About CookUnity

CookUnity is the first chef-direct subscription service, a chef-to-food-lover marketplace connecting award-winning chefs with consumers nationwide. Founded in 2015 and headquartered in Brooklyn, NY, CookUnity has grown to 800+ employees, 100+ chefs, and delivers millions of restaurant-quality meals annually.

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CookUnity needed a Brooklyn venue for an 80-person team retreat — four nights, easy access for NYC-based employees, with a vibe that matched their culture. They submitted a proposal through Marco and received quotes from 9 shortlisted properties within days.

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Marco negotiated group rates across all venues, with the Moxy Brooklyn Williamsburg coming in at $329/night versus the $431 rack rate — a 24% discount before additional concessions like waived resort fees, complimentary room upgrades, and 20% attrition flexibility.

The Challenge

CookUnity needed to bring 80 employees together in Brooklyn for a 4-night planning week, the company's biggest event of the year. The People Experience team is lean, and comparing quotes across 9 different Brooklyn hotels while juggling resort fees, attrition clauses, and group minimums was eating weeks of time they didn't have.

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They'd already used Marco for four smaller leadership trips and knew the process worked. But this was a different scale: 320 room-nights, a tight budget, and zero room for surprises.

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The Solution

Marco sourced 9 Brooklyn properties, negotiated group rates on all of them, and delivered a side-by-side comparison page within days. CookUnity could see rack rate vs. group rate, resort fee waivers, concessions, and total cost for each property, all in one view.

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The Moxy Brooklyn Williamsburg came back at $329/night vs. $431 rack rate, a 24% discount plus waived $30/night resort fees, 2 complimentary upgrades, free wifi, and 20% attrition flexibility.

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From first request to signed contract: 10 days.