Once you have carefully considered the decor, furnishings, lighting, space and equipment offered by your preferred meeting venue, it’s important to also take into account additional factors such as cost, location and additional services provided. This will ensure your chosen venue meets your expectations.

Additional facilities and services

In addition to technology, many meeting venues can offer further services to both compliment and support your business meeting. These include services like photocopying and faxing, refreshments (such as teas and coffees) or full catering facilities. However, it’s important to note that although these services are beneficial they are also chargeable and should only be considered if absolutely necessary for your business meeting.

Many business centres also offer their meeting room clients free access to business lounges and breakout areas, with free self service refreshments. These extra perks can make hiring a meeting room within a business centre a more attractive option.

Customer service

Good customer service is key to your business as the meeting venue you choose will essentially become an extension of your brand image for the duration of your meeting. How venue staff interact with your clients and partners will ultimately affect the perception they will have of your organisation, so you will want to find a meeting venue that offers exceptional customer service.

Ideally you will want to look for a meeting venue that offers a highly skilled and trained workforce, preferably accredited by the Institute of Customer Service (ICS); an independent professional body for customer service.

Location

When selecting a meeting location you will want to find a venue that has good transportation links, so those participating in the meeting can reach your location with ease. Local facilities are also important especially if you need easy access to essential business services such as banks.

If possible you will want to find a meeting location that is either centrally located close to your business or your client. Location is the biggest advantage offered by external meeting rooms; the additional flexibility offered enables your business to move with your customers as and when needed.

Costs

Cost is probably the most important factor when it comes to hiring a meeting room. As you may now realise there are a number of factors that can influence the cost of your meeting room:

Time - meeting rooms can be hired for a full day, half day or by the hour. This offers a flexible, cost effective business solution, as you only pay for the time you need.

Space - the size of your meeting room also contributes to the cost as the larger the space, the higher the cost.

Location is also a contributing factor. Meeting space in prime locations such as central London and the City are often charged at a premium.

Additional services and equipment can also increase the cost of your meeting room booking. Business tools such as video conferencing equipment will often incur an additional charge, along with facilities like catering and business support services.

It’s important you establish with your meeting venue provider what services are and are not included; a provider that does not provide transparent pricing is one to be avoided.

External meeting rooms are a popular choice for many modern businesses; the flexibility and cost saving offered to businesses by Avanta has made them the go to meeting room service for organisations needing extra meeting space.