The Chicago Convention and Tourism Bureau introduced an online tool that helps meeting planners book small meetings in the city.

The online service, called ez-Meetings, allows planners to book meetings with up to 150 rooms at hotels throughout the city. Ez-Meetings is accessible at the bureau’s Web site, www.choosechicago.com, or by clicking here.

From the Web site, users can submit requests for proposal to Chicago hotels as an attachment or by entering the RFP information into an online form. Planners can also elect to send their RFP to hotels based on a particular location, such as downtown, or certain criteria. The lead is sent electronically to the hotels that fit the profile.

The tool also has an online reporting mechanism that allows clients to log in and review the status of their leads review responses from the hotels, make changes to their RFP, and submit their RFP to additional hotels. American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine, Rosemont, Ill., and Carlsbad, Calif.-based meeting planning company Concepts Worldwide have already used the new tool successfully, according to the bureau.