11 Things to Consider When Booking a Meeting Room

Studies show that business leaders waste an inordinate amount of time sending emails, making calls, and booking and attending meetings. About one-third of a business leader’s time is consumed with email, and another one-third is spent in meetings—with up to half of that time deemed a complete waste of time.

There are various reasons meetings are a drag on businesses—everything from the lack of purpose and the lack of an agenda, to poor moderators, to missing key action items, to imprecise roles and responsibilities. These are all fully valid reasons why a meeting is a hassle rather than a productive workday event.

But what about the actual meeting room itself? Too often, businesses put little thought into the construction of conference meeting rooms and the accouterments included in them. The same can be said of rented meeting rooms. Small businesses and solopreneurs are electing to use coworking spaces and day offices instead of permanent physical office spaces. They also rely on rented meeting rooms—often in those same locations. Notwithstanding, meeting room rentals play a critical role for businesses with permanent office space. Scenarios vary—expansion into new locations, customer or prospect meetings in locations outside the proximity of the permanent office, and the need for a conference room or meeting room larger than the one in the company office building, among others.

Not every meeting room is the same. Location and size typically rank at the top of the list of criteria business leaders employ to evaluate their meeting room options. However, there are many other factors that are just as important, if not more so. Seeking to help business leaders find meeting rooms that best meet their needs, we put together the following 11 things used to book a meeting room:

1. Booking a Meeting Room

Business leaders are busy professionals and require digital tools that they can use anywhere and anytime on any device. In these instances, they want to be able to book rooms on their desktops or laptops, mobile devices, or phone. Thus, they need to use meeting room rental providers that make it possible for them to book meeting rooms and conference rooms while they are on the run—whether in the office, at the airport, or at a customer’s or buyer’s location.

2. Viewing a Business Meeting Room

Just as all of us want to see what something looks like before we buy it (think how often we purchase and return products purchased on Amazon using our Prime Memberships), business leaders need to see what a rented meeting room looks like. As it is impossible to see the meeting room beforehand, business leaders need to be able to preview the meeting room when reviewing and booking rental options. Photos may be insufficient. Videos—with a focus on providing a 360 view—are more helpful. Meeting rooms aren’t a one-size-fits-all, but rather business leaders need to evaluate and select meeting rooms based on the purpose of the meeting (prospect or customer meeting, staff training, all-hands meeting, etc.).

3. Multiple Engagement Options

When evaluating and booking meeting rooms, business leaders sometimes need assistance. It might simply be questions about room configurations or booking policies and rules. In other instances, they may need assistance in finding a meeting room or conference room that best meets their meeting requirements. While phone support is certainly a required engagement option, other channels are a must in today’s digital era—live web chat, self-service, a mobile app, or even text.

4. Finding a Professional Location

First impressions count. Not only is location critical when you’re meeting with prospects or customers, but it also is important for employee meetings such as all hands. A subpar location will immediately diminish the importance of the meeting in the eyes of those who are attending.

5. Utilizing a Lobby Receptionist

Just as the location of the meeting room rental plays a critical role on first impressions, the experience of attendees upon arrival does as well. Having a lobby greeter conveys professionalism and ensures meeting attendees are greeted immediately upon arrival. Lobby greeters can answer their questions such as where to find refreshments and restrooms and meeting agenda and location.

6. Availability of Web and Video Conferencing

Often not all meeting participants can attend in person, and thus having easy-to-use web/video conferencing capabilities built into the meeting room is vital. With the right web/video conferencing tools in place, it will make it seem as if virtual attendees are there in person and in the meeting room with you.

7. Use of Day Offices or Coworking Spaces

In many instances, attendees—from customers to employees—may need to use a day office or a coworking space before, during, or after the meeting.

8. Presenting and Engaging Like a Pro

Meeting presenters and facilitators need the latest technologies at their fingertips—from smart boards, to LCD projectors, to plasma screens. These technology tools ensure that meetings stay on track and attendees remain engaged.

9. Taking Advantage of Business Services

Meeting disruptions can get meetings completely off-kilter. Being able to focus on attendees, presentations, group discussions, and other meeting activities over basic business services such as printing, faxing, mailing, shipping, photocopying, and the like can ensure meeting disruptions don’t occur.

10. Leveraging Catering in Meetings

Breakfast, lunch, and dinner should be a foregone conclusion, built into the meeting agenda. Catering services ensure attendees listen to presentations and engage in conversations without thinking about their next meal.

11. Online Calendar Integration with Business Meetings

The days of physical meeting planners are long past. Busy business professionals rely exclusively on their digital calendars. Thus your meeting room provider needs to support the different calendaring solutions—Google, Microsoft 365, Exchange, etc.

The last thing business leaders want to occur with meetings is for attendees to feel they are a waste of time. By following the preceding 11 recommendations when considering a meeting room, business leaders can avoid the shortcomings that plague meetings and give them a “bad reputation.” Now that you’ve learned the things you should consider when booking a meeting room, learn how Davinci Meeting Rooms can help in the booking process today by contacting us today. 

About Patrick Spencer

Patrick Spencer (Ph.D.) is the President and Founder of TIRO Communications that helps companies develop, build, and manage content, customer, advocacy, and demand-gen programs. Included in its offerings is TIRO Cognition Insights, a data analytics tool that enables B2C and B2B businesses to pinpoint what their customers and competitors’ customers are saying and to identify corresponding actionable product, services, competitive, sales, and marketing intelligence. LinkedIn Profile: LinkedIn Website: www.tirocommunications.com