--- title: "How to Take Advantage of CVB Freebies" id: "35178" type: "post" slug: "how-to-take-advantage-of-cvb-freebies" published_at: "2016-09-30T13:00:17+00:00" modified_at: "2026-03-16T17:35:21+00:00" url: "https://associationsnow.com/2016/09/30/how-to-take-advantage-of-cvb-freebies/" markdown_url: "https://associationsnow.com/2016/09/30/how-to-take-advantage-of-cvb-freebies.md" excerpt: "Planning help comes at no cost—if you know where to look." taxonomy_category: - "Meetings / Events" taxonomy_post_tag: - "AssociationsNow" - "brandconnection" - "conferences" - "CVB" - "event planning" - "Meetings" taxonomy_content_format: - "Article" taxonomy_role: - "Director" - "Manager" taxonomy_persona: - "Association Professionals" --- [Home](https://associationsnow.com/) » [Articles](https://associationsnow.com/format/article/) » How to Take Advantage of CVB Freebies With all the logistical issues to consider, planning a conference or meeting can seem like a Herculean task. But you can find help—at no cost, in fact—if you know where to look. Many convention and visitors bureaus (CVBs) are more than happy to assist with planning, from researching and booking meeting spaces and hotel rooms to promoting the gathering and ensuring attendees have a good time. You just have to ask. Why are CVBs willing to do this? It’s simple, said Visit Indy President and CEO Leonard Hoops: “We want to promote our destinations and get groups to our towns and have them spend dollars and generate economic impact on the community.” It begins with helping meeting planners determine where to host their event. CVB staffs can research event space and hotel-room availability, compare their city’s offerings with competing destinations and distribute requests for proposals. But that’s just the start. Once you book an event space, you can take advantage of free services to spread the word about the meeting—especially if you’re working with a CVB that represents a convention center. Many large CVBs provide website templates at no cost that allow you to build promotional sites with registration interfaces. What’s more, staffs can give you free access to high-quality photos and videos. CVBs can even help fill your registration bags. Many bureaus offer maps, visitor guides and resource booklets to meeting planners for free. ### On-the-Ground Support For planning the event itself, CVBs can put you in touch with local service and product providers that play key roles in keeping meeting participants happy. For example, when [Gen Con (opens in a new tab)](http://www.gencon.com/) , the nation’s largest gaming convention, hosts its annual event in Indianapolis each year, Visit Indy not only assists in coordinating event spaces in hotels but also works to keep attendees well fed. The staff ensures that restaurants stay open late, and it clears the way for food trucks to assemble nearby. Visit Indy also brokered relationships that led a local brewery to create a unique beer for the convention and [a pizzeria to offer three customized pies (opens in a new tab)](https://www.facebook.com/hotboxpizza/posts/10154208120068245) . And if you need to close a street to host a block party or require a special permit for your gathering, CVBs can put you in touch with the right people at city hall or the police department. (Handout photo) [ASAE Staff](https://associationsnow.com/author/asae-staff/) [More articles by this author](https://associationsnow.com/author/asae-staff/) Tags: [#brandconnection](https://associationsnow.com/tag/brandconnection/) [#conferences](https://associationsnow.com/tag/conferences/) [#CVB](https://associationsnow.com/tag/cvb/) [#event planning](https://associationsnow.com/tag/event-planning/) [#Meetings](https://associationsnow.com/tag/meetings/) **Stay Informed** [Subscribe to our free newsletter](https://associationsnow.com/newsletter/) , *Associations Now Daily News*, to find out what’s happening in the association world every business day. ## You Might Like - [VideoAshley Cobb Shares Her Experience at the 2025 ASAE Annual Meeting & ExpositionAugust 12, 2025](https://associationsnow.com/2025/08/12/ashley-cobb-shares-her-experience-at-the-2025-asae-annual-meeting-exposition/) - [VideoJenny Teeson, CHSE Shares Her Experience at the 2025 ASAE Annual Meeting & ExpositionAugust 12, 2025](https://associationsnow.com/2025/08/12/jenny-teeson-chse-shares-her-experience-at-the-2025-asae-annual-meeting-exposition/) - [VideoLakisha Woods, CAE Shares Her Experience at the 2025 ASAE Annual Meeting & ExpositionAugust 12, 2025](https://associationsnow.com/2025/08/12/lakisha-woods-cae-shares-her-experience-at-the-2025-asae-annual-meeting-exposition/) - [VideoKevin Hesser Shares His Experience at the 2025 ASAE Annual Meeting & ExpositionAugust 12, 2025](https://associationsnow.com/2025/08/12/kevin-hesser-shares-his-experience-at-the-2025-asae-annual-meeting-exposition/) ## Comments **Comments are for ASAE members.** [Learn more about comments on this site.](https://associationsnow.com/comments/) [Log in](https://associationsnow.com/login?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fassociationsnow.com%2F2016%2F09%2F30%2Fhow-to-take-advantage-of-cvb-freebies%2F%23comments) to your member account or [join ASAE](https://my.asaecenter.org/select-a-membership-type/) !