Meet Charleston

What Meet Charleston does

Meet Charleston is the public-facing marketing platform of the Charleston Area Convention & Visitors Bureau (CACVB), a non-profit / quasi-governmental destination marketing organization that promotes the Charleston, SC metropolitan area as a venue for meetings, conventions, reunions, sports events, and group travel. The organization serves meeting planners, corporate event organizers, associations, sports commissions, military reunion coordinators, religious and fraternal groups, educational institutions, and motorcoach tour operators by providing free planning assistance, venue referrals, vendor curation, and promotional support. Charleston has hosted organized gatherings since the founding of the Scottish Rite in 1801, and the CVB today leverages the destination's "Best Small City in North America" brand recognition, its 1670 historical setting, beaches, and culinary scene.

The core product surface is the meetcharleston.com website, built on the Simpleview CRM/CMS platform commonly used by convention and visitors bureaus, with RFP submission tools, a 200+ page Destination Planning Guide, a comprehensive venue directory (45+ hotels, Charleston Area Convention Center with 77,000 sq ft exhibit hall, Gaillard Center with 13,000 sq ft ballroom, and unique non-hotel venues), a professional service provider directory (A/V, catering, florists, transportation, entertainment, destination management), and free content assets including a YouTube video gallery and Zoom meeting backgrounds. Supporting technology includes Sharpspring for email marketing, Google Analytics, Meta advertising, and HotJar for behavior analytics. Distribution is anchored by an in-house sales team organized by territory (Florida, South Carolina, Georgia, Mid-Atlantic, Northeast, Midwest) and vertical (corporate, association, incentive, sports, military, religious, fraternal, education, social, tour/travel), with referrals routed through hotel and venue partners and a dedicated Charleston Area Sports Commission.

Revenue is generated through three primary streams: membership fees from local hotels, restaurants, venues, tour operators, and tourism businesses; advertising sold within the free Destination Planning Guide; and unit-priced sales of branded promotional merchandise (pens, magnets, koozies, bags, postcards, complete convention packets). As a CVB, the organization is funded by local hospitality taxes and hotel assessments in addition to membership fees, with no equity or venture funding. Pricing for core planning services is free to meeting planners; only promotional items carry published unit prices. The 26-person team supports a sales-led, RFP-driven, event-driven go-to-market motion with no disclosed revenue figures.

Name

Meet Charleston

Legal name

Charleston Area Convention & Visitors Bureau

Website

https://meetcharleston.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Meet Charleston (CACVB) is a non-profit destination marketing organization promoting Charleston, SC to meeting planners, associations, sports groups, and reunions. It provides free planning assistance, venue referrals, and a 200+ page guide powered by the Simpleview CRM platform.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Destination Marketing and Convention Services

NAICS

Convention and Visitors Bureaus (561591), Convention and Trade Show Organizers (56192)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Meeting & Conference Planning & Coordination (HSACADAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Convention Campus & District Operators (Integrated Venue Districts) (THAHAAAL), Convention Center–Adjacent/Connected Hotels (THAGALAD)

Keywords

• Destination marketing services
• Convention bureau services
• Meeting planning assistance
• Event venue referrals
• Group travel coordination

Headquarters

HQ city

Charleston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Membership & Partner Fees: The CACVB generates revenue through membership fees paid by local hotels, restaurants, venues, tour operators, and other tourism-related businesses. Members receive promotional placement, referral leads, and co-marketing opportunities through CVB channels.
2. Promotional Items Sales: Sale of branded promotional merchandise including pens, magnets, koozies, bags, postcards, and complete convention packets to meeting planners and event organizers for use during conferences and events.
3. Visitor Guide Distribution: Free destination planning guides distributed to meeting planners and visitors, with revenue derived from advertising sold within the guides to local tourism partners.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Meet Charleston is the destination marketing platform of the Charleston Area Convention & Visitors Bureau (CACVB). It promotes Charleston, SC as a meeting, convention, and group travel destination by providing free professional event planning assistance, including site selection, venue referrals, vendor coordination, RFP handling, and promotional support to meeting planners. The organization also generates revenue through membership fees from local tourism businesses, advertising sold within visitor guides, and branded promotional merchandise sales (pens, bags, koozies, magnets, convention packets).

Product overview

Meet Charleston is the official destination marketing platform of the Charleston Area Convention & Visitors Bureau (CACVB), functioning as a comprehensive event planning resource rather than a unified software product. The portfolio consists of the main destination website with RFP submission tools, a 200+ page planning guide, and curated directories of venues (including the Charleston Area Convention Center and Gaillard Center) and professional services (A/V, catering, transportation, entertainment). Additional offerings include an events calendar, promotional materials, and custom microsite creation for meeting planners.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Request for Proposal (RFP) Submission and Event Planning Assistance Free online form-based service allowing meeting planners to submit event requirements to the CACVB for venue selection, vendor coordination, speaker recommendations, and full event planning support. Provided at no cost to corporate, association, and group meeting organizers.
• Destination Planning Guide A 200+ page comprehensive planning resource covering venues, hotels, services, and event planning resources for professional meeting and tour planners. Distributed at no cost to qualified meeting planners.
• Professional Meeting Resource Directory (Vendor Network) Curated directory of vetted event service providers including A/V, photography, bartending, catering, entertainment, florists, rentals, transportation, and destination management companies. Free referrals provided to meeting planners booking events in Charleston.
• Promotional Items and Branded Merchandise Sales Sale of branded Charleston promotional merchandise for meeting planners and event organizers, including ballpoint pens ($0.40), metal gel pens ($6.50), lapel/hat pins ($2.25), magnets ($1.50), plastic bags ($0.60), key rings ($1.00), koozies ($1.75), postcards ($0.25), and complete Charleston Convention Packets ($3.75 with bulk pricing available).
• Custom Microsite Creation Service Free custom microsite creation assistance for meeting planners to promote their specific events in Charleston, providing a tailored landing page for attendee engagement and event promotion.
• Promotional Content Library (Photos, Videos, Zoom Backgrounds) Free downloadable library of high-resolution Charleston photography, video content, and virtual Zoom meeting backgrounds provided to meeting planners for use in promoting their Charleston-based events.
• Events Calendar and Annual Festival Listings Calendar of annual Charleston events including the Food & Wine Classic, gallery walks, and community festivals, used by meeting planners to build attendee activities around scheduled events.

Quantifiable outcome

• 10-15% higher event attendance on average compared to other destinations
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• SharpspringcoreTechnology or IntegrationSharpspring is the primary email marketing database and platform used to house subscriber information and send email marketing communications. CACVB uses double opt-in processes and monthly newsletter distribution.
• SimpleviewcoreTechnology or IntegrationWebsite platform provider powering the meetcharleston.com website with CMS, CRM, and event management capabilities commonly used by convention and visitors bureaus.
• Charleston Hotels & VenuescoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorNetwork of 45+ hotels with meeting venues plus convention center, Gaillard Center, and unique event spaces that receive referrals from CVB sales team and website RFP submissions.
• Charleston Restaurants & Culinary PartnerscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLocal restaurants across categories (American, BBQ, Fine Dining, French, Italian, Seafood, Southern, Steakhouse) promoted through CVB channels for group dining during events.
• Charleston Tour Operators & AttractionscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLocal tour operators, attractions, and activities (harbor tours, walking tours, plantations, museums, water sports) featured in planning guides and referred to meeting planners.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Visit Nashville: Mid-to-large Southeastern destination CVB with strong group, association, and corporate meeting focus, comparable vertical segmentation but a larger budget and broader hotel inventory.
• Visit Savannah: Destination marketing organization for Savannah, GA — a directly comparable Southern coastal historic-destination CVB of similar size and segment mix, competing head-to-head with Meet Charleston for group meeting and convention business.
• Visit Myrtle Beach: South Carolina's largest coastal destination marketing organization, competing for group and convention business statewide and offering large hotel and conference-hotel inventory.
• Explore Asheville: Convention and visitors bureau for Asheville, NC, a mid-sized Southeastern destination with comparable group-meeting focus, lifestyle positioning, and boutique-hotel-driven meeting supply.
• Hilton Head Island Visitors & Convention Bureau: Coastal South Carolina destination CVB in direct regional competition with Meet Charleston for leisure, group, and sports-meeting business, with overlapping resort/hotel supply.
• Visit St. Augustine: Historic-coastal Florida destination CVB comparable in size, target segments, and historic/heritage-driven value proposition to Meet Charleston.

Broad incumbents

• Choose Chicago: Larger metropolitan destination CVB with significantly bigger budget and headcount, competing for the same association citywide and corporate meeting RFPs but with broader scale and larger convention center.
• Destination DC: Washington, D.C. destination marketing organization, a larger incumbent CVB with established association-convention expertise and substantially greater resources competing for citywide events.
• San Diego Tourism Authority: Established destination marketing authority for San Diego, a large coastal-market CVB with a mature meetings-and-conventions practice and a comparable coastal value proposition.
• Visit Orlando: Major destination CVB with a large convention-center footprint and significant group-meeting business, representing a scaled incumbent benchmark for group/convention demand generation.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ExploreCHS
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/CharlestonAreaCVB
• Facebookfacebook.com/CharlestonSC
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/meetcharleston
• Instagraminstagram.com/charlestonsc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 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 Meet Charleston