Boston University Events & Conferences

What Boston University Events & Conferences does

Boston University Events & Conferences is an operating department within Boston University (a private research university founded in 1839) that manages campus-based event, hospitality, and housing services for external organizers and internal university stakeholders. The department runs a portfolio of interconnected services: (1) Campus Venues, comprising roughly ten distinct event and meeting spaces including the George Sherman Union, Metcalf Trustee Center, the historic Dahod Family Alumni Center ("the Castle"), Tsai Performance Center, athletic venues, and other specialty spaces; (2) Summer Conference Housing, offering overnight accommodations in BU residence halls for adult and youth groups from late May through mid-August; (3) Summer Intern Housing, a separate product targeting students and young professionals on Boston internships; (4) Catering Services delivered by an award-winning in-house culinary team capable of serving events from ten guests to galas of 100+; and (5) Planning Services covering AV, logistics, policies, and sustainability coordination.

The underlying operating model is a university auxiliary services function — not a separately capitalized business. Core technology consists of standard university infrastructure: an integrated venue booking and reservation system (bu.edu/reservations for internal BU departments, bu.edu/meetatbu for external clients), catering coordination via bu.edu/catering, and housing reservation workflows. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed; customers initiate engagement via a website contact form, phone (617-353-3520), or email ([email protected]). Distribution is direct: an 8-person staff handles bookings, planning, and on-site coordination with no intermediary channel partners. Marketing relies on the BU institutional brand, the dedicated meetatbu.com website, organic social media (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn), and internal referrals from other BU departments.

Customer segments span external academic and corporate conference organizers, summer youth and adult program groups, summer interns, and BU internal administrative units. The department has earned industry recognition from Unique Venues (Planner's Choice Award for Best Earth-Friendly Venue 2022, Best Large-Market Venue 2020, Best Renovation or Addition 2019, Best Venue for Transportation Access 2018) and holds certifications from ACCED-i, GBCVB's One-Stop Shop, and is a member of Unique Venues and the Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau. Revenue is not disclosed and no external funding, M&A, or ownership changes are applicable to this department.

Name

Boston University Events & Conferences

Legal name

Boston University

Website

https://meetatbu.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1839

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Boston University Events & Conferences is an in-house university department that operates campus event venues, summer conference housing, summer intern housing, and catering services for external conference organizers, visiting groups, and Boston University internal departments in Boston, MA.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Conference and Event Venue Services

NAICS

Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813), Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation (71)

SIC

Hotels, Rooming Houses, Camps & Other Lodging Places (7000)

akta.pro primary industry

University & Academic Conference Venues (THAHAAAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Academic & Education Conference Organizers (THAHACAE), University/Academic Conference Hotels (THAGALAJ)

Keywords

• Event venue rental
• Conference housing services
• Catering services
• Summer intern housing
• Event planning services

Headquarters

HQ city

Boston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Boston University Events & Conferences is a campus hospitality division that rents event and meeting venues across the BU campus, provides overnight summer conference and intern housing, delivers on-site catering through an award-winning culinary team, and supplies professional event planning support to external organizations, summer programs, and BU internal departments.

Product overview

Boston University Events & Conferences operates as a venue and hospitality services division offering a portfolio of interconnected event services. The core offerings include Campus Venues (multiple event spaces across campus), Summer Conference Housing (accommodations for adult and youth groups), Summer Intern Housing (for summer internship participants), Catering Services (award-winning culinary team for events of various sizes), and Planning Services (professional assistance with AV, policies, and event logistics). These services are designed to work together to provide comprehensive event hosting on the BU campus.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Campus Venues

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Georgetown University Conference Services: Georgetown's in-house conference and event services unit providing summer accommodations and meeting facilities on campus — a directly comparable academic peer.
• MIT Conference Services: MIT's in-house conference services arm, providing venue rental, summer housing, and event planning on the MIT campus — a near-identical academic conference venue peer in the same metro.
• Northeastern University Conference Services: Northeastern's campus events and conference services division, offering venue and summer housing in Boston — a same-city direct academic competitor.
• Harvard Conference & Event Services: Harvard's dedicated campus event and conference services group; directly comparable academic venue operator offering lodging, meeting space, and catering on the Harvard campus in Cambridge.
• Princeton Conference & Event Services: Princeton University's campus event and conference services arm running summer housing and event spaces — a directly comparable academic venue model.
• Yale Conference & Events Services: Yale's campus-based conference and event services operation, providing summer housing and event venues comparable to BU's offering.
• Tufts Conference & Event Services: Tufts University's conference and event services unit operating campus venues and summer accommodations in the Boston area, directly comparable in service mix.

Others

• Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau (GBCVB): Regional DMO of which BU Events & Conferences is a member; adjacent ecosystem participant that funnels inbound conference business to Boston venues including BU.

Broad incumbents

• Hynes Convention Center: Major Boston-area convention venue operated by Signature Network; competes for medium-to-large conferences that might otherwise consider Boston University venues.
• Boston Convention & Exhibition Center (BCEC): Large-scale Boston convention facility; a broader incumbent competitor for major citywide conferences, drawing events BU Events & Conferences might otherwise host.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/meetatbu
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/boston-university-events-and-conferences
• Instagraminstagram.com/meetatbu

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Boston University Events & Conferences