Where you meet a small business client or supplier can be just as important as the topic or the reason for the meeting. It is your job to find the ideal type of space and the best location for your meeting. If you, like many other small businesses, do not have your own on-site meeting room or boardroom, you need to find the ideal meeting room for rent. You need to choose a rental meeting room that will complement the professionalism and the agenda of your meeting.
Location, location, location. When you are planning an important meeting, your choice of location will set the mood. Location is not just about a physical location and a prestigious address, but also about professionalism. You do not want to ask a prospective client to have a meeting in an out-of-the-way place or the back of a coffee shop. The other factor that is important to consider is ease of access. Is there accessible parking close by? Can you easily accommodate those with mobility challenges?
Size matters. Depending on the number of people you are planning to have at your meeting, you want to be able to rent a meeting room that is appropriate. You do not want a room that is too small for a large group. But you also do not want a large boardroom for a meeting with only one or two people. A good meeting room rental company will make it easy for you to determine what size of room you need.
Facilities provided by the venue – some questions to ask
- Does the venue have a variety of rooms if required? An auditorium if necessary? Small rooms for breakaway meetings?
- Does the venue offer large-screen TV’s, a projector, whiteboards and other technology?
- Does the venue offer WiFi internet access?
- Does it have photocopying/fax services?
- Can they make available laptops or PCs if required?
- Does the venue offer complimentary refreshments such as coffee, tea and filtered water?
- Does the venue have on-site parking or nearby parking available – and at what cost?
- Are the meeting rooms climate-controlled and can you set the temperature?
- Are there nearby restaurants or bars for lunch breaks or post-meeting debriefings?
Visit the location in person. A lot of the above questions can be answered by a visit to the venue’s website and by asking for a quote. But before you choose a venue for your meeting, an in-person visit is still very important. You should consider referrals from colleagues, friends and other business professionals as useful starting points. At the end of the day, the most important perspective is your own. The venue you choose should ideally reflect you and your business. Weigh your options, and then do what makes sense for you and your business image.
Conclusion. You do not want to take a client for a professional meeting to the local coffee shop and look like an amateur. But you also do not want to take them to a posh hotel meeting room that looks presumptuous. One of the ideal places to have a meeting is in an office business centre that not only rents meeting rooms, but also rents office space and offers virtual office services. How impressed would a client be if they saw the same address on your business cards as the location of the meeting? Business centres like Telsec offer free use of meeting rooms and boardrooms to its office-rental tenants – but they also offer discounted rentals of meeting rooms to virtual office clients as well.