VenuesIn: more than just an event planning agency

In a market where organizing an event can mean weeks of contacts, comparisons, and unclear decisions, VenuesIn proposes a different approach: simplify, accelerate, and add value. Rodrigo Néné explains how.

When Rodrigo Néné worked in the hotel industry, he quickly realized that the biggest obstacle wasn’t always convincing clients to hold events at their venues. Often, it was the inability to help them. Sometimes the problem was date availability, other times the location, and frequently the budget or compliance with specific industry requirements. Rodrigo Néné was thus forced to forgo business and refer clients to others.
It was from this “informal referral” that VenuesIn was born. The objectives were clear: to reduce the time wasted searching for, comparing, and negotiating venues for corporate events, replacing the fragmented process (contacting multiple hotels, gathering different responses, compiling information, and presenting it to the decision-maker) with a fast and comparable curation model. The company officially started on January 2, 2019, and began with the bare minimum: “I quit my job… sold my motorcycle, and had €2,500 in my account to start the company.”

A free service for the customer.

VenuesIn’s starting point was an operational commitment: to respond with three or more options within 24 business hours, which Rodrigo translates as “three working days” without VenuesIn’s intervention, with a
comparative presentation. “The client gives us the briefing, we respond with 3 or more proposals, with some analysis data, price comparisons, availability and other information.”
The commercial logic is simple: for the client, the service can be free; VenuesIn is remunerated through commissions from the venues and, in some cases, through representation contracts with hotels that cannot maintain robust sales teams. “We have representation contracts… ‘stand-alone’ hotels… and we also have a sales team ,” he explains, describing the company as a kind of external extension of the sales area of ​​these venues.
Over time, the service evolved: “Clients are also looking for, in addition to venue finding, event organization management and payment processing ,” because for multinationals it is more efficient not to have to manage “50 different suppliers .” The result was a hybrid model: free venue finding and, when the client requests it, complete operation, 360-degree management with a fee, “like any event agency . “

Before choosing the space, brands must choose the “why”.

For Rodrigo Néné, the classic mistake in initial conversations with those looking to organize an event is starting with the “where” without addressing the “why .” VenuesIn attempts to reverse this approach: “The purpose and the target audience ,” he emphasizes, should be the two initial questions. An event can be a meeting, a team-building activity, or a celebration, and the profile of the participants dictates everything, from geography to format: “If the target audience is in Lisbon, taking them to Bragança doesn’t make much sense, if we’re talking about, for example, a one-day event.”
The goal, he insists, is to avoid inconsistent decisions. The right space isn’t “the prettiest,” but the one that fits the purpose, audience, and budget.

The proposed value: volume, comparison and “cross-know-how”

VenuesIn positions itself as an ally of internal teams, not as a competitor: “We are always allies, because we are providing tools and not charging for the service.” The difference, he says, is the volume and scope. While an internal manager handles events for that company, VenuesIn works “with more than 20 clients” and travels throughout the North, South, and islands, accumulating references, benchmarks, and constant learning.

Another aspect to highlight is the transfer of practices between industries: “Bringing know-how from one industry to another.” A recent example is the creation of a cost calculator inspired by popular tools in other sectors. The idea is to allow for a quick estimate to help companies budget and easily obtain a first approach to the necessary investment cost.

The biggest waste? It doesn’t always happen where you expect it to.

According to VenuesIn, the waste of resources can begin with an obsession with image and end with the most basic element: the food. “Clients want to invest in lighting, sound… but then forget that if there isn’t good catering, guests will only remember that the meal wasn’t enjoyable .” The objectives were clear; the company issued this warning from the start because some choices are costly to reputation, where every detail counts and the experience should be emotional and memorable.

The relationship is still a “secret”.

Despite the popularity of digital tools and the ambition to automate processes, Rodrigo always comes back to the same point: “Relationships are always important!” For him, the competitive advantage lies in presence and attention to detail. “It’s important to be with clients, to know, for example, that a certain executive likes to have mini Pastéis de Nata (Portuguese custard tarts) at their coffee break… it’s about paying attention to detail to surprise them.”

Technology can shorten distances, he says, but it doesn’t replace the connection. “We’re not robots ,” he says, arguing that the human touch and attention to what’s not in the briefing is what leads to loyalty and recommendations.

And then what? An “ERP for events” and internationalization.

What might cease to make sense within five years? For Rodrigo, it’s the current scenario of scattered and fragmented information. VenuesIn is investing in digitalization to centralize operations, information, and communication: “Centralizing everything in a single space and moving all operations to a platform with APIs.” When confronted with the image, he agrees: “It’s a kind of ERP for events… exactly!”

The company has also begun to expand its horizons: “We want to start operations in Florida, for example.” The company works with both incoming (companies that come to Portugal to hold events) and outgoing (clients who want to take events to other destinations). The national team is lean: seven people. International execution, when it involves on-site management, can therefore rely on local partners.