About us
We work inside this industry.
We want it to be better.
PrivateEvents.co is not a tech platform that scraped a list of restaurants and added a booking widget. It is built by a team that manages private event programs for venues every day.
The problem we solve
Planning a private event at a restaurant should be straightforward. You have a date, a guest count, and an occasion. You need a room, a menu, and a price. That is not a complicated transaction.
But if you have ever tried to book a private dining room, you know it does not feel straightforward. You search online and find incomplete information. You email three restaurants and hear back from one. The one that responds sends you a 12-page PDF with packages named "The Gold Experience" and no actual pricing. You follow up twice before getting availability. By then, 10 days have passed and you still do not have a confirmed venue.
We know this because we work on the other side of it. We run the private event programs for restaurants and bars. We see the inquiries that come in. We see how long they take to get answered. We see how many people give up.
PrivateEvents.co exists to close that gap. You tell us what you are planning. We tell you where to do it, how much it will cost, and whether the room is available on your date. A real person handles the coordination. There is no fee, no markup, and no catch.
Who we are
PrivateEvents.co is built by Sway, a hospitality company that manages private event programs for restaurants and bars across the United States. Sway handles lead generation, sales, coordination, and booking management for venue partners in San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Denver, Salt Lake City, Baltimore, Carlsbad, and other markets.
We are not a listing site. We do not scrape data. Every venue in our network is a restaurant or bar we work with directly. We know the events managers by name. We know the rooms. We know which spaces are best for 15 people and which ones need 50 to feel right. We know the contract terms that catch first-time hosts off guard.
That industry knowledge is what makes this work. When you submit an inquiry on PrivateEvents.co, you are not entering a search engine. You are starting a conversation with a team that has managed thousands of private event bookings and knows how to match your event to the right venue.
How we make money (and why you do not pay)
Restaurants partner with Sway to manage their private event inquiries. When we facilitate a booking, the venue pays us a commission. You pay the restaurant directly for your event at the same rate you would pay if you found them on your own and booked directly.
There is no fee added to your bill. There is no markup on food, drinks, or room charges. The price you see is the price you pay. Our incentive is to match you with a venue where you will actually book, which means recommending places that are the right fit, not places that pay us more.
Why this model works
Restaurants receive dozens of private event inquiries every month. Many go unanswered for days. Many are from people who are not ready to book. By the time the restaurant responds, the guest has already booked somewhere else. Sway solves that by qualifying inquiries, responding quickly, and handling the back-and-forth. Venues fill more rooms. Guests have a better experience. Everyone benefits.
What we believe
We built PrivateEvents.co around a few principles that guide how we operate.
Pricing should be transparent
You should know what an event costs before you commit. Every recommendation we send includes the food and beverage minimum, what is included, and what the realistic total looks like after tax and service charges. No "contact for pricing" runarounds.
Response time matters
When you are planning an event, every day without an answer is a day of uncertainty. We respond within one business day. Most inquiries get a response the same day. If we need more time to find the right match, we tell you that instead of going silent.
Real people, not forms
The form is how you start the conversation. After that, you work with a person who knows your event and your venue. If something changes, you text or email us directly. You do not resubmit a form or open a support ticket.
Honest recommendations
If a venue is wrong for your event, we will tell you. If your budget does not match your expectations, we will tell you that too. We would rather give you an honest answer than a polite one that wastes your time.
Ready to plan something?
Tell us what you are celebrating. We will take it from there.
Tell us what you're planning