PlanSoft Corp., Twinsburg, Ohio, has launched a new program that will eliminate request for proposal (RFP) commission fees on transactions between planners and facilities. Third-party site selection firms generally receive up to a 10 percent commission fee on hotel business they book.

"This strategic step is a first in our industry," says David K. Hunt, PlanSoft’s CEO. "It brings a new level of low cost efficiency to meeting professionals and more streamlined business to hotels." A company press release says that hotels and planners both are "enthusiastic about a self-serve, zero percent commission product offering."

The Internet B2B firm’s meeting destination site, www.mpoint.com, allows meeting planners to conduct facility searches and send RFPs to more than 30,000 hotels and facilities, without any associated fees or restrictions, according to company-supplied information. The commission-free service will initially apply to RFPs sent from public Web sites powered by PlanSoft.

PlanSoft also says that it is planning to introduce more low-cost, self-serve products and services in the near future.