Get started

Conference centers

Conference center management software, from inquiry to event day

You sell a general session, breakouts, an exhibit hall, and meals, over several days, often to an agency. Joinways keeps every room, every day, and every slot on the same event, and follows the proposal from version to version through final payment.

Start your free trialWatch the demo

30-day free trial, no credit card. From $69 per venue per month, unlimited users.

Illustration of a contemporary conference center and its reflecting pool, managed with Joinways
Rated 5.0/5 on G2
  • DayOff
  • Snapdragon Stadium
  • Shaner
  • Daymaker
  • Lenny Boy Brewing Co.
  • Queens Museum
Where it breaks

Your events take several rooms and several days, and every change gets carried over by hand

The RFP arrives by email, you keep the calendar somewhere else, you rebuild every proposal version, and operations get a printed timeline. Each time the guest count or the program changes, everything has to be updated. Here's where it breaks down.

Illustration: a conference center between two sessions, two technicians closing an airwall across rows of chairs and a bare stage

  1. The RFP lands with one salesperson, the agency's follow-up with another, and the history gets pieced back together by hand

    With Joinways

    Emails land in one inbox, every inquiry read. The email and its attached RFP sit on the event, for the whole team

  2. The divisible room gets sold whole to one client and as two half-rooms to another, and the conflict shows up at load-in

    With Joinways

    A divisible room is set up as a combination of its sections: booking the whole blocks each section, and booking one section blocks the whole

  3. The general session looks free on the calendar while the previous day's load-in already takes it, and the 60-person breakout lands in a room that seats 40 theater-style

    With Joinways

    Each room counts its load-in and load-out time, and load-in days are booked on the event. Each room has its capacity by layout, and going over it is flagged

  4. The agency asks for three versions of the proposal in a month, and nobody knows which one was signed or who to invoice

    With Joinways

    Each amendment replaces the previous version, which you can still open. The proposal goes to the end client, the agency, or another company, with the purchase order number

  5. AV, catering, and registration work from a timeline printed a few days out, which has changed since

    With Joinways

    The BEO is kept by day and by department. Every recipient has an up-to-date link, and you see who has read which version

Related product pages: Clients

In Joinways

The product, screen by screen

Illustration: product mock-up with fictional example data (names, venues, and amounts are invented).

In practice

What you can check during the trial

On your own inquiries, alongside your current tools.

Every room of a convention on one event

The general session, breakouts, and exhibit hall each have their slots, day by day, with their name and guest count.

Lost inquiries, and why

Every declined inquiry keeps its reason (date, capacity, budget). Reports show the ones lost for lack of a slot, source by source.

30 days

Free trial, alongside your tools

The full Pro plan, unlimited users, with 3 e-signatures included. No credit card.

Use cases

Your formats, and what Joinways does for each

Multi-room, multi-day events.

  1. Conferences, conventions, and trade shows

    General session, breakouts, exhibits, and catering over several days: one event, one versioned proposal, and one BEO per day.

  2. Annual meetings and talks

    Theater layout, tech booth, sign-in: the room's capacity in that layout is checked on the event.

  3. Offsites, day meetings, and galas

    A day meeting package priced per person, a room at a flat rate, a gala dinner in the reception space: the proposal follows the guest count.

Go further: Inquiries · Proposals & e-signature

Buyer's guide

How to choose conference center management software

Your events take several rooms, several days, and several proposal versions. Six points to check in the software, and what Joinways does for each.

  1. Divisible rooms never sell twice

    A room with airwalls sells whole or by section. Check that the software knows those combinations and blocks one when the other is taken. In Joinways, each section is a space, and the full room is their combination. Booking the whole blocks each section, booking one section blocks the whole, and the conflict is flagged before you confirm.

  2. Load-in takes the room on the calendar

    A general session room that looks free on the calendar can be in the middle of load-in. Check that the tool counts setup and teardown time, as well as multi-day load-ins. In Joinways, each room counts up to one day of setup and teardown around its slots. Beyond that, load-in days are booked on the event.

  3. Capacity is checked in the right layout

    A 60-person breakout doesn't fit in a room that seats 40 theater-style. Check that each room keeps its capacity by layout. In Joinways, each room has its capacity in theater, classroom, banquet, cabaret, reception, U-shape, or boardroom layout. You pick the layout for each room on the event, and going over capacity is flagged.

  4. The proposal keeps its versions

    An agency often asks for several alternatives before signing, then an amendment when the program changes. Check that the tool keeps every version readable and only lets the right one be signed. In Joinways, you duplicate a proposal for an alternative, and an amendment replaces the signed proposal. Every version stays available, and only the current one can be signed.

  5. The payer isn't always the client

    An agency or a professional organizer often pays on behalf of its client. Check that proposals and invoices accept another recipient and a purchase order number. Joinways addresses the proposal to the end client, the agency, another company, or the booking platform. The deposit is a separate invoice, and the final invoice comes from the current proposal.

  6. Each department has the day's BEO

    AV, catering, registration desk, and security work on different days. Check that the software produces a BEO for each day and keeps it current for everyone. In Joinways, the BEO is kept by day and by department, each recipient has an up-to-date link, and you see who has read which version. Joinways doesn't handle attendee registration.

Frequently asked questions

The essentials: running a conference center

You host conferences, conventions, annual meetings, trade shows, offsites, and galas. Your inquiries come from agencies, professional meeting planners, companies, and booking platforms. A single event takes several rooms over several days, and its proposal keeps changing until the end. Joinways, event venue management software, gathers these inquiries, books rooms day by day and follows the proposal through to signature.
  • Inquiries from agencies, companies, and booking platforms in one inbox, with every email tracked on its event
  • Divisible rooms sold whole or by section, with no double booking
  • Slots per room and per day, each with its name, hours, and guest count, with load-in and load-out time counted
  • A proposal that keeps its versions: each amendment replaces the previous one, and the history stays readable
  • A BEO by day and by department, with a personal link for each vendor

What is conference center management software?

It's the tool that follows every event at a conference or convention center, from inquiry to final payment. It handles combined and divisible rooms, slots per room and per day, load-in time, and capacities by layout. The proposal keeps its versions, and the BEO is kept by day.

Does Joinways read the RFP PDF?

No. Joinways reads the inquiry email: dates, guest count, company, and stated budget. The PDF stays attached to the email, which your team finds on the event.

How do I manage a divisible room with airwalls?

You set up each section as a space, then the full room as their combination. The calendar no longer lets you sell the full room and one of its sections in the same slot: the conflict is flagged before you confirm.

Does a two-day load-in block the general session room?

Each room counts up to one day of setup and teardown around its slots. For a longer load-in, you book the load-in days on the event, and the room shows as taken on the calendar.

Can I send several versions of a proposal to an agency?

Yes. You duplicate a proposal to offer an alternative, and an amendment replaces the signed proposal when the program changes. Every version stays available, and only the current one can be signed.

Does a conference center get booking platform inquiries in Joinways, alongside agency ones?

Yes. Booking platforms notify your conference center by email, and Joinways reads those emails in the inbox you connect, like inquiries from agencies and organizers. The date, attendee count, and stated budget are picked up. When the platform is the one billing the client, the proposal can be addressed to it.

How do convention centers manage bookings in Joinways?

Each inquiry becomes an event that brings together its rooms, days, and slots. The calendar blocks divisible rooms whole or by section, counts load-in and load-out, and checks capacity by layout. The event stays on hold until the proposal is signed, which confirms it.

Does Joinways handle attendee registration and badges?

No. Registration, ticketing, and badges stay in the organizer's tool or in yours. Joinways handles what you sell to the organizer: rooms, food and beverage, AV, the proposal, invoices, and the BEO. When the expected attendance changes, an amendment updates the proposal.

Can the proposal price a meeting package per person and the rooms at a flat rate?

Yes. Each catalog line has its pricing mode: flat rate, per person, or tiered. The day meeting package is priced per person with its breaks and lunch, the general session room rents at a flat rate, and the total follows the guest count. A single proposal can carry several tax rates.

How much does conference center management software cost?

Joinways is billed per venue, by its number of spaces. Billed annually, it's $69 a month for 1 to 5 spaces, $119 for 6 to 12, and $199 for 13 to 25, before tax. Each section of a divisible room counts as one space, and their combinations aren't added. Beyond 25 spaces, the plan is custom.

Can an international organizer read the proposal in their language?

Yes. You write the proposal once, in your own language, for all your clients. When the organizer opens it online in another language, they see the title, the lines, and the terms translated. The original prevails: the signed PDF stays in your language.

Does Joinways connect to our other tools?

Yes. Gmail and Outlook connect in two minutes, and confirmed events show up in Google Calendar or Outlook Calendar. Invoices are issued on Stripe, Qonto, or QuickBooks, or sent to Pennylane. For your other tools, Joinways works through Zapier or its REST API, included in the Pro plan.

Pricing is public: from $69 per venue per month depending on venue size, with a 30-day free trial. See pricing

Related solutions

Momentus (Ungerboeck)Venue booking calendar

More solutions

Hotels & resortsCorporate events & offsitesManage incoming inquiriesEvent venue CRM

Related resources

Hybrid events at B2B venues: real opportunity or passing trend?Multi-venue management: how to centralize inquiries across your sitesEvent venue RFPs: respond faster and win more oftenBlog

Related pages

Reply faster to event inquiries

Your conventions and meetings,
from inquiry to event day

Connect your venue's inbox and see your open inquiries. 30-day free trial, no credit card.

Start your free trialWatch the demo