CWT launches online platform to save companies money on small meetings

CWT Meetings & Events has launched a new direct booking platform for small meetings to centralise and speed up the event planning process.

The platform, which is called CWT Easy Meetings, gives meeting organisers access to over 250,000 meeting rooms in hotels (both independent and chain), as well as venues and event spaces in more than 90 countries.

Using the new platform, meeting planners can source and book venues, AV equipment and food and beverage packages. It also provides companies with greater visibility and control over their small meetings so they can better manage costs, compliance, and employee safety and security.

“Before the pandemic, many of our clients spent up to 70 per cent of their meetings and events budget on small meetings,” said Chris Bowen, senior vice president and managing director of 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.”

“Surprisingly, however, 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.”

The standard version of the platform is free for any meeting organiser to use and allows planners to easily search, compare and instantly book meetings.

Companies can also tailor the look and feel of the platform to match their own corporate branding and upload pre-negotiated rates and unique venues that can only be accessed by their employees.

Preferred venues and partners can be highlighted within the tool and made to appear at the top of the search results. Payment modes can also be configured so that users don’t have to enter this information every time they book.