IVVY LAUNCHES IN NORTH AMERICA AS EXPANSION CONTINUES

QUEENSLAND-BASED events and hospitality technology company IVvy has entered the North American market, offering an online alternative to the traditional request-for-proposal meetings model that promises to save planners and venues time and money.

The company, which this week opened an office in New York, made its mark in the hospitality industry by creating the first global distribution system for meetings and events that provides real-time availability, rates and inventory for function space, catering, group accommodation and event suppliers.

IVvy also developed and introduced an integrated revenue management and distribution platform for meetings venues to manage inquiries and bookings, drive inbound revenue and enhance reporting and visibility, optimizing operations and the guest experience.

"Today we give notice that the meetings business in North America never will be the same," said Lauren Hall, iVvy cofounder and CEO, speaking on the floor of HITEC 2017 Toronto, the world's largest hospitality technology show.

"As TripAdvisor is to accommodations, Google is to air travel and Amazon is to consumer trade, iVvy wants to disrupt the events industry by giving meeting planners more real-time control and availability of information on a local and global scale."

The company has grown rapidly since its founding in 2009, gaining 12,000 users in 13 countries.

IVvy's cloud-based event management platform enables meeting planners to work virtually using computers, tablets or smartphones. Among other capabilities, iVvy provides tools for planners to create custom event websites featuring online registration and hotel and airline bookings.

Planners also can manage sponsors and guest speakers, assign seating, accept payments and promote their events with iVvy via integrated email, text and social media tools.

Business News Australia