CWT launches small meetings booking platform

CWT Meetings & Events has launched CWT easy meetings, a direct booking platform that grants meeting organisers access to over 250,000 hotel rooms and events venues in across 90 countries, while simultaneously booking AV equipment and F&B at once.

Before the pandemic, “many of our clients spent up to 70% of their meetings and events budget on small meetings,” said Chris Bowen, senior VP & managing director, CWT Meetings & Events.

“As the desire for real engagement grows and face-to-face business meetings gradually resume, we expect this figure to increase due to restrictions on group sizes and safe distancing requirements.”

According to Bowen, another reason for CWT’s entry into this market now is how “most organisations still don’t have any standardised processes or solutions to manage small meetings, the way they do for large events or transient business travel”.

What CWT easy meetings will do is nix the need for manual searches of available venues and instead, using this one-stop site to source and book venues, supporting equipment for the event as well as food and beverage. The site is also supposedly able to provide greater visibility over managing event costs, compliance, and employee safety and security.

There will be two versions available for planners.

The first is a free, entry-level version of the platform which targets one-off meetings, allowing planners to run searches, compare venues and to also book instantly. These can be done on-the-go via mobile, tablets or on the desktop, in eight different languages. Payments can be made online, while bookings can be easily modified or cancelled — a key priority in today’s post-Covid world.

The second is a customisable platform for large companies looking to automate their meeting booking processes, while managing costs in one hub. Apart from tailoring the design to suit corporate branding, businesses may also upload pre-negotiated rates and unique venues that can only be accessed by their employees.

Other options on the paid version: highlighting preferred venues and partners, saving payment modes, personalised dashboards and reports of employee’s usage of CWT easy meetings. With budgets slashed worldwide and travel costs a major concern, planners will find it useful to track bookings, cancellations, volumes and spend by supplier, user or meeting location.