Uber is expanding its UberEVENTS tool, which allows meeting and event planners to manage guest transportation payment centrally, the company announced today.
Following beta tests in New York City, Boston, Chicago, Austin, San Francisco and Los Angeles, Uber is making the tool available anywhere, Uber for Business lead Max Crowley said. Through UberEVENTS, planners buy passes that guests can use to book their own rides. It's Uber's first widespread launch of a tool allowing people to pay for others' rides, he said.
Users created more than 500 events through the tool over the past four weeks during the beta period, Crowley said. While a good portion were leisure events like weddings, some corporate uses also are springing up like employee transportation to holiday parties, he said. Some hotels also are offering passes as a concierge perk to guests.
"We've been getting the word out to folks within hotels, meeting planners and event planners, and we're really excited to see what people do with the tool," Crowley said. "We haven't even remotely scratched the surface yet."
The tool also allows planners to set up restrictions around passes, such as limiting the amount of spend per ride or geofencing within certain areas, he said.