Joinways

Overview

Joinways is a venue-management CRM for event businesses that need to handle inquiries and coordinate bookings in one workflow. It is best suited to venues with multiple inquiry channels and a need for staff review before proposals go to clients. Its Free plan is a useful way to start, but it excludes proposals and e-signatures.

The product covers inquiry handling through event documents, while keeping the venue in control of client communications. That suits teams that value oversight; it is a poorer fit for anyone seeking a fully free proposal workflow or automatic client outreach.

For a category-wide comparison, browse our Event Venue Management Software directory.

Key features

• Inquiry intake: Joinways captures leads from email, web forms, marketplaces and chat, then qualifies, deduplicates and enriches them. Bringing those channels together can help teams manage a varied flow of prospects; the Free plan allows just 10 inquiries a month, and inquiries beyond that limit arrive locked.
• Venue operations: Calendars, space availability, client records, reports and function sheets (BEOs) extend the workflow beyond lead capture. These tools make Joinways relevant to venues coordinating event activity as well as sales, rather than businesses looking only for an inbox.
• Proposals and approval: Joinways prepares proposals and follow-ups for venue review, and says nothing is sent to a client without approval. That safeguard preserves staff control, but venues wanting messages to go out without an approval step may prefer another approach. Proposal building and e-signatures are absent from Free.
• Integrations and extension: Listed integrations include Gmail, Outlook, Google and Outlook calendars, WhatsApp, Instagram, Stripe, SignatureAPI and Slack. A Chrome extension supports inquiry handling from platforms such as Peerspace, Tagvenue and HeadBox, which is useful for venues receiving marketplace leads.
• API and AI tools: Pro adds REST API access and an MCP connection for Claude, ChatGPT or another MCP client, making it the more suitable tier for teams that want to connect Joinways with tools through those interfaces.
• Data handling: Joinways says customer data is hosted in Paris in the EU, encrypted in transit and at rest, and handled in a GDPR-compliant service. Inquiry processing uses OpenAI and Anthropic APIs; the company says customer data is not used to train their models and only necessary information is sent for processing.

Pricing

The Free plan costs nothing, has no time limit or subscription, and covers one venue, two spaces and 10 inquiries per month. It is a low-commitment way for a small venue to assess inquiry handling, but locked inquiries beyond the cap and no proposals or e-signatures make it unsuitable as a complete workflow for busier teams.

Pro plans are billed per venue per month, annually, and include unlimited inquiries and users. Pro — 1 to 5 spaces costs $69 a month, or $86 billed monthly, excluding tax. Pro — 6 to 12 spaces costs $119 a month, or $149 billed monthly, excluding tax. Pro — 13 to 25 spaces costs $199 a month, or $249 billed monthly, excluding tax. The space-based tiers let venues choose according to their footprint; annual billing is cheaper than monthly billing, but requires an annual commitment.

Custom pricing is for groups, venues with more than 25 spaces, or specific needs, and includes priority support within 4 hours. Standard email support is included otherwise. A 30-day Pro trial requires no credit card and includes up to three e-signatures; when it ends, the account remains on Free unless upgraded.

Platforms

Joinways is available on web and through an API and browser extension. The Chrome extension is aimed at capturing inquiries on marketplaces; the API and MCP connection are included with Pro.

Who it's for

Joinways is designed for event venues including restaurants, wedding estates, hotels, coworking spaces, cultural venues and conference centers. It is strongest for teams that want to consolidate inbound leads, event scheduling and proposal preparation while retaining approval over client communications. A venue handling more than 10 inquiries monthly will need a paid plan to avoid locked overflow, and one needing proposals or signatures must move beyond Free.

Pros and cons

• Pro: Inquiry capture spans email, forms, marketplaces and chat, reducing the need to handle those lead sources separately.
• Pro: Calendar, space availability, client records, reports, BEOs, proposals and e-signatures bring sales and event coordination into one product.
• Pro: Venue approval remains in place before proposals or follow-ups are sent, a clear safeguard for teams that want oversight.
• Con: Free caps monthly inquiries at 10, locks excess inquiries, and has no proposals or e-signatures, limiting its usefulness beyond basic intake.
• Con: Pro's lower prices depend on annual billing; monthly billing costs more, and prices exclude tax.

Alternatives

• Velsa is worth considering if self-hosting matters more than a hosted, per-venue workflow: its free Community Edition is self-hosted, includes the full product and is community-supported, but has no SLA.
• VenueArc may suit a venue looking for a free starter tier: it covers one facility with core booking and calendar, event scheduling, basic reporting and email support.
• EventPro is a paid option with custom pricing based on modules, users, rooms, training and organizational requirements.
• Momentus offers paid enterprise plans with unlimited users.
• Perfect Venue is a paid alternative with a free trial and a Professional annual plan at $199 a month per location.
• Planning Pod is a paid option for venue teams considering a single-location subscription; annual subscription plans are also offered.
• Pxier Salon is a paid option with a free trial and an Essentials plan billed per station or chair, with a $49 minimum price.
• Artifax offers paid plans including advanced scheduling with conflict awareness and shared workflows across departments.

Verdict

Choose Joinways if your venue needs to bring inquiries, scheduling and proposal preparation together, and wants to approve client communications before they go out. Its useful free entry point is tightly capped and stops short of proposals and signatures, so venues with steady inquiry volume or a need for end-to-end booking documents should budget for Pro. Look elsewhere if you need a free proposal workflow or do not want an approval step.