NFIB

What to Look for When Renting a Meeting Space
04/ 11/ 2002

Your biggest client calls out of the blue to announce that she and her team just happen to be coming to your city, and they want to meet with you. Your home office or leased office may be ideal for your day-to-day activities, but suddenly it's looking very small and inelegant. What to do? Simple, just rent a meeting room for the day. In today's Workshop, Jeffrey Moses offers some tips on where to look for high-quality yet relatively inexpensive meeting space.

There are many sources for finding good meeting space these days. Many banks, for instance, have meeting rooms that rent by the day, evening, or even by the hour. If you're a customer of the bank, all the better -- but in most instances you don't have to be. Besides, they'll probably charge you whether you're a customer or not.

Always look at the room before booking. Check out its appearance, location, and ease of entrance. Also, ask about chairs, tables, audio-visual equipment if needed and white marker board. Prices often run from $50 to $150 or more for an evening, and you'll find that some rooms are much more attractive than others, so compare rooms before reserving. It's often necessary to book rooms two or three weeks in advance.

Libraries usually have community rooms that are available for rent. Though accommodations are often bare, they are usually relatively inexpensive, sometimes even free. They're not appropriate for all types of business meetings, however, and you should consider whether your participants will be impressed by your choice of location.

Many office buildings and hotels have executive conference centers with meeting rooms that are available for rent. These are usually somewhat more expensive than bank meeting rooms, but can give a more professional feel to your meeting and offer many more amenities specially designed for business conferences such as advanced presentation equipment, banquet services, breakfast plates, computers and more. Always compare prices and amenities before reserving. And remember, everything is negotiable. Before committing to a meeting room at a certain price, ask that coffee or snacks be included. Also, be on the lookout for hidden extras such as charges for setting up chairs and tables or automatic charges for refreshments, whether you ask for them or not.

Meeting rooms also may be available at airports, private clubs, restaurants, taverns, resort facilities and other public establishments. Look into all of your options, and never book a room sight unseen.

Small Business Sound Off
Does this story hit home?  Share your story with us