Before the coronavirus pandemic, the hotel industry gained a lot of revenue from conference room bookings. In 2018, the hotel industry saw a 3.5% revenue increase because of the conference meeting industry.
While that was great for the hotel industry, your company must consider many factors before booking a conference room rental.
You don’t want to waste space, book a room without the right equipment or amenities, or inconvenience attendees and speakers.
Here is what you must consider when renting a conference room in 2021.
Want to learn more about conference rooms or temporary office space renting? Check out TailoredSpace today.
Related: 15 Tips to Increase Office Productivity
Conference Room Rental Fees
Understand what you’re paying for long before you sign a contract to rent a conference room. Make sure that your company combs through a conference room contract thoroughly to locate any potential hidden fees.
It’s more than likely that you won’t be paying just for the room rental cost. Your company may also have to pay taxes, various service fees, setup fees, and gratuity.
You may have to pay extra cash for access to electricity for your meeting, depending on where you hold it. Some conference hosting facilities may require you to pay a deposit beforehand.
Add line items for unpredicted future costs just in case too.
Clarify whether you will be paying a flat-fee or per square foot for a conference room rental. Will you pay by the hour, day, or days for a contract? (It is usually cheaper to pay a flat fee or by the day than by the hour).
And there is no one-size-fits-all standard relative to conference room fees. Your company could pay flat-fee conference room rental fees ranging from $30 to $1,500 depending on factors like the number of attendees and prestige of the hosting facility.
Accessibility
One vital factor to consider when planning your conference is the convenience and travel accessibility of all the attendees you plan to invite.
You should have the contact information of every attendee you plan to invite; cross-reference them to plot out the distances everyone must traverse to get to the conference.
Unless you are coordinating a multi-day conference, it makes no sense to rent out a conference room at some hotel or conference facility on the other side of the city or in the next state. Attendees will have to pay for fuel, lodging, food, and additional costs, too – think about that as you plan.
Make sure the location of your conference is convenient and accessible for everyone involved. It won’t hurt to check if the hosting facility is handicap accessible as well.
Conference Center Amenities
Long before you ever sign a contract for a conference room rental, you should make a checklist of the amenities and equipment offerings available at the conference site.
Call ahead before the planned conference and ask for a specific list of all the equipment and amenities available for a conference room rental. This tactic is an intelligent thing to do in the pre-planning stages because you can coordinate what equipment may need to rent and provide yourself if any.
After all, if the conference room rental you’re considering doesn’t include equipment and amenities that you need, you will have to produce a separate budget for such items.
So, what kind of equipment and amenities will you need for your conference meeting? It depends on your circumstance, so pre-plan, research, and budget well beforehand.
Conference Room Style, Tables, and Setup
Will your conference meeting include 10, 20, or 30 attendees? If you are expecting a few or 100 attendees to your conference meeting, you must let the conference center know so they can inform you of their room styles and arrangements.
In the same manner that you might arrange a stage play, the tables, chairs, podium, and other equipment in a conference room must be set for maximum aesthetic and engagement effect.
You must know what kinds of tables, chairs, blackboards, whiteboards, and other seating arrangement equipment are available to plan your conference correctly.
As you conduct your conference meeting, you want your audience to be as comfortable as possible. You also want to design your presentation in a way most comfortable to presenters to present vital information in the most aesthetically memorable way.
For example, you need to know if the conference facility tables are round, square, or rectangular shaped.
With rectangular and square-shaped tables, you can merge them in the middle of the room to make one giant table, boardroom style. Or you can make a U-shaped mass of tables with the opening top of “U” focused on the presenter.
You can also make a classroom or hollow square formation style room presentation. And you can use round-shaped tables to create a banquet-style seating arrangement.
Your conference’s seating and table arrangement will dictate how comfortably your attendees will be seated. Additionally, it would help if you planned how easily attendees, speakers, and presenters would navigate the conference with the advent of social distancing.
Create a conference room arrangement plan to optimize rental space cost. Over 55% of available space in conferences seating 12 people or more is ultimately wasted due to poor arrangement planning.
Reliable Wi-Fi
Don’t assume that the conference facility your company is utilizing has Wi-Fi, reliable Wi-Fi, or free Wi-Fi. Never assume anything when you are planning for a conference room rental.
You or someone from your business should make a preliminary visit to the planned conference site and check out the local Wi-Fi’s reliability. Find out if the Wi-Fi is free or must be paid for in advance.
Your company should also learn about the cybersecurity and virus protection protocols used by the host conference facility.
Ensure that your company and the attendees you invite won’t become vulnerable to cybersecurity, phishing, and malware threats at an event your company asks them to attend.
Miscellaneous Conference Room Rental Supplies
The amount of equipment that you may need could be endless. Here is a partial list of want you may need:
- Whiteboard or blackboard
- Microphone
- Podium
- Intercom speakers
- AV/ Videoconferencing equipment
- Cables, plugs, and sound equipment
- Wall projector equipment
- Printer
Think about what conference room rental equipment and supplies you need a week beforehand, so you aren’t left wondering why you don’t have it on conference day.
Refreshments
Feeding your attendee guests is just good manners. Inquire whether your conference room rental includes refreshments or if you must pay for it.
A simple layout of sandwiches, donuts, bagels, fruit, coffee, and tea will be affordable and appreciated by your attendees.
Plan Ahead for Your Conference Meeting
Do as much planning and research long before you sign any documents to book a conference room rental.
Your company should know what you are getting when you book a conference room before you, and your attendees arrive. And you should make sure the experience will be convenient, accessible, informative, and enjoyable for all involved.
To get a professional consultation about conference rental and temporary office space options, contact TailoredSpace today.
Related: Temporary Office Space: What Is It And Is It Right For Your Team?
