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Mitchell SEA unveils PlayEasy event‑marketing platform to track leads and hotel bookings
Summary
SEA staff demonstrated a new PlayEasy platform with event microsites, hotel booking via Hotel Planner, and lead generation; staff said there is no extra commission and that the platform generated a shortlist of potential RFP matches for Mitchell.
SEA staff demonstrated a new PlayEasy destination‑marketing platform intended to centralize event microsites, facility listings and hotel booking links and to generate leads for Mitchell.
Aaron (SEA staff) explained the platform creates event microsites when the authority awards funding. Those microsites include event dates, a paragraph generated automatically, hotel options, and maps of local attractions. Staff said the platform currently lists 26 spectator/participant facilities and about 64 attractions and businesses in Mitchell; it also aggregates leads from a network of organizations and destinations.
On lead generation, staff described the platform’s backend report: it matched Mitchell to a subset of RFPs pulled from a larger pool of opportunities. According to the presentation, the system reviewed roughly 272 RFPs across 703 organizations and 313 destinations and flagged 46 that matched Mitchell’s criteria; after screening, staff identified 34 as possible fits and expressed interest in three opportunities under further review, including a Move United education conference and a Broomball Alliance national championship for potential 2026–27 dates.
Aaron said users who go to an event microsite can select a hotel and be routed to a white‑labeled secure booking page provided by Hotel Planner. In response to a board question, staff confirmed the platform does not add an extra commission or fee for hotel bookings. As Aaron put it: “I asked a couple times just to confirm there is no extra commission or fee that the hotel or us are charged when they book, on this play easy platform.”
Board members raised practical limits. One board member noted many event attendees book rooms months in advance, outside the event microsite window, limiting the platform’s ability to retroactively capture room‑night data. Staff suggested the authority should encourage funded event organizers to use the microsites and QR codes in their materials so future bookings are tracked.
Ending Staff said the platform is now subscribed for the year and will be used as a destination marketing and lead‑generation tool for SEA‑awarded events; staff will continue to populate facilities, attractions and event microsites and to pursue the RFP leads identified by the system.
