourcing & Contracting (Hotels, Conference Centers)

Travel & Hospitality/Business Travel & Corporate Travel Management/Meetings & Group Travel Management (Corporate)

SECONDARYTHAHAFAB

Conference & Trade Show Registration Platforms

Travel & Hospitality/MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences & Exhibitions)/Event Registration, Ticketing & Attendee Management Platforms

Keywords

• Meetings industry directory
• RFP management platform
• Event venue sourcing
• Hospitality advertising listings
• Convention supplier search

Headquarters

HQ city

Hagerstown

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Annual Listing Subscriptions: Paid advertisers purchase annual listing subscriptions at different tiers (Ruby, Sapphire, Diamond) that include business information, photos, virtual tours, map placement, and RFP template. Listings begin 30 days from receipt of signed contract.
2. Display Banner Advertising: Banner advertising on website search pages with options for all pages, directory-specific, or geo-targeted placements. Rates vary by duration and targeting specificity.
3. Direct Email Marketing (e-Blast): Targeted email campaigns to opt-in meeting professionals with exclusive ads and call-to-action. Campaigns are customized per recipients with fresh data.
4. e-Newsletter Advertising: Ads and advertorials distributed monthly to 20,000 opt-in meeting professionals. Options include center page features, banner ads, and promotional placements.
5. THI$ - Total Hospitality Industry Solutions: Turn-key sales solution including email marketing follow-up, outsourced sales solicitation, representation at events, database cleanse, familiarization tours, sales blitz appointment setting, and lead generation.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

ConventionPlanit.com operates a commission-free, registration-free web-based search directory and RFP portal that connects meeting professionals with hotels, resorts, convention centers, CVBs, and meeting service providers. Planners can search and filter suppliers, while the proprietary RFP Valet service assists them in distributing RFPs and comparing responses on customizable virtual charts. Suppliers pay for tiered advertising listings, banner ads, email marketing, and bundled marketing services.

Product overview

ConventionPlanit.com is a commission-free search directory and RFP portal serving meeting professionals since 2003. The core platform comprises a Search Marketplace for discovering venues and suppliers, combined with RFP Valet for streamlined request-for-proposal management. Additional modules include My Meeting Space Calculator for space planning, RFP Templates for standardized proposals, Global Tools for international planning, and Best Practices resources. Supporting content features include the monthly e-Newsletter, Blog, Stellar Tips contest, and an Advisory Council of industry planners. The company also offers tiered advertising listings (Ruby, Sapphire, Diamond) for supplier visibility.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• RFP Valet®: A free personalized RFP assistance service that helps meeting planners source suppliers and organize RFP responses on virtual charts. The service includes a 48-hour response guarantee and allows planners to upload RFPs for distribution to designated suppliers.
• Stellar Tips
• Refer a Meeting Professional Contest
• My Meeting SPACE Calculator

Products and services

• ConventionPlanit.com Search Directory & RFP Portal Commission-free, registration-free web platform that lets meeting professionals search destinations, hotels, resorts, convention centers, conference centers, special event venues, and service providers, and submit RFPs directly to suppliers.
• RFP Valet Free personalized RFP assistance service that helps meeting planners distribute RFPs to designated suppliers, receive organized responses in real time, and compare quotes and concessions on customizable virtual charts without retyping information; includes a 48-hour RFP response guarantee.
• Ruby, Sapphire, and Diamond Annual Listings Three-tiered annual paid advertising listing subscriptions for hotels, resorts, CVBs, convention centers, and service providers, offering varying levels of visibility (images, logo, data, copy, virtual tour, map placement, RFP template, slideshow, premium search placement, and pop-up placement).
• Display Banner Advertising Banner advertising placements on ConventionPlanit.com search pages with options for all pages, directory-specific, or geo-targeted placements, with rates that vary by duration and targeting specificity.
• Direct Email Marketing (e-Blast) Targeted email campaigns to opt-in meeting professionals featuring exclusive ads and calls-to-action, customized per recipient with fresh data for supplier lead-generation purposes.
• THI$ – Total Hospitality Industry Solutions Turn-key outsourced sales solution including email marketing follow-up, outsourced sales solicitation, representation at events, database cleanse, familiarization tours, sales blitz appointment setting, and lead generation for hospitality suppliers.
• e-Newsletter Advertising Monthly email newsletter with center page features, banner ads, and promotional placements distributed to 20,000 opt-in meeting professionals, offered on pay-as-you-go issue-by-issue pricing.

Quantifiable outcome

• 8:1 ROI guaranteed on two-year listings, or listing showcased a third year gratis
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• SPIN (Senior Planner Industry Network)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerStrong industry endorsement by SPIN, positioning ConventionPlanit.com as a preferred resource among senior meeting planners.
• ASAE (American Society of Association Executives)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerIndustry partnership vertically markets to ASAE members who plan meetings and events.
• HSMAI (Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerIndustry partnership provides access to hospitality sales and marketing professionals in the meetings industry.
• IMEX GroupcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership with IMEX generates both inbound and outbound international business. ConventionPlanit participates in IMEX America and IMEX Frankfurt events.
• IBTMcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership with IBTM (formerly EIBTM) for international business development and access to global meetings industry professionals.
• Events Industry CouncilsupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerPlatform provides APEX (Accepted Practices Exchange) resources from the Events Industry Council to help planners implement industry standards.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Knowland: Knowland provides group business intelligence for hotels and venues, including RFP pipeline and account intelligence, competing for the same supplier-side advertising and lead generation budgets as Convention Planit's listings.
• Cvent: Cvent is the dominant venue sourcing, RFP, and event management platform for meeting planners and suppliers, offering very similar functionality to Convention Planit at vastly greater scale and with deeper enterprise integrations.
• Simpleview: Simpleview is a CMS, CRM, and digital marketing platform built specifically for DMOs/CVBs and the meetings industry, competing head-to-head with Convention Planit for destination marketing organizations and CVB advertising spend.

Broad incumbents

• Maritz Global Events: Maritz Global Events is a large full-service meeting and event management company; it competes for the same corporate and association meeting budgets that drive Convention Planit's advertising pipeline.
• Eventbrite: Eventbrite is a broad consumer-and-professional events marketplace; it overlaps with Convention Planit in capturing event organizer and supplier attention, though it focuses on ticketed/consumer events rather than B2B meeting sourcing.

Emerging players

• RainFocus: RainFocus is an event experience platform focused on large enterprise and association conferences; it competes indirectly by consolidating planner workflow onto a single platform, reducing reliance on standalone directories like Convention Planit.
• MeetingPlay: MeetingPlay is an event technology platform offering registration, mobile apps, and lead retrieval; it competes for the same meeting planner marketing budgets that Convention Planit monetizes via listings and e-blasts.
• Eventsair: Eventsair is an event management software platform covering registration, accommodation management, and venue sourcing; it competes directly with Convention Planit's RFP and venue marketplace features for association and corporate planners.
• Aventri: Aventri (formerly etouches) is an event management and venue sourcing platform that competes for both planner and supplier mindshare in the meetings industry, overlapping heavily with Convention Planit's RFP and search marketplace.
• Bizzabo: Bizzabo provides an event experience platform with registration, sponsorships, and analytics targeted at event organizers and marketers; it overlaps with Convention Planit on the planner-side workflow and digital advertising inventory.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 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 Convention Planit