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Convene

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Other company
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The profile

Convene, a New York operator of meeting, event and shared-amenity space in office buildings, closed all 28 of its locations in March 2020 and laid off nearly a fifth of its staff. Its chief executive, Ryan Simonetti, set up a relief fund for employees from voluntary donations by the leadership team and his entire salary. SBA's PPP loan data list no borrower that matches the New York company.

  • Category: events, venues, and creator marketplaces
  • Pandemic-layoff role: Additional sourced company
  • Last updated: 2026-11-01

In the archive

Founders, executives and investors

Ryan Simonetti co-founded Convene in New York in 2009 and was its chief executive through the pandemic. Commercial Observer reported in March 2020 that the company had raised more than $260 million from real-estate backers including RXR Realty, the Durst Organization and Brookfield Asset Management.

Business before the pandemic

Convene ran meeting, event and shared-amenity space in office buildings for landlords and their tenants. In March 2020 it had 28 locations in the U.S. and employed about 832 people, according to a spokesperson. Its sites included New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and Boston.

What the pandemic did to the business

The closures came first. In the week of March 16, 2020, Convene shut 17 locations after a member at a New York City space contracted the coronavirus, then closed all 28 as restrictions tightened. On March 24 Simonetti wrote on the company blog that Convene was working with "shareholders, landlord partners, lenders and clients to ensure the security of Convene's future."

Pandemic-relief role: a fund for its own staff

Simonetti set up a Convene Relief Fund for employees, funded by voluntary donations from the leadership team and his entire salary. SBA's PPP loan data list no borrower that matches the New York venue company; the borrowers with "Convene" in their names are a Tampa software firm reporting 19 jobs, two one-person Minnesota companies and a one-person Brooklyn consultancy.

Layoffs

By March 20, 2020 Convene had laid off close to a fifth of its staff, nearly 150 people, and was furloughing others, Commercial Observer reported; Simonetti's March 24 post put the cut at 17 percent of the workforce, with hundreds furloughed. Laid-off employees received one month of severance plus a week for each year of service, and a month of healthcare coverage. How Convene handled layoffs →

After the first shock

Convene kept operating and later launched a parent company, Convene Hospitality Group. Its website also markets a second venue brand, etc.venues. Its blog has since announced $230 million in strategic growth capital and a venue called Convene Rathbone, due to open in London's West End in 2027.

Where the company is now

Private company, trading as Convene within Convene Hospitality Group. In 2026 its website listed U.S. locations in Boston, Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., and U.K. locations in London and Manchester.

Sources

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