Monetizing a Local Marketplace - creative ideas?

Hey Hackers,

Been a while but I'm back! Still (probably mentioned this years ago) considering the idea of building a local marketplace for group events which feels especially relevant given that people need to engage virtually and everyone's scrambling to figure out how to do this. This is definitely not a novel idea and many have tried it before (Kapow, for one), but I still feel like no one's got it right.

I'm currently in Field Marketing and can tell you that finding ideas for virtual events was a challenge. And when planning a real life event (ya know...when that was a thing), even though I'm familiar with most restaurants/bars/venues in Chicago, it's still hard to pinpoint the best fit for what you need.

Now that I've convinced you ;) I'm curious to hear out-of-the-box ideas for revenue models.

Most marketplaces charge a commission on each sale of course, but I feel like there are some inherent problems with this model in the world of events. For one, it would be super easy to contact the provider off the listing, so there would have to be something "sticky" making sure people use the site. Given that group events aren't always the. most frequent purchases, not sure what that would be.

Second, events are so customizable. You can try your best to package it up to make it click-and-done, but I feel like inevitably the person will want to change or add things after the fact, muddying the waters.

Lastly, events are a service business, so I feel like things like response time, level of description, enthusiasm, etc are all selling points that make you want to work with a vendor. Imagine someone purchasing an event from the site, and then the provider is super slow or unresponsive, etc. Makes you look real bad.

So, with all that being said, my other ideas were pay-per-lead (click) to their website, or a flat monthly listing/subscription fee, perhaps in a "freemium" model where a super basic listing is free and the one you actually want is paid.

I'd love to hear others' ideas that I haven't thought of yet, or maybe there's some sort of hybrid model that would work?

My favorite currently is the flat fee, which I'm certain would be the providers' least favorite, especially during the covid era.