Stova (Formerly Meetingplay & Aventri)

Once you get the hang of it, it's user-friendly, and customer support is very helpful when I have questions. Some modules are clunky, though. The app could use a revamp and more options, like adjustable font sizes and overall flexibility. The abstracts module is also due for an update—it's very clunky, and I've voiced this in support calls. The website module needs more template options; we've started working with a designer for more flexibility outside Stova. I do like the custom registration report links that give clients access to their attendee data, and the reports you can run are helpful.

I love that it's an all-in-one platform, allowing us to create landing pages, registration sites, and store files in one place. This streamlines our workflow and makes event management more efficient. It's also very intuitive and easy to use. However, I've encountered occasional bugs, especially when creating, editing, or adapting landing pages. It's frustrating to make changes, save, and find they didn't actually save, forcing you to redo work. Additionally, the UI/UX could be better. Overall, it enables us to execute events and organize registrant information.

In theory, Stova provides everything needed to plan, create, promote, and organize an event, all in one place, which simplifies event planning. The support team is quick to respond and works hard to resolve issues. However, the services like marketing email and survey modules aren't as advanced as external software, so we often use third-party tools and can't integrate them with Stova. This means the all-in-one benefit isn't fully utilized, which feels wasteful. There's significant room for development in these areas, but it doesn't seem to be a priority. On the plus side, having all registrations and events in one place is convenient, and cloning event registrations and websites saves time. This also aids in cross-event reporting.

Stova has consolidated our efforts, allowing us to track, manage, and communicate across many events. We use the Registration, Marketing, Mobile App, and Website modules for each event, customizing them as best we can. The reporting functions are valuable for providing registration data to clients. The email feature is helpful with automated communications. However, customizing the look and feel is frustrating: options are limited—colors and images can change, but fonts are only Google Fonts, and the website module is archaic. Only PNGs/JPEGs can be uploaded, no web-optimized formats. Videos require public Vimeo/YouTube links. Custom CSS is allowed but can't alter the base. Even simple tweaks like mobile margins become huge challenges. Support can be helpful, but for larger issues, higher-level support often doesn't fully understand the problem. We've been bounced between Account Manager, client support, and leadership without resolution. Describing issues repeatedly without getting clear answers or having solutions revert our work is frustrating. Ultimately, if the main support can't solve it, no one can. We have to figure things out ourselves or accept limitations. Before Stova, we used multiple platforms; now we've consolidated into one, which is a big improvement. We benefit from streamlined registration data, automated communications, and being able to handle each event stage in one platform.

The only benefit of Aventri/Stova is that it accepts credit cards. Creating a conference is extremely complex, requiring extensive knowledge of numerous tabs and non-intuitive functions. Customer service tends to talk over us rather than teach the steps. They forgot two vital steps in a recent conference, causing a disaster; we had to contact all attendees to return and pay. The rep dictated lines of code to fix it. Last year, the conference information didn't translate to a website. I made my own website this year, and registration was better, but attendees couldn't complete payments due to the missing steps. I'm very unhappy with this program. The only plus is attendee credit card payment capability.

I've used Stova for about five years in event management, hosting around 1000 events annually across Australia. The system's features are extensive and can handle nearly everything, and there are likely many functions I haven't discovered. We primarily use it for registrations, reminder emails, check-in, post-event surveys, and reporting. Customer support is excellent—emails get quick responses, troubleshooting is thorough, and staff follow up until issues are resolved. Overall, it's reliable, detailed, flexible, and meets our needs. Initially, it's quite complex, and setting up templates takes time, but once done, cloning is fairly straightforward. We've had to create our own user SOPs. It's challenging to know what functions are available; we often identify a need and ask support. The platform feels a bit dated. Some improvements would help, like pre-populating certain fields (e.g., sender/recipient emails) when cloning events, as we currently have to manually change them each time. But for our main uses, it's solid.

The platform is very user-friendly and intuitive. My team and I often resolve issues on our own quickly. When we can't, the customer service team is phenomenal. I've called and had them walk me through problems immediately, and they take the time to educate customers. Sometimes HTML formatting gets tricky, and I struggle to fix things to our liking. As a complex organization, we sometimes need to adapt the program to our needs. Stova's team is great at brainstorming, but it occasionally leads to minor issues when cloning events later or when working with a new Account Manager. Stova helps us manage various registrations—paid, complimentary, and internal. There's no one-size-fits-all for our events, but the registration system ensures we have a comprehensive, easy-to-use site for all.

The flexibility and simplicity of setting up websites and registration paths are outstanding. The ability to easily toggle questions and visibility for different attendee types is quick and simple. Many other systems require updating every path for changes, which is error-prone. Reporting, the simple mobile app that syncs with registration, and easy website building are great too. I've had positive experiences with customer support, especially with Peter Wieczorek, who's been very helpful in various situations. One drawback is the lack of an invitee list feature. In other systems, you can manage invite lists directly in registration settings. Stova has clunky reporting for pre-approved data. It would be great to upload an invite list, manually decline or register attendees to stop emails, and generate accurate reports. Currently, we have to remove people from pre-approved and then handle e-marketing, which is cumbersome. As a result, I maintain a separate database outside the system. Despite that, it's a great registration management system for multiple companies. It works well from both user and planner perspectives, and room list management is excellent.

I've worked with Stova for years, and since they acquired Aventri, the experience has been superb. Their customer support consistently exceeds expectations. I recall a time they helped us with an urgent client request on a Sunday, showing their dedication. The recent product roadmap presentation was exciting, and our clients often compliment the app's design and functionality. The app is straightforward to set up, allowing us to deliver great results efficiently. Whenever we've hit obstacles, Stova has been there. I'm thankful for their commitment. While my overall experience is fantastic, I've noticed improvements in their training materials. Previously, finding training on new features was challenging, but their new LMS platform promises better resources. This will make using Stova even smoother. Stova enables us to provide high-quality mobile event apps that foster engagement at our events.

For over four years, our team has relied on Stova and found it consistently satisfactory. Before switching, we dealt with a rigid platform and indifferent support. Stova has greatly enhanced our collaboration and event planning efficiency. From day one, it's been intuitive for everyone: coordinators manage reporting and attendee data, the flight team appreciates PNR sync, and our marketing/tech people build sites, registrations, and apps. The support and account management teams are always responsive and open to feedback. Since no platform is perfect, it's valuable that they listen to our suggestions. However, Stova often prioritizes features we don't use or plan to use, which makes us wish they'd focus more on refining the tools we depend on daily. We hope they keep improving the core registration functionality and regularly introduce modern templates for websites and registration pages, as clients expect an attractive front-end. Some newer competitors excel at these aspects, while older ones emphasize backend or onsite tools. Stova is great at listening, but their roadmap sometimes differs from ours. As a third-party agency, we appreciate being able to offer a wide range of services through their end-to-end platform.