CONVENE

BACKGROUND

Redefining Hospitality for Modern Meetings

When event planners and corporate clients seek seamless, high-touch experiences, the hospitality industry must change how it communicates and designs meetings. In the 2026 Cvent Planner Sourcing Report, 36% of planners said they want layouts that promote networking, 35% expect integrated food and beverage, and 34% desire customizable spaces. Leading this shift is Convene—a global meeting space-only hospitality brand with 37 locations across the US and UK—driven by innovative leaders like Abby Peskorse, Director of Demand Generation. Convene has created a unique niche by combining modern aesthetics and amenities of cutting-edge meeting venues with luxury service and thoughtful food and beverage options. The result? An experience that keeps clients returning for everything from intimate board meetings to large-scale conferences. Event organizers will see that each Convene location acts as a true partner.

However, as the competitive landscape intensifies and planners’ expectations shift to capture the fleeting attention of attendees, Convene needs to differentiate itself further. Their goals are to drive new business, streamline operations, and deliver consistent, high-value experiences—all while navigating complex regional, industry, and technological demands.

CHALLENGE

Driving Growth, Expanding Their Advertising Reach, and Navigating Complexity in Modern Event Sourcing

The meetings and events sector has experienced significant change, shaped by shifting attendee expectations, economic pressures, and new technology-driven sourcing behaviors. Convene faced several core challenges:

SOLUTION

Leveraging the Cvent Sourcing Ecosystem to Power Visibility, Efficiency, and Long-Term Relationships

Convene uses Cvent as its technology partner to address these challenges. With three diverse sourcing platforms to connect with event planners, Convene strategically advertises to the specific audience using those tools. 

• Cvent Supplier Network: “Cvent is our standard, and certainly in the US it's our largest platform that we work with,” Abby explains. “For my role as a Director of Demand Generation, audience targeting is critical, and it's pretty easy to target the right audience if you're on Cvent.”
• Venue Directory: “The UK market is really interesting. Most of our clientele comes through agency business, and the agents working out of the UK are very comfortable with Venue Directory.”
• Cvent Vendor Marketplace, Powered by Reposite: “What’s interesting for Reposite is that it’s the holistic vendor environment somebody might use for an event. You can go into Reposite and find space, sleeping rooms, and really unique vendors to make sure your event is exactly what you’re looking for.”

Convene prioritized profile completeness on all three platforms, including main images, detailed meeting room specs, and competitive pricing to ensure visibility in search filters and meet the expectations of planners frequently working remotely. Additional advertising options give them more opportunities to be seen by event planners who are likely to convert from interested prospects into long-term partnerships. Flexible ad campaigns and audience targeting options allowed Abby’s team to test and refine approaches, ensuring they reached both seasoned and “accidental” planners (such as marketers planning one-off events).

With 37 diverse locations and various event planners interacting with the properties, integrated RFP Management enabled fast, accurate responses to RFPs and delivered insights for forecasting and performance optimization. Convene also increased the clarity of its value proposition and improved its response speed. Convene’s use of Cvent reporting enabled real-time tracking of RFPs, response rates, bid rates, and market segmentation—empowering better internal forecasting and strategy adjustments. 

The Cvent Event Diagramming tool empowered Convene’s sales and planning teams to work hand-in-hand with clients, creating tailored layouts and seamless event flows. Both sales and in-house operations teams used Cvent’s diagramming tools to visualize events and create optimal room layouts, enhancing the client experience and ensuring every detail was accounted for. “For the planners that feel comfortable with Cvent diagramming and know how to use the tool, I think it's ideal that they collaborate with the salespeople or with the event and meeting professional that we have on staff at Convene...” These features help planners and clients visualize the space, speeding up the planning process and reducing miscommunication.

RESULTS

Measurable Growth, Efficiency, and Lasting Relationships

Abby’s work with Convene centers on bringing new groups to their venues. After all, “About 70% of our business is return business. So once somebody comes into a Convene environment and they host a meeting or event with us, it’s pretty likely that we’ll get them back. It’s really critical for us to get in front of the right people and foster a good relationship in the beginning. We’re not just trying to get a single piece of business. We really want to partner with our clients in the long term.” And 30% of those long-term relationships start on Cvent platforms. 

Cvent’s comprehensive sourcing platforms are ideal for helping Convene reach these goals. In 2024, Convene received $34 million worth of RFPs through Cvent, a testament to its enhanced visibility and compelling profiles. 85% of RFPs from Suggested Ads campaigns came from new planners, constantly introducing the brand to new contacts who can become repeat customers and long-term partners. 

Once Convene captures a planner's attention, its service and responsiveness help it win more business. 

Cvent Event Diagramming empowers more team members to design innovative layouts and events with planners and streamlines the process of keeping everyone abreast of changes. The number of events with diagrams created in Cvent Event Diagramming jumped, with 2,300 events and 9,600 diagrams created in 2024. 

Access to data and in-depth reporting on sourcing behavior and venue responses allow Convene to target new markets and adapt to a changing industry. Cvent’s reporting allowed for granular segmentation by city and industry, empowering Abby’s team to tailor strategies for each market (e.g., finance in New York, tech in San Francisco, agency-driven business in London). RFP visibility and performance analytics gave Convene a clear line of sight into future demand, enabling more accurate planning and proactive sales outreach. For example, Chicago, North England, and San Francisco also experienced significant growth in received RFPs, reflecting the effectiveness of targeted campaigns and regional strategies.

BEST PRACTICES

The Cvent Advantage for Meeting and Event Growth

Convene showcases how modern hospitality brands can thrive by embracing technology, optimizing digital presence, and focusing relentlessly on the client experience. By partnering with Cvent, Convene transformed its demand generation, streamlined event operations, and built a foundation for sustainable, relationship-driven growth. These methods can be used by any hospitality company to expand their reach and build reliable new relationships with event professionals and corporate businesses.