Venue management software is the system that convention centres, stadiums, exhibition halls and arts venues use to rent out their space, schedule each booking and run each event on the day. It is also called venue booking software or event venue management software. A large venue may host several events at once, in different halls, each with its own rooms, seating, food, sound equipment and staff. The software keeps all of it in one place, so that two events are never given the same hall, and every team knows what it has to do.
A booking usually passes through four stages. First, an organiser enquires about dates. The venue puts a tentative hold on a hall: the hall is kept for that organiser for a few days, but nothing is signed. Second, the organiser signs a contract and pays a deposit, and the hold becomes a confirmed booking. Third, the venue's team plans the event with the organiser: room layouts, chairs, stages, meals, audio-visual equipment, cleaning and security. Fourth, on the day, each team works from its own list of tasks, and any extra items are recorded so that they can be billed.
For instance, a medical association wants to hold a three-day conference at a convention centre in Bengaluru, for 2,500 doctors. Eleven months before the event, its organiser asks for the main hall and six smaller rooms in February. The software shows that the main hall is free on those dates, and places a tentative hold for 14 days. The association signs the contract and pays a 25% deposit. Over the following months, the plan is built in the software: the main hall set for 2,000 people in theatre style, the six rooms for 150 people each, lunch for 2,500 on each day, and two projectors in every room. The software turns this plan into work orders for the catering, technical and housekeeping teams. On the second day, the organiser asks for 200 more lunches. The duty manager records the change, the kitchen is told at once, and the extra lunches appear on the final invoice.
Venues that sell tickets, such as stadiums and arts centres, also keep their seating plans in this software. The plan for each event is sent to an online ticketing platform, which sells the seats. The venue's door staff and gates may be run by physical access control systems.
How is this different from an event management platform? An event platform is used by the organiser. It handles registrations, the agenda and the attendees' badges. Venue management software is used by the venue. It handles the halls, the bookings, the staff and the invoices. Small businesses that book by the hour, such as salons and gyms, use salon and spa software instead. Booking a court or a turf is described in sports venue booking apps.