EMS Software is an enterprise space management, event, class and resource scheduling application acquired and now supported by Accruent in June 2018.
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Cvent Event Management
Score 8.0 out of 10
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Cvent is a cloud-based enterprise event management company with nearly 4,000 employees and over 300,000 users worldwide. Cvent offers software solutions to event planners and marketers for online event registration, venue selection, event management and marketing, onsite solutions, email marketing, and attendee engagement. Cvent's suite of products automate and simplify the planning process to maximize the impact of events. Cvent provides hoteliers with an integrated platform, enabling…
Accruent EMS is well-suited when it comes to room utilization and transparency but with regards to onboarding other departments such as A/V and Catering, it becomes a challenge because there are other software that meets the needs of these departments that EMS does not have. The use of multiple systems for other departments is a nuisance especially with inventory mangement.
Cvent Event Management has streamlined our processes, allowing a small staff to manage our events effortlessly. From event set-up through feedback, the software integrates all elements, reducing duplication of effort. Our contact database tracks our membership, allowing us to charge the appropriate registration cost and send event emails based on registration type. Using the Attendee Hub App, we have eliminated the paper program and communicate instantaneously with our attendees. Printing the badges onsite has allowed us to keep registration open longer and gain more attendees.
It's user friendly. By doing a little self-exploration one can find out the many features that EMS offers.
It is simple to add or remove conference rooms and provide details of the conference rooms.
I appreciate that there are different ways of reserving conference rooms. This allows each user to feel comfortable in their use of EMS by finding what works best for them.
Incredible complexity on the back end. While its highly configurable nature lends to flexibility, it also makes it a challenge to manage.
Support has not been as quick as we'd like when we've needed to reach out.
Most likely due to the company recently changing hands, we had real trouble with their billing department attempting to double charge us for our services, and sorting it out took 6 months of back and forth.
Allowing more in depth paths for registration questions (i.e. drill-down questions as needed)
Hotel widget does not model in a user-friendly way, allowing for customer confusion and cumbersome work-arounds
Flex Email customization widgets need to integrate into the emails more smoothly and be able to customize to have the same look, feel, font of the written text. At this time it does not allow for the same level of customization.
Accruent EMS has always been a one-stop-shop for our organization when it comes to scheduling conference rooms, offices, apartments, services, etc. It has a wide array of reporting, and what isn't set up as a standard report, can usually be created as a query to report on the information you are looking for. Accruent EMS has pushed out new releases with updates to bugs and other add-ins and stays current and up-to-date with market trends.
We are very pleased with the features that Cvent gives us. The ease of use and the immediate support when something does stump us. Cvent provides us with everything that we need to run a successful event. The only reason I did not Rate Cvent as a 10 is the cost
Most new users would greatly benefit from (or possibly require) at least some training on how to use EMS, but the training doesn't need to be extensive for the users to get comfortable with it. Most functions are easy and straightforward, so users tend to not have many issues with it.
Overall, Cvent Event Management is a highly usable platform, with a user-friendly interface and a wide range of features and tools to help plan, promote, and manage events. The platform is designed to be intuitive, allowing users to easily navigate and access the various features and functionalities. One of the key benefits of Cvent Event Management's usability is its high level of customization. The platform offers a range of customization options, allowing users to tailor the platform to their specific needs and branding. This can include custom registration forms, event websites, email communications, and more. Additionally, Cvent Event Management provides robust data analytics and reporting, enabling users to gain insights into attendee behavior, event performance, and ROI. The platform also offers real-time reporting, which can be particularly useful during an event, allowing organizers to monitor attendance and event progress. While there may be a learning curve for some of the more advanced features, overall, the platform is highly usable and intuitive and we have had positive experiences with the platform's usability, citing its ease of use, customization options, and comprehensive feature set as key benefits.
Currently I can only access EMS from my work computer, from in my office, on campus. While I'm sure this isn't an Accruent issue, and mostly our IT issue, Accruent hasn't exactly stepped up and tried to help when these issues have been addressed.
Cvent does go down pretty frequently. And while it often doesn't impact day to day use usually, if it does go down at the wrong time, you may not be able to access very important event information when you need it. Usually outages do not last very long, but it could still be a very bad situation if this happens at the wrong moment
The only other software we use in conjunction with EMS is Epaper Signs by Visix. Once we worked out the initial bugs, the integration has been seamless. It does not slow down our software or cause any errors. Our signs are updated every 15 minutes with any problems.
Since the merger, our team has found that there are a select few of the tech team that can actually support our questions. More often than not, we have already tried the suggestions that they give us and they are either unable to answer our questions and submit them as update suggestions or they have to be sent to supervisor for an answer. Once or twice in the last year we have received bad advice that resulted in system issues. Prior to last year, the customer support system was at the top of the list of tech support departments that I have ever had to deal with, especially during our upgrade to 4.0.
I have very rarely needed support, but when I did, it seemed that there was an underlying push for a webinar, training session, or multiple phone calls. If I have a question or a need, that should be addressed nothing else.
Our on-site trainer was very knowledgeable in the product and gave us very important pointers on best practices and how to perform tasks in the simplest manner
It was great but could have been a little better. I feel like there are different ways to use some of the software and some of that was not explained. I think at the time the training was great but now that we are more experienced with the product I can see we missed training based on what part of EMS the instructor thought we were going to use.
I think one of the biggest things is to step back and see how you want your organization to function and use the product prior to quickly diving in and configuring. I think some (based on some EMS Live conference sessions I attended) built their systems on how they used their old systems or old processes, but thinking about how you want your organization to function moving forward will help you configure it the best way and make the necessary changes from the start rather than having to go back and adjust.
It would have been nice during implementation if we had received more pointers on how to organize our parked report folders, libraries, etc. to avoid the mess we find ourselves in today. If we had known ahead of time the limitations we could have planned better.
[Accruent] EMS is very robust, and a great all in one solution for hospitality and Event management needs. I have dealt with a few other software solutions in the past that try to handle event planning and management, but have run into the need to have multiple solutions to handle all those needs.
Eventbrite is not able to handle the complex registration forms that Cvent can. It does not collect as much information, cannot produce the save level of reports, and does not allow for multi-leveled and/or multiple registration types within one form. Being able to offer, and compare, those is vital to determining our ROI and event planning efforts. Additionally, Eventbrite does not provide as many customizable options or branding opportunities.
We purchased the client, web version, and Outlook plug-in. I'll be honest, we haven't pushed the email part, but I did test it and liked it. After the old program we placed, I have simply been gun-shy about implementing another email plug-in. However, the client for the super users to get department alerts, etc. and the web version for all users to create reservations has been fabulous and easy to use and understand.
The most noticeable improvements in our usage of EMS is our ability to process requests more efficiently using a standardized form that has a professional presentation. Before we began using EMS, we processed our parking requests by simply typing an email with a few details. Pricing was jumbled in with the wording and clients often did not read the fine print. EMS has definitely made an impact with projecting a professional image to our clients when they receive confirmations and invoices.
