Welcome to the home of business tourism & event software

Velvet Software is a leading provider of conference, event and accommodation tools for organisations, conference destinations and individuals. Our products are used by corporate clients, the British Association of Conference Destinations (BACD), conference bureaux and individuals throughout the UK to improve communication and collaboration between work colleagues and to provide on-line services to clients.

"The industry standard"

Market leaders in on-line accommodation, registration and enquiry handling software, Velvet have been supplying systems to UK conference destinations since 1997 and are widely recognised as users' preferred choice of systems. We work with more UK conference destinations than any other software supplier.

 

Our Products

• ConferenceBOOKINGS.co.uk On-line accommodation booking
• Reg.istrations.com On-line delegate registration
• Chaser BUREAU Conference enquiry handling & proposal

 

Our experienced team have over 20 years combined experience in the conference industry working with conference destinations, event organisers and tourist boards. Our ability to explain complex systems in non-technical terms and deliver innovative solutions to clients maintains Velvet Software as the leading conference industry software provider.

Vacancies

We are always looking for exceptional individuals to join our team - if you have a passion for software development, open source technologies and general interest in "geeky" technology we'll get along just fine! A knowledge of the conference and events industry would be advantageous however, it is by no means essential as you'll learn quickly! In particular we are currently looking for the following individuals:

Experienced Ruby on Rails Developer - Position now taken.

Ruby on Rails developer  - You will have a passion for software development and care about the usability of the end product. We're looking for someone who is passionate about their work, about not just the code that gets written, but the way it's done. The process matters to you, we hope.

Contact Us

We're always delighted to hear from existing and potential clients..

Telephone

+44 (0) 845 68 68 300

By post

Velvet Software Ltd

Basepoint, Rivermead Drive, Westlea, Swindon. SN5 7EX

Request contact

The Legal Bits

Registered in England and Wales : 3688305

VAT Registration : 720 9844  27

About Us

"The ability to explain the technical in non-technical terms"

Velvet was incorporated in 1998, initially providing software consultancy and training for a variety of clients.

In 1998, working with Conference Bristol (now Destination Bristol), Velvet developed Chaser BUREAU - a system to automate the handling of conference enquiries to venues and the collation of responses into a client proposal.

In 2000 Velvet exhibited Chaser BUREAU at the BACD (British Association of Conference Destinations) annual convention. Chaser BUREAU was very well received by the industry; seven copies of the system were ordered by the end of the exhibition establishing Chaser BUREAU as the preferred software solution for conference destinations over and above existing, established products. In 2008 Chaser BUREAU is used by over 50 UK destinations; more than any other software supplier.

ConferenceBOOKINGS.co.uk, Velvet's on-line accommodation booking system was developed in 2003 with the collaboration of Bath and Bristol conference bureaux. ConferenceBOOKINGS processed more than £7M of reservations in 2007 - in 2008 this figure is set to be exceeded within the first half of the year as every major UK party political conference is being managed using the system.

Reg.istrations.com, Velvet software's latest on-line system was launched in January 2008 and has been designed to fulfil the needs of event organisers, destinations and individuals wishing to manage on-line delegate registration for events with the added benefit of integration with ConferenceBOOKINGS.co.uk.

We believe in on-going relationships with our clients, delivering ever enhanced products; ChUG, the Chaser User Group, provides an annual forum for Velvet to preview new product features to existing users and receive feedback directly from those who use the systems. We welcome our clients' feedback and thrive on delivering new innovative solutions that not only meet, but exceed their expectations.

Products

ConferenceBOOKINGS.co.uk

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On-line accommodation booking system - ConferenceBOOKINGS uses the latest web technology to deliver a complete solution for use by event coordinators, accommodation providers and delegates directly on-line.

Events may be created in minutes, accommodation providers may access the system directly to provide initial allocations and pricing whilst delegates may create and amend reservations using a link from the event website or email message from the organiser.

ConferenceBOOKINGS creates a custom event web-site for each event in minutes, incorporating an event logo, description and cross-fading image gallery (optional extra).

Standard, Plus & Premium packages starting from £1,495 + VAT

Optional modules:

• Group booking
• Image gallery
• Google analytics integration

reg.istrations.com

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On-line delegate registration system - reg.istrations.com is a hosted web application providing a registration system that is quick, easy to use and incorporates powerful features. Multiple delegate types, multiple packages and multiple streams? No problem. reg.istrations.com handles them all in addition to on-line payment integration and the option to link to the ConferenceBOOKINGS on-line accommodation booking system for specific events.

There are no event set-up fees, users may style each event using header and footer graphics, or, for the more advanced, your own CSS (cascading style sheet) designs giving you complete control and flexibility over your registration site. Link to YouTube videos on the event landing page or upload up to 30 images into the image gallery to ensure delegates identify with branding and gain an insight into each event.

Standard, Plus, Premium & Enterprise packages available from £195 + VAT

Optional modules:

• Google analytics integration

Chaser BUREAU

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Conference enquiry handling system - The original Chaser product, Chaser BUREAU, launched in 1998 is now widely regarded as "the industry standard" Business Tourism Management System in the UK. Chaser BUREAU has been the software of choice for conference destinations and venue finders.

Comprehensive details on Venues, Suppliers and Attractions is stored including full contact information and the chosen communication method for enquiries. Detailed information on Venues and their individual meeting rooms is maintained whilst custom categories and services may be defined for Suppliers & Attractions.

Complete enquiry details are recorded in the system. Venues are ‘matched’ against client requirements including meeting room set-up/capacity, location and features. Communications to venues regarding enquiries are forwarded automatically by email. The venues’ full responses and time taken to respond are logged for reporting. Throughout the life cycle of the enquiry tailored bids, venue/client confirmations and standard letters may be generated using templates.

The optional Chaser WEB module publishes supplier, attraction and venue data stored in Chaser BUREAU directly to your Chaser WEB site. Maintaining your data in Chaser BUREAU using the management features ensures that your website is always up-to-date. Visitors may search for venues and services and create an enquiry on-line that is downloaded automatically into the system without the need to re-key any data.

Measuring conversion rates, economic impact and tracking commissions are a fraction of what's required of a successful destination. Chaser BUREAU has a powerful reporting function that delivers over 40 standard reports including enquiry conversion, lost business, economic impact, commission calculation and confirmed business. Comprehensive querying facilities allow custom reporting, charting and mail shots.

Two user packages available from £5,995 + VAT

Optional modules:

• Chaser WEB
• Google analytics integration
• Additional user(s)

Confex 2008 - Day 3 complete!

Three busy days and an array of impressive stands - this year's Confex seems to have been busier than the past two with an excellent turn out of stands and in particular what appears to be an increase in visitor numbers.

Our congratulations go to Clive Tyres and Suzy Wheeler of BICB (Bournemouth International Conference Bureau) who were awarded the coveted "Best Exhibition Stand" award for their innovative surfing theme.

Further to the extensive works to the BIC (Bournemouth International Centre), Bournemouth is set to have one of the world's first artificial reef making the destination a new Mecca for surfing fans and an attraction for visitors of all types.

The stand's innovative design incorporated surfboard shaped pillars, table tops all of which were complemented by the canvas director chairs and the iconic VW Camper Van graphics.

Conference Worcester automate with Chaser BUREAU

Emma Robins of Conference Worcester is delighted with the installation of her new Chaser BUREAU system. "I've waited some time to invest in Chaser - now I can't wait to use it. The reports generated by the system automatically will save me hours of time each month".

With over fifty standard reports and the in-built query form allowing the creation of custom reports or data exports Chaser BUREAU continues to be the choice for UK destinations looking to enquiry handling and management reporting.

Confex 2008 - Buzz & business

Velvet Software attended Confex 2008 at Earl's Court meeting with new and existing client for another successive year; 2008 is Velvet's 5th year at the show and each year it gets better!

In 2008 the vast majority of UK destinations exhibiting at the show have at least one of Velvet Software's products most have two or more. The opportunity of meeting with our clients is the main attraction of the exhibition - meeting with other industry colleagues under the same room is invaluable.

Stands of note were the illuminated Yorkshire South - a modern imaginative design offering plenty of seating combining open access and seated areas, Marketing Manchester with their raised bar areas at each end of the stand and Newcastle Gateshead with their welcoming open stand in a prominent corner location.