Working Together Toward a European Standard in MICE Procurement: MICE Portal and Chateauform Launch OneMICE

MICE Portal and the French Chateauform Group combine their strengths. Over 20 years of procurement technology in Germany and three decades of hospitality excellence in France have resulted in a joint step with European reach: the founding of the OneMICE joint venture for the French market and the opening of the MICE Partner Network (MPN) as a European supplier network. The two companies are thus tackling a key gap in event procurement: the lack of a manufacturer-independent infrastructure for the governance of MICE spend.

A European market without standards in event procurement

According to Grand View Research, the global MICE market is estimated to be worth 946 billion US dollars in 2025, with Europe accounting for more than half of this. Despite this magnitude, the majority of companies still have neither a structured programme nor the right tools to systematically manage and optimize meetings, incentives, conferences and events.

For strategic purchasing departments, MICE spend is one of the most complex disciplines in the so-called Category C spend. Hundreds of suppliers per region, fragmented framework agreements, informal processes and low spend transparency make this area difficult to manage. For years, MICE has functioned in the blind spot of procurement organizations: Service providers were selected on trust rather than performance, savings potential remained untapped, compliance and ESG requirements were barely traceable.

Since 2007, MICE Portal has established itself as the digital answer to this complexity and today manages around 86 million euros in bookings per year for over 450 companies, including Deutsche Telekom, PwC, RWE and EnBW. Chateauform, on the other hand, has defined what operational excellence means in the seminar and event business since 1996 and now has more than 80 locations in Europe and 2,200 employees. Both companies therefore bring different but complementary perspectives to the same market: Technology and procurement on the one hand, hospitality and market proximity on the other.

Joint launch of the joint venture: from left Gérald Coutaudier (Managing Director Chateauform), Benjamin Abittan (Co-Founder OneMICE, Chateauform), Jean de Villeneuve Bargemont (CEO and Co-Founder OneMICE), Vinzenz Graf von Brühl (Co-Managing Director MICE Portal, Co-Founder OneMICE) and Josephine Gräfin von Brühl (Founder MICE Portal) at the signing of the founding documents.

Three building blocks, one ecosystem

The joint reorganization combines three clearly defined building blocks that work together as an ecosystem:

MICE Portal

Remains the procurement platform for the DACH region and selected international customers. Strategic buyers and event planners manage their MICE spend here with their own rules, framework agreements, approval workflows and full data sovereignty. The platform covers the entire lifecycle, from planning, sourcing and booking to invoicing and payment.

MICE Partner Network (MPN)

Is the European supplier network behind the mice portal platforms. Over 12,000 B2B hotels, 3,000 event locations, 5,000 restaurants and 20,000 MICE service providers are currently connected. This latest step will turn the MPN into a named asset and open it up to additional country partners. Chateauform is contributing its more than 80 locations to the network, thereby directly expanding the depth of its offering in the residential seminar segment.

OneMICE

is the joint venture between MICE Portal and Chateauform for the French market. The company licenses the MICE Portal technology and operates the procurement platform under its own brand for French corporates, agencies and suppliers. OneMICE was co-founded by Vinzenz Graf von Brühl (MICE Portal), Benjamin Abittan (Chateauform) and Jean de Villeneuve Bargemont, who is also CEO and has been managing the Chateauform subsidiary CERAN for seven years.

Why this joint venture works

The logic behind OneMICE results from the complementarity of the two companies: German technological depth meets French hospitality DNA. MICE Portal provides the platform, the data architecture and the procurement know-how that has been developed over more than two decades in one of the most demanding purchasing markets in Europe. Chateauform brings market proximity, an understanding of the requirements of corporate event customers and a European network of locations that has grown organically.

"MICE is one of the most complex Category C disciplines in purchasing. Our task is to provide companies with a procurement platform that brings together clarity, compliance and data sovereignty ," explains Vinzenz Graf von Brühl, Co-Managing Director of MICE Portal and co-founder of OneMICE. "With the MICE Partner Network, we are now making the asset that we have built over twenty years visible to the whole of Europe. OneMICE is bringing this logic to the French market, together with a strong partner."

In concrete terms, this means a SaaS-based source-to-pay solution that is rolled out with dedicated tenants per key account, ensures compliance and auditability and integrates with existing ERP, finance and travel systems. Companies that structure their MICE processes with the solution achieve average savings of 22 percent.

Agencies as equal partners

A key difference to traditional MICE platforms lies in the relationship with event agencies. Instead of treating them as competitors, the ecosystem explicitly integrates agencies as partners. Three engagement models are provided for this purpose.

Agencies operate their own store on the platform via agency stores , bring their corporate customers with them and manage their MICE purchasing independently. Corporate mandates allow agencies to operate a group's store entirely on behalf of the group. And via project-related delegation , corporates can hand over individual events to an agency, which receives temporary access in return.

“No client is lost because of an intermediary platform. Our job is to equip agencies with the same tools as direct buyers and treat them as equal partners. That is the prerequisite for the entire MICE market to go digital.”

Vinzenz Graf von Brühl
Chief Executive Officer | MICE Portal GmbH

Four principles for an open network

The MICE Partner Network is based on four operational principles that deliberately set it apart from common market practices.

• Neutrality: The platform does not act as an agency, does not control budgets and does not influence decisions. The decision is always made by the corporate itself.
• Fair financing: No commission is charged on bookings with an existing framework agreement between the corporate and the supplier. Commission only arises when the network actually arranges a new connection.
• Transparency: Suppliers can acquire paid visibility, for example via banners, ranking or analytics. These placements are marked transparently for all parties involved, similar to the Amazon or Google Ads model.
• Inclusion: Agencies receive the same tools as direct buyers. Their expertise remains their asset; the network does not attempt to replace them.

These principles are not formulated by chance. They define the self-image of an infrastructure that is explicitly not intended as a closed marketplace, but as a shared foundation for an entire industry.

Focus on France, focus on Europe

The fact that OneMICE is launching in France first is a deliberate strategic decision. The French market is characterized by a high density of MICE players, a growing maturity of indirect procurement processes in large companies and, last but not least, an established regulatory infrastructure: in the near future every procurement category needs to be digitized and needs a software that maps the regulatory rules and at the same time the companies processes to generate tranpareny, savings and compliant purchasing

The current MICE spend volume that flows through the MPN in France alone is around 35 million euros per year. This means that OneMICE has a substantial provider base and real transaction volumes right from the start, not just an empty marketplace promise.

At the same time, the MICE Partner Network is being further developed as a European infrastructure. Further country partners are in preparation. In the long term, the focus is on an open infrastructure network for professional event procurement in Europe: neutral, fairly financed, transparent and inclusive.

“The French market expects efficient, digital procurement processes without sacrificing the quality of personalized service. OneMICE delivers exactly that: proven technology from the MICE Portal Network, combined with the hospitality DNA that has defined Châteauform’ for three decades.”

Jean de Villeneuve Bargemont
Chief Executive Officer | OneMICE

What this means for the industry

With the founding of OneMICE and the opening of the MICE Partner Network, what has been looming in the background for years is becoming visible: The European MICE market is at the beginning of its structuring. The question is no longer whether the digitalization of event procurement is necessary, but on what basis it will take place. With which standard, in which governance, with which participants.

The answer from MICE Portal and Chateauform is a shared infrastructure that combines German procurement discipline and French hospitality culture and that does not exclude agencies and suppliers, but rather integrates them. For corporates, this creates a platform that brings together compliance, efficiency and spend transparency at a European level. For providers, an infrastructure that makes them visible in the entire ecosystem with a single connection. For agencies, an equal place in digital event procurement that professionalizes their role rather than restricting it.

The next milestone is the operational launch in France. The medium-term ambition goes further: a European standard for the governance of MICE spend, supported by the players who have been shaping this market for decades.

About MICE Portal

MICE Portal is the leading German procurement platform for professional event purchasing. Since 2007, the company has been digitizing the entire MICE lifecycle, from planning, sourcing and booking to invoicing and payment. Over 450 companies use the platform, including Deutsche Telekom, PwC, RWE and EnBW. MICE Portal was founded by Josephine Gräfin von Brühl. MICE Portal is the host of the MICE Partner Network. Further information can be found at miceportal-solutions.de.

About Chateauform

Chateauform is Europe's leading provider of seminar and event venues with more than 80 locations in Europe. The company was co-founded 30 years ago by Daniel Abittan and is now managed by Benjamin Abittan and Gérald Coutaudier. Chateauform employs around 2,200 people and acts as a strategic partner with many years of market knowledge in the French MICE market in the OneMICE joint venture. Further information can be found at chateauform.com.

About OneMICE

OneMICE is a SaaS source-to-pay solution for the governance of corporate MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, Events) spend. The platform enables corporates to centralize, track and optimize their entire event spend, while giving suppliers and intermediaries direct access to buyers across the ecosystem. OneMICE is the result of a joint venture between MICE Portal and the Chateauform Group and is managed by Vinzenz Graf von Brühl, Benjamin Abittan and Jean de Villeneuve Bargemont (CEO). Headquarters: Paris. Further information at onemice.com.

About the MICE Partner Network (MPN)

The MICE Partner Network is the European supplier network for professional event procurement. It currently comprises over 12,000 B2B hotels, 3,000 event locations, 5,000 restaurants and 20,000 MICE service providers in DACH and France. The MPN is behind all store platforms in the ecosystem (MICE Portal Shop, OneMICE Shop) and is open to other country partners. Hosted by MICE Portal GmbH.