Aventri vs. Bizly

I believe Aventri has a big learning curve, so if you are short on time, I would recommend hiring someone who already has experience. We had a few months, but making changes took a while because only two staff members had time to figure out and learn the system. I don't think the website is very user-friendly, but I don't think it's so hard that the average worker cannot learn it. We happened to be short on time so learning the system was an added stress that would not normally be there.

Incentivized

1. Bizly is well suited if you're short on headcount resources and are looking for a platform that can assist with the lift of sourcing venues and managing logistics of a venue.
2. Bizly is also well suited when there are pre-defined agreements your organization requires a venue to sign/adhere to. I really appreciated being able to upload those agreements and attach them with any sourcing requests.
3. Bizly is an excellent source of unique ideas and a database to get a sense of properties prior to booking.

The teams functions of Bizly could have been better. Setting up people with different payment options or granting other users permission to utilize the tool was very much a growing pain when we were piloting the program. I'm not sure if those have been addressed since. Their database could be much bigger and would love to see this in international space (at least Canada and the UK for sure).

Incentivized

• Manages class size limits very well.
• Provides information for hotel booking and transfers so that all this information is in one record.
• Unlimited number of pages for the website is invaluable - we looked at other programs with only 4 pages for the website and that just isn't enough for our clients.

Incentivized

• Sourcing unique location ideas for events
• Managing numerous bookings on one platform

Incentivized

• Mobile app does not allow for video advertisements.
• The day the event is scheduled to be over in Aventri it clears from your list and it makes getting reporting and analytics difficult after the event is over.

Incentivized

• Slow response rate at times (concierge service)
• No international presence at the time of use

Incentivized

I had a few issues while onsite (over the weekend). The support information given to me was incorrect and I had a hard time tracking down how to get assistance while onsite (on a weekend). When you are onsite, issues are usually heightened and need an immediate response, and I didn't get that.

Incentivized

The Bizly team bent over backward to make sure we were taken care of. As we were one of their larger clients at the time, they listened to product feedback and implemented many of the changes we were hoping to see. They were also quick to respond when I reached out directly.

Incentivized

SignUp4 was our previous service and performed well. It wasn't until after it shuttered that we realized how much more could be provided. Cvent (which absorbed SignUp4) provided many of the old solutions but at a significantly higher price. In the end, it seemed more suited for very large events more so than the size we normally run. Thus we chose eTouches to supplant SignUp4.

Incentivized

Bizly's concierge service was the differentiator here. The ability to simply send a message to the concierge team with a date, area, headcount, etc. and have them respond with several options was a godsend on numerous occasions

Incentivized

• Much more thorough reporting than previous provider.
• The ability for long term goal creation based on the objectives evaluated post conference.

Incentivized

• Reduced sourcing time
• Saved research time in looking for locations

Incentivized