Meet Cambridge

What Meet Cambridge does

Meet Cambridge (legally The Cambridge Venue Company Ltd) is a not-for-profit venue-finding bureau and the official conference and events bureau for Cambridge, UK. Founded in 1998 and owned by the Cambridge Colleges, the company operates as a free intermediary service for event organizers, connecting them to a portfolio of more than 50 vetted venues including University of Cambridge Colleges, hotels, conference centres, and unique heritage properties. Revenue is generated through commission arrangements with member venues rather than fees charged to event organizers, placing the company in an affiliate/referral revenue model.

The company's core product is a venue-finding enquiry service funneled through a website-based portal and a three-step process (submit enquiry, receive availability offers, book directly with venue). The underlying platform is built on Simpleview CRM technology, which includes the My Event meeting planner portal for managing bookings, venue availability, and customer communications. Supporting services include full event management, the Cambridge Ambassador Programme for bid support on large conferences, the Cambridge Event Planner's Toolkit, the Cambridge Sustainable Events Toolkit, a Last Minute Meeting Rooms service for small bookings within 48 hours, and Large Event Administration for multi-venue coordination.

The go-to-market approach is sales-led with strong content marketing and PR distribution, targeting corporate event organizers, professional associations, societies, wedding parties, meeting planners, and educational groups. The company serves a regional Cambridgeshire market within a business events sector that contributes approximately £2 billion annually to the regional economy and supports around 40,000 jobs. Headcount is 1–10 employees, the company is privately held with no external funding rounds, and it relies on a network of strategic partnerships including ABPCO, EICC, Welcome Brain Consulting, and Azura Events for industry collaboration.

Name

Meet Cambridge

Legal name

The Cambridge Venue Company Ltd T/A Meet Cambridge

Website

https://meet-cambridge.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Meet Cambridge is a not-for-profit venue-finding bureau owned by the Cambridge Colleges, connecting event organizers to 50+ venues in Cambridge including University Colleges, hotels, and unique heritage properties. The service is free to event organizers and funded by commission from member venues.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Cambridge

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Commission from venues: Meet Cambridge's venue-finding service is free for customers. The service is funded by member venues, some of which pay Meet Cambridge a commission on business placed with them. This is a referral/commission-based model where revenue comes from venues rather than event organizers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Meet Cambridge is a free venue-finding bureau that connects event organizers with over 50 venues in and around Cambridge, including University of Cambridge Colleges, hotels, conference centres, and unique heritage properties. The service acts as a single point of contact, checking availability across the entire venue portfolio and supporting event organizers through booking, event management, and bid support. The service is funded by commission from member venues and is provided at no cost to event organizers.

Product overview

Meet Cambridge is a venue-finding bureau (conference and events bureau) for Cambridge, not a software product. It offers a free venue-finding service as its core offering, connecting event organizers with over 50 venues including Cambridge Colleges, hotels, conference centres, and unique properties. Supporting services include full event management, the Cambridge Ambassador Programme for bid support, the Cambridge Event Planner's Toolkit (with travel, insurance, and planning resources), the Cambridge Sustainable Events Toolkit (covering EDI, neurodiversity, dietary requirements, and CSR), large event administration, and Last Minute Meeting Rooms for urgent bookings. The service is funded by venue membership commissions and is free to event organizers. No technology platform or API product is offered.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Venue-Finding Service Free bureau service connecting event organizers with over 50 venues in Cambridge including University of Cambridge Colleges, hotels, conference centres, and unique properties. Provides a single point of contact for venue availability checking and booking enquiries. For event organizers.
• Event Management Full-service event management solutions for conferences, meetings, and events with professional conference organizers (PCOs) and digital conference organizers (DCOs). For event organizers needing end-to-end event delivery.
• Cambridge Ambassador Programme Bid support programme to help win conferences and events for Cambridge, connecting organizers with conference ambassadors. For associations and societies seeking to bring conferences to Cambridge.
• Large Event Administration Free administration service for large events with a single point of contact, assisting with venue mixing and matching across multiple spaces. For organizations running large multi-venue events.
• Last Minute Meeting Rooms Quick venue-finding service for small meeting rooms (up to 20 people) bookable within 48 hours. For meeting planners and professionals needing urgent meeting space.
• Cambridge Event Planner's Toolkit Resource toolkit including event tips, travel advice, event insurance guidance, planning and marketing resources, and event organization services. For event planners planning events in Cambridge.
• Cambridge Sustainable Events Toolkit Sustainability-focused toolkit covering EDI in events, neurodiversity guidance, dietary requirements management, sustainable venue selection, and CSR activities. For event organizers seeking to plan sustainable and inclusive events.
• Venue Membership Membership programme for venues to join the Meet Cambridge portfolio, with a price guide and benefits package. For venue operators in Cambridge seeking to access Meet Cambridge's customer base.

Quantifiable outcome

• Venues respond to enquiries within 24-48 hours
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• University of CambridgecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMeet Cambridge is the official venue-finding service for space at the University of Cambridge and its Colleges. The service is owned by the Cambridge Colleges, providing exclusive access to academic venues for events.
• Cambridge Colleges (venue members)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorOver 50 venues including Clare College, King's College, Newnham College, Fitzwilliam College, and others. These colleges and venues pay commission to Meet Cambridge for bookings made through the service.
• ABPCO (Association of British Professional Conference Organisers)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMeet Cambridge is an ABPCO member and active participant in the ABPCO Neurodiversity in Events taskforce, collaborating on industry-wide initiatives including the Neurodiversity in Events Toolkit and Neuroinclusive Networking Guide.
• Welcome Brain ConsultingcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounded by Andy Williamson, Welcome Brain provides training and accreditation around neurodiversity. Partnered with Meet Cambridge and ABPCO to develop the Neurodiversity in Events Toolkit and Neuroinclusive Networking Guide.
• Edinburgh International Conference Centre (EICC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative partner in the ABPCO Neurodiversity in Events taskforce, working alongside Meet Cambridge, UCISA, Azura Events, and Welcome Brain Consulting.
• Azura EventscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPCO and Managing Director Clare Beach initiated the ABPCO Dietary Requirements at Events Taskforce and partnered with Meet Cambridge on neurodiversity initiatives.
• UCISAminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember of the ABPCO Neurodiversity in Events taskforce, represented by Sian Thomas.
• The Comms Bar (PR Agency)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerRachel Evans at The Comms Bar manages Meet Cambridge's press and public relations, handling enquiries for journalists and press trips.
• SimpleviewcoreTechnology or IntegrationWebsite platform provider using Simpleview CRM technology for managing enquiries, venue listings, and the My Event meeting planner portal.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• Simpleview: CRM and website technology provider built specifically for destination marketing organizations. Meet Cambridge runs on Simpleview's CRM (the 'My Event' planner portal), making it both a technology provider and a direct ecosystem participant rather than a competitor.
• ABPCO (Association of British Professional Conference Organisers): Industry association for UK Professional Conference Organisers. Meet Cambridge is an ABPCO member and active collaborator (co-developed the Neurodiversity in Events Toolkit), making ABPCO an ecosystem participant rather than a competitor.

Regional players

• Meet in Ireland: Ireland's national business tourism company operating a convention bureau model identical to Meet Cambridge's, promoting Ireland as a conference destination. Operates a similar business events bureau structure but in a different (cross-border) geography.

Direct peers

• Marketing Manchester: Manchester's DMO operating a conferences and events bureau that promotes the city and supports event bidding. Functionally similar to Meet Cambridge with venue-finding and bid support services, though serving a larger metropolitan market.
• Visit York: York's destination marketing and tourism organization that handles venue-finding and business events promotion. Closely comparable to Meet Cambridge as a UK heritage-city DMO targeting association conferences and academic meetings.
• Marketing Edinburgh: Edinburgh's destination marketing organization with a dedicated business events and convention bureau function. Direct comparable to Meet Cambridge as a UK city-level DMO promoting a heritage/academic city for conferences and meetings.
• Marketing Birmingham: Birmingham's destination marketing organization with a dedicated business events function providing conference bid support. Direct UK city-level DMO peer operating a similar model of venue promotion and event organizer support.
• London Convention Bureau (London & Partners): The official convention bureau for London, providing venue-finding, bid support, and event services to conference organizers. Operates the same destination-marketing-organization model as Meet Cambridge but at national-capital scale, making it the most direct functional peer in the UK.

Broad incumbents

• VisitBritain: Great Britain's national tourism agency with a business events team promoting the UK internationally as a conference destination. Operates at national scale and has overlapping mission with Meet Cambridge's destination marketing role, but with broader scope.
• Cvent: Global event management platform with a venue-sourcing marketplace used by corporate planners. While primarily a software vendor rather than a DMO, Cvent competes in the venue-finding workflow that Meet Cambridge serves for Cambridge-specific events.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/meetcambridge
• Facebookfacebook.com/MeetCambridge
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/meet-cambridge

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 Cambridge