View the entire 2009 SMMP Software Buying Guide

THE MARKETING EXPERTS
Lenos

The Story: Lenos Software was founded in 1999 to develop software solutions to manage meetings and events; in particular, says Patti Tackeff, “to track and report ROI, since meetings and events are critical for building strong, more meaningful, and profitable business relationships.” As a dedicated software company, Lenos has its product management, engineering, and support centralized in San Francisco.

Product Type: SaaS

For Meeting Management:

• Meeting request and approval
• Enterprise calendar
• Planner resource management
• Venue database/e-RFPs
• Budget management
• Attendee management, including registration, surveys, and e-marketing
• Custom reports on cost savings, cost avoidance, and spend, aggregated or segregated as needed

Supplier Database? Yes, created by Lenos. Supplier listings link directly to hotels’ own Web sites. “The Lenos Supplier Database is free of supplier fees and advertising to eliminate potential conflict of interest and bias and to ensure transparency for compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley,” Tackeff emphasizes. “Clients (licensees) can add their own suppliers to customize and expand the Lenos database for their specific account.”

Supplier Database Marketing Packages: None. “Lenos does not solicit nor accept payments from suppliers to be listed or advertise because it is an inducement to purchase for enterprise clients,” Tackeff says. “It has inherent potential conflicts of interest and creates bias.”

Do you get commissions or finder’s fees from hotels? No.

RFP Customization: “Lenos clients create their own RFP templates to reflect different meeting types and lines of business,” says Tackeff. “Each template can be copied, modified, and reused as needed. “

What are the different ways hotels can respond to your RFPs? Hotels receive Lenos-generated RFPs via e-mail. The Lenos RFP engine enables negotiations, cost-avoidance tracking, benchmarking, and reporting. RFPs are branded by the licensee client as a qualified lead.

What do corporate enterprise clients pay for? An annual license based on the number of users, programs, geography, and modules selected. For corporate enterprises, the preferred payment is a monthly or annual subscription fee. Partner companies may elect preferred payment that is transaction-based.

Credit-Card Partner? None

Enhancements: Bimonthly, based on client feedback and the Lenos corporate product road map.

Support: 24/7, based on Service Level Agreements; support personnel based in San Francisco

Our Differentiators: “First is our ease of use. Custom Web sites, RFPs, budgets, and meeting request forms are created by clients without the need for coding or knowledge of HTML,” says Tackeff. “They get custom branding without the software engineers!” Second is flexibility. Lenos is scalable for small meetings to large-conference management. Third is the advertising-free environment. Fourth, Tackeff says, “our core competency is innovative software solutions for the meetings and events industry. We partner with service providers for their complementary expertise. It’s the same as when a corporation licenses enterprise-wide financial management software—the accountants are not included.”

Other SMMP Software profiles:
Arcaneo Metron
Cvent
Lenos
StarCite
Certain Software
Meeting Evolution