UNBRIDLED

BACKGROUND

Founded in 2001, Unbridled is an event production, management, travel, and creative agency whose purpose is to connect companies and people through intentionally crafted and informative experiences. For more than 14 years, Unbridled has harnessed the power of Cvent technology to bring those connections to life through the power of events.

Unbridled’s customized approach begins with an in-depth understanding of each client’s event needs. “It’s from the ground up,” explains Miranda Schmidt, Event Tech Coordinator. “We first like to get an idea of their goals and expectations, and then tailor the solution to those needs, whether it’s an internal, 15-person meeting or a huge event with thousands of people.” 

As such, Unbridled relies on Cvent to provide truly flexible solutions. “We use Cvent in a lot of ways,” explains Jaime Shinnamon, Event Tech Coordinator. “We use Registration to build out our sites, we use Attendee Hub for our mobile app when we’re onsite, and we’ll use OnArrival for badge printing as well."

This was particularly beneficial to both event managers and attendees when the client unexpectedly had to cancel and reschedule the event for a later date. The Unbridled team was able to simply download the attendee registration data and reupload it to the new event – saving registrants the hassle of registering a second time and syncing all important details automatically. 

For events that require payment processing, Unbridled also uses Cvent’s Merchant Account integration. This provides a straightforward means of collecting fees directly within the registration process so all payment and registration data is synced. This proves to be a remarkable time-saving feature for both event managers and registrants, enhancing their overall experience and ensuring all data stays within the system.

Additionally, flight requests were linked with planner alerts, meaning Unbridled’s travel agency was notified when a request was submitted so agents could book tickets. “We also really like to make use of the integration systems, like GDS and PNR integrations,” adds Miranda. “It makes the process so seamless for our travel company, making sure the people who are registered have the correct flight, are going to the hotel they need, and so on.” These integrations save time by automatically syncing flight information with event registrant data, which includes contact info, meal preferences, registration details, and more.

 With standard and custom travel reports in Cvent, Unbridled can view manifests, change history, unmatched passengers, retrieval history, and discrepancy reports. For registrants, this also ensures easy access to their personal travel itineraries via confirmation emails and the registration website. Unbridled can also share Air Actual reports in Cvent with their transportation team. These reports provide detailed information on arrival and departure patterns, enabling the team to proactively plan and make necessary adjustments. In addition, Cvent enables Unbridled to track and reconcile any discrepancies that may arise between air and hotel reservations, ensuring the accuracy and consistency of travel arrangements.

Using Access Portal to increase stakeholder visibility

Unbridled has managed more than 1,100 events and 166,000 registrants with Cvent to date. They therefore need to ensure stakeholders access important data at any time, without having to wait on manually built reports or back and forth emails. Cvent’s Access Portal provides their clients with the real-time reporting they need, including event reports, survey data, and other detailed information, all of which is automatically synced from their Cvent solutions.

Unbridled can provide Access Portal visibility based on individual user profiles, which means every stakeholder views only the data that is most relevant and specific to their needs. Moreover, having all reporting centralized in a single location makes it easier for stakeholders to access that even data at any time. “We have over 110 users for Access Portal, and we really love it because it allows our clients to get those reports and see those numbers in real time,” Jaime shares.

In addition, Unbridled uses Cvent’s Passkey solution to manage room blocks for their clients. Passkey provides important opportunities to automate processes and drive internal efficiencies, supporting complex rooming requirements while saving valuable man hours. With a two-way integration, Passkey allows users to easily register and book their rooms at one time. Unbridled can quickly configure room blocks and availability, attendee types, and corresponding room rates from the backend. From there, the integration can be configured to activate hotel accommodations and the Passkey integration can be customized to fit their clients’ specific needs. They can also use Passkey’s waitlisting capabilities to track and manage updates in real time, and can create sub-blocks for different groups of attendees like VIPs, speakers, and internal staff. The public block feature allows their team to manually review, approve, and fulfill each request to create sub-groups as needed.

With these easily integrated solutions, Unbridled has successfully managed more than 48,000 proposals. Of those, more than 46,000 include meeting space and sleeping rooms. They’ve also seen over 358,000 room nights successfully sourced through these solutions.
 

With Event in a Box, Unbridled is able to create a quick check-in experience for smaller audiences with all the needed hardware shipped directly to their location, including iPads with tabletop stands, printers, routers, and badge stock. They also have access to 24/7 customer support and other resources to ensure a smooth experience. Attendees are able to input their preferred information before the badge is printed, meaning they don’t have to wait in line for reprints if their name or title is incorrect. “Using Event in a Box allows attendees to be in the driver’s seat printing their badges and providing a modern, elevated experience,” notes Miranda.

Similarly, OnArrival Premium and OnArrival 360 offer a seamless check-in experience with additional capabilities. These include session check-in and tracking, signature collection, planner alerts, kiosk mode, and more. For the restaurant chain’s event, staff were able to track which attendees had checked in and which were no-shows, and they were able to easily manage walk-ins by printing their badge onsite.

Fueling attendee engagement with the Attendee Hub

In fact, Miranda notes that the growing focus on sustainability is another benefit of using event technology like the Cvent Attendee Hub. “If we’re talking about sustainability, we can cut back on paper products by using the app,” she says. The Event App provides a central resource where attendees can easily build and manage their agenda, view session and speaker details, and stay up to date with push notifications.

Attendees can also connect with their peers through integrated networking, including direct messaging, attendee recommendations, and discussions. ”It drives not only technology engagement, but event engagement,” Miranda notes. Features like live polling, chat, and Q&A allowed attendees to engage with one another in real time. The easy-to-navigate platform means attendees can easily view on-demand sessions, network with one another, and provide feedback through embedded surveys.
 

Miranda specifically cites the 24/7 support Cvent offers as an important resource for their team. “We love to utilize the support team, and if we can’t find what we’re looking for, that support team is always there,” she says. “They’re always ready to answer the questions and if they don’t know the answer, they’re willing to go that extra mile and dig into it to get back to us, which is great.”

In looking at their current portfolio, both Jaime and Miranda agree that managing all of their clients’ events would be nearly impossible without the right technology. “If we didn’t have Cvent and we had been doing all of this, it could have been so chaotic and it would make our jobs a lot harder,” Miranda shares. “So there’s a lot of time saved and a lot of money saved using Cvent."

With continued growth on the horizon, they are looking forward to seeing how event technology – and new initiatives like AI – will help further grow their business. Miranda notes she’s interested in the new opportunities that may arise as the industry continues to evolve. “I think the only constant in this industry is change,” she says. Jaime agrees, summarizing, “We’re excited for new clients, new events, and to see where those relationships go."

PRODUCTS USED