The dot-com consolidation continues: Event411.com (www.event411.com), an online event registration service, has acquired MeetUP.com, a Vancouver, B.C.-based online housing reservation and hotel block management service, giving event organizers complete registration capabilities.

Steven Koltai, Event411's chairman and CEO, announced the news at October's Incentive Travel & Meeting Executives trade show in Chicago and rolled out PremierPlanner 2.5, an updated version of Event411's invitation software, which claims the Democratic National Convention 2000 as a client.

PremierPlanner 2.5 "delivers robust new features including planner-defined online registration forms, in-depth reporting tools, attendee profiling, targeted e-mail marketing, the ability to create custom Web sites, and a streamlined interface for planners to more intuitively navigate through the tools," says Koltai. "We've invested $3 million in this product." Event411's planning, registration, messaging, and to-do list functions are tailored to the professional planner. Too daunting? A project manager and client services representative will walk you through your first event.

With the MeetUP purchase, Event411 now allows meeting attendees to compare room prices, amenities, and real-time availability of blocked hotel rooms and book, modify, or cancel room reservations at the hotel of their choice 24/7.