If you’re in the market for event management software and have no idea where to begin, we’ve got you covered. Our comparison of Tripleseat vs Planning Pod looks into the two different software platforms, their top features, and their price points.
Both apps offer numerous features and tools to support event management for conference centers, hotels, venues, and other large concepts. The question is, which one is right for your business? And should you consider an alternative, such as Perfect Venue, instead?
About Tripleseat
Software Overview
Tripleseat is a platform designed to streamline guest and event management for businesses with complex requirements. Their software offers various products to different groups within the hospitality sector, including hotels, chains, and large restaurants.
Tripleseat has many of the key features businesses are looking for in event management software — a lead form that integrates with your website, a single place to track all events, automatic BEOs, secure online guest payments, and more.
Who is Tripleseat for?
Tripleseat’s management software is better suited to larger chains. It is designed for and used by various companies within the hospitality industry, including unique venues, hotels, event companies, and large chain restaurants.
Top Features
Tripleseat’s features are designed with enterprise customers in mind. Some of the main features include a CRM, guest portal, event management platform, a comprehensive activity dashboard, multi-facility management, online billing, and the ability to generate reports.
Users can create and customize invoices with unique logos, branding, colors, and fonts. They can also generate proposals and event orders which are incorporated into their billing and booking systems. Automations help with event management by updating clients, caterers, and event planners with the latest details regarding their events.
Powered by a dashboard designed for large teams, all event information is stored in one place. From this point, teams can access details of the event, including times, locations, floor plans, and menus. A centralized digital calendar makes it possible to see events and availability across your locations.
Businesses can bill their customers online via the PCI-compliant payment portal. The platform processes card payments, tracks online payments, and can generate financial reports for the company. This convenience does come at a higher price tag than most other platforms, though, as Tripleseat charges an added payment processing fee on top of the processor, cutting into your revenue.
Pricing
Pricing is not readily available for Tripleseat’s software. However, we hear that it is usually around $3,000/year for a single location, plus the added credit card processing fees. You can request a pricing quote on their website, and your monthly fees will be largely dependent on the services and tools you require.
Unlike Planning Pod, Tripleseat does not offer a free trial of its management software.
About Planning Pod
Software Overview
Planning Pod is an all-in-one platform to manage event bookings, event planning, ticketing, and floor planning for event and banquet spaces. Teams use it across the event lifecycle to track event details from the dashboard, automate processes, and work collaboratively.
The software provides many must-have features for larger venues that have multiple sales managers, including account and document customization, integrations, reports, and PCI-compliant payment processing.
Who is Planning Pod for?
Planning Pod is a complex event planning tool that can be used by conference centers, large event organizers, and other complicated event businesses (not just venues!).
Top Features
Because Planning Pod is geared toward more complex operations, it is understandably feature-heavy.
Teams access a dashboard where they can view and edit a centralized bookings calendar, lead details, tasks, contacts, and reports. They can also generate branded proposals and documents, as well as respond to leads and inquiries.
When it comes to integrations, connections via Zapier or direct integrations are available with many popular software platforms. Notable integrations include Quickbooks, Salesforce, Microsoft Outlook, Dropbox, and Gmail. Planning Pod also supports payment processing via Square and Stripe - however they also charge an added processing fee like Tripleseat that cuts into your revenue. Systems like Perfect Venue offer plans that offer credit card processing at cost so you can keep everything you make.
Like Tripleseat, Planning Pod has a client portal. This is a space where customers can view or sign documents, complete forms, and action requests. They can also make payments, view their BEOs, and download menu pdfs.
Pricing
The biggest disadvantage of Planning Pod’s pricing is that they charge based on the number of events, so you may end up paying a lot more than you planned. They also charge additional payment processing fees that cut into your bottom line.
Although Planning Pod comes in under the cost of Tripleseat, this event management software is still on the pricier side. It can easily come in at over $1,000/year plus Stripe’s 3.2% processing fee. That said, there is a 14-day free trial on offer to test the software out.
Conclusion
Pinpointing the right software to use really depends on the type of company you run and the functionality you need. Both platforms are designed to suit event spaces with complex requirements and large teams. Tripleseat leans toward national chains and hotel groups, while Planning Pod speaks to conference planners and event centers with changing floor plans.
If you’re in the market for a more straightforward platform without the complex tools and higher price tag, we recommend checking out Perfect Venue. It’s simple to use, the features are designed with independent event venues in mind, and it’s affordable.
You can put the platform through its paces by signing up for a free plan. It only takes a matter of minutes to get started. Alternatively, contact us for a demo, and we’ll gladly show you the ropes.
