How much does Event Temple cost compared to Function Desk?

Event Temple publishes a starting price of US$249 per month, billed annually on a minimum one-year term, with possible setup fees on top. Function Desk is A$119 per venue per month, one plan, month to month, with a 14-day free trial. Compare the committed first-year total rather than the headline, and ask Event Temple whether their figure is per seat.

Is Event Temple better than Function Desk?

For a hotel doing group and RFP business, yes, clearly. It has six consecutive years of awards in exactly that category. For an owner-operated function venue whose problem is answering enquiries fast enough, it is a heavier and more expensive tool than the job needs.

Does Function Desk do banquet event orders?

Not yet. It handles the enquiry, the qualification, the proposal, the signature and the deposit. If a printed BEO for the kitchen is a hard requirement today, Event Temple has it and we do not.

Do both send email from my own address?

Yes, both can. Event Temple integrates with Gmail and Outlook, and Function Desk sends through your connected mailbox. This is one of the places we are simply level, and we would rather say so than pretend otherwise.

All comparisons

Head to head

Event Temple vs Function Desk

These two are not really competing for the same venue. Event Temple sells to hotels and hotel groups doing group and RFP business, from US$249 a month on a minimum one-year term. Function Desk sells to the function venue with one site and no procurement department.

Every claim about Event Temple on this page links to Event Temple’s own website or support documentation. Checked September 2026. Where we could not confirm something, we say so rather than guess.

Who each one is built for

Function Desk

Function and event venues: reception centres, wineries, pubs with a function room, galleries, boutique spaces. Owner-operated, priced per venue, month to month.

Event Temple

Hotels with meeting space, and hotel chains and groups. Group sales, RFPs, and a Cvent-connected pipeline.

What actually separates them

The commitment is a year, and the entry price is not small

Event Temple’s own pricing page states it starts "as low as $249 per month", that all prices are based on annual payment, that there is a minimum one-year term, and that additional fees may apply depending on setup requirements. That is a reasonable enterprise structure. It is also close to US$3,000 committed before you have run a single enquiry through it, and an exchange rate you do not control.

Their AI parses RFPs; ours answers the enquiry

Event Temple’s AI work centres on turning inbound RFPs and emails into structured leads and proposals faster. That is exactly right for a hotel sales team fielding formal briefs. A function venue does not get RFPs. It gets a one-line email asking whether you are free in March and what it costs, and it loses that lead to whoever answers first. Function Desk answers it.

Hotel-shaped, not function-shaped

Event Temple has been voted best group sales software for hotels six years running. That is a real achievement and it tells you the shape of the product: room blocks, group business, PMS integration. If you do not have rooms, you are paying for a lot of hotel.

One venue, one price, in your own currency

Function Desk publishes one price in Australian dollars, per venue rather than per seat, so adding a second coordinator does not change the bill. Every extra venue is the same flat rate. Start on a 14-day trial without a demo.

Side by side

Function Desk compared with Event Temple, checked September 2026
Capability	Function Desk	Event Temple
Price published on the website, no demo required to see a numberEvent Temple publishes a starting figure of US$249/month but directs buyers to a custom quote for their actual price. Source	Function Desk: Yes	Event Temple: Partly
Month-to-month, no minimum termEvent Temple states a minimum one-year term, with all prices based on annual payment. Source	Function Desk: Yes	Event Temple: No
Priced per venue rather than per user seatEvent Temple’s pricing page does not state its billing unit, and third-party listings disagree on whether it is per seat or flat. Ask them before comparing totals.	Function Desk: Yes	Event Temple: Not verified
Priced and billed in Australian dollarsEvent Temple publishes in US dollars. Source	Function Desk: Yes	Event Temple: No
Replies go out from your own Gmail or Outlook, so they land in the inbox and sit in your Sent folderEvent Temple integrates with Gmail and Outlook, so it can send from your own account. This is parity, not an advantage over them. Source	Function Desk: Yes	Event Temple: Partly
AI carries the back-and-forth itself, auto-sending low-risk replies and escalating the restEvent Temple’s AI is aimed at turning inbound RFPs and emails into leads and proposals for a salesperson to send, not at carrying the conversation unattended. Source	Function Desk: Yes	Event Temple: No
Automatic follow-up with leads who never replyEvent Temple has email automation and sequences. We have not verified whether it stops automatically the moment a lead engages, which is the part that matters. Source	Function Desk: Yes	Event Temple: Partly
Free trial you can start yourselfEvent Temple offers a free trial, requested through their site rather than started directly. Source	Function Desk: Yes	Event Temple: Partly
Banquet event orders / function sheets for the kitchen and floorA genuine gap in Function Desk. Source	Function Desk: No	Event Temple: Yes
Hotel room blocks and PMS integrationNot something Function Desk does or intends to do. Source	Function Desk: No	Event Temple: Yes

When Event Temple is the better choice

We would rather you bought the right thing than bought ours.

You are a hotel, or a hotel group. Rooms plus meeting space is what Event Temple is built around, and we do not touch that.
Your pipeline comes through Cvent and formal RFPs rather than a contact form and an inbox.
You need banquet event orders and PMS integration on day one.
You have multiple properties and want group-level sales reporting across them.

Questions people ask

How much does Event Temple cost compared to Function Desk?: Event Temple publishes a starting price of US$249 per month, billed annually on a minimum one-year term, with possible setup fees on top. Function Desk is A$119 per venue per month, one plan, month to month, with a 14-day free trial. Compare the committed first-year total rather than the headline, and ask Event Temple whether their figure is per seat.
Is Event Temple better than Function Desk?: For a hotel doing group and RFP business, yes, clearly. It has six consecutive years of awards in exactly that category. For an owner-operated function venue whose problem is answering enquiries fast enough, it is a heavier and more expensive tool than the job needs.
Does Function Desk do banquet event orders?: Not yet. It handles the enquiry, the qualification, the proposal, the signature and the deposit. If a printed BEO for the kitchen is a hard requirement today, Event Temple has it and we do not.
Do both send email from my own address?: Yes, both can. Event Temple integrates with Gmail and Outlook, and Function Desk sends through your connected mailbox. This is one of the places we are simply level, and we would rather say so than pretend otherwise.

See it on your own enquiries

A$119 per venue per month, one plan, everything included. Connect your inbox and watch it answer a real enquiry. No demo, no call.

Start free 14-day trial

Event Temple is a trademark of its owner and is not affiliated with, and does not endorse, Function Desk. Comparisons reflect publicly available information at the date shown. If you believe something here is out of date, tell us and we will correct it.