First impressions are essential. Many times, a first impression someone may have of you and your business will be made within your meeting room.

Whether it’s a candidate coming in for an interview or a potential client hearing your pitch, selecting the right facility when considering a meeting room is as important.

Meeting rooms can be used for a variety of different purposes. From hosting team-building exercises to facilitating client meetings, there’s a lot to consider. Thanks to this, it can be difficult to know what to look for.

You need to rent a meeting location that’s fit for purpose. One that’s well equipped with all the necessary furnishings and equipment. All while showcasing a professional appearance.

Rather than asking whether you need a meeting room, companies are now wondering what they should be looking for, whether it’s for a small meeting room or a full conference room rental.

There are many important factors to consider when undertaking this task. To help, this article explores factors in selecting the right meeting room and making the decision simple.

The benefits of hiring a meeting room

While a local coffee shop might be good for individual and casual meetings, it’s not ideal for anything more professional than that. For example, it’s hard to imagine setting up a projector in such a public space.

On the other hand, our conference rooms have great facilities, so you can focus on work and not have to worry about the WiFi cutting out.

These are some of the clearest benefits of a meeting room, providing the essentials with equipment and materials. For example, many Regus meeting rooms include flat-screen TVs, whiteboards, projectors, high-speed WiFi, and much more.

Another, less tangible but important benefit of conference room bookings is the professional image they grant to prospective and current clients.

Meeting rooms highlight that you prioritize privacy for your meeting, all while focusing on comfort. This helps all parties involved work in a more relaxed manner, helping to build a good business relationship.

Meeting rooms also have the added benefits of technical support, a professional reception team to greet guests, and even access to catering and beverage services to keep your meeting energized.

As well as being beneficial from a client perspective, meeting rooms complement office spaces by offering a change of scenery. This can help increase employee productivity and well-being.

While meeting rooms offer all these benefits, they’re usually only accessible if they’re private meeting rooms that you or your business have exclusive access to. This is why hiring a meeting room is beneficial to businesses.

Even if you don’t have your own meeting room, hiring one provides access to all of the aforementioned benefits, all without the cost of running one full-time.

As clear as the benefits of hiring a meeting room are, it can be difficult to pick the perfect one for you and your business. Here’s what you need to consider when hiring a meeting room:

1. Available in any type of room you need

One of the best benefits of meeting rooms is how varied they can be. From hosting large conferences to granting privacy to small meetings, there’s a type of meeting room available to accommodate.

Team space

Team spaces are essentially separate areas of a working space that are designated for group work. While working around someone’s desk can serve the purpose, dedicating a meeting room to these endeavors offers privacy and a space to focus.

If you need a space to get together with your team, Regus’ meeting rooms provide the perfect productive space to make big things happen. Whether it’s a team meeting, a brainstorming session, or a quick update on a project, meeting rooms are ideal for team spaces.

Interview rooms

Like team space, designating a space to host an interview is important.

Meeting rooms offer a professional, private space for interviewing candidates. They help candidates focus on the interview, as opposed to being distracted by the energy and activity present in a usual working environment.

Regus has a range of interview rooms across our centers. For example, you can inspire guests with an unusual spot, complete with sweeping views or vibrant decorations. Or, you can opt to keep it simple yet effective with unadorned, modern spaces. And, you can book them for as little as an hour.

Conference rooms / Board rooms

Conference rooms are larger meeting rooms, able to accommodate a larger group, often featuring a large table in the center of the room that can host a large number of attendees.

Regus’ conference rooms are equipped with state-of-the-art presentation equipment and conference facilities. Like our other meeting rooms, they’re available to hire for as long or as little as you need them.

Similar to these are board rooms, usually reserved for large meetings or executive-level meetings. With Regus, you can rent a boardroom for as long as you need it, with many available in central locations that suits all participants.

Training rooms

Training rooms are exactly what they sound like; purpose-built spaces designed for training sessions.

They usually feature similar facilities to conference rooms, such as projectors and a large amount of space. The difference is that they often accommodate several learners, catering towards those who will be teaching.

For example, opting for many small tables rather than one large one, with seating positioned to focus on one part of the room.

They’re also great for team-building exercises, with catering options available and support teams on-site.

2. Adequate floor and room space

Working with sufficient space is vital when considering hiring a meeting room. Think about how many people will need the space for the time you need it. Consider furniture, like chairs, tables, and potentially desks to work from.

Naturally, this will depend on the situation. For interviews conducted with a small panel, you’ll likely only need enough space for a table and a few chairs. However, if you’re looking for conference rooms, you’ll need to be able to accommodate a large table, many chairs, and equipment like projectors.

Because of this, it may be worth first viewing the meeting room to understand the space. Ensure there is sufficient room for the task you are planning, as well as the equipment and furniture that you need.

3. Break areas

After a long meeting, it’s not a bad idea to have somewhere to recharge and take a break. General well-being is an important factor in the workplace to boost morale and keep productivity high.

That’s why offering break areas near meeting rooms is important. Of course, employees and clients can simply leave the building and take a coffee break at a local coffee shop.

However, going to and from locations like this eats up valuable time in the day, as well as taking them out of the workplace mentality. With Regus, our room hires include break areas. Thanks to these, you can unwind post-meeting.

Along with these break areas are often on-site cafes or tea & coffee making facilities. These allow you to take a break, make yourself a coffee, and stretch your legs so that you feel refreshed between meetings.

4. Presentation facilities, connectivity, and technology

The facilities a meeting room offers also make hiring a meeting room worth considering.

While you might have some in your own office space, the professional-standard equipment that comes as standard with rented meeting rooms is often worth the price of admission alone.

For example, Regus has super reliable WiFi, eliminating any connection woes. Our spaces are also fully equipped with the likes of large TVs, video conferencing, and whiteboards. Thanks to this, you’ll have everything you need on-hand for any kind of meeting.

There’s also always an experienced, in-house support team available on-site, just in case anything goes awry.

5. Design and Layout

Design and layout is another important consideration when hiring a meeting venue.

Good lighting is important in a room, as well as the overall layout. For example, there are classroom, U-shaped, and theater layouts. These layouts all affect your client or employees and can influence the tone of the meeting.

Regus’ modern, ergonomic designs are perfect for your corporate meeting room needs. All while being spacious, with lots of natural light, and customizable layouts.

6. Amenities, catering options, and on-hand management and reception services

In most meetings, ‘the essentials’ often go beyond simply offering tea and coffee. Depending on your requirements, you may also want to consider what amenities are available on location.

These range from centers that host sandwich service, on-site coffee shops, and even lunch restaurants. Having these close by can make the difference between a meeting being motivated or monotonous.

You can hire meeting rooms on comparison websites by the hour. However, they likely won’t show what facilities the list of locations have, let alone whether they even offer catering, private dining, or concierge services.

If you want to remove the responsibility from yourself, consider Regus’ meeting room facilities, which come with many added amenities.

7. Accessibility and location

Another consideration for your booking is the accessibility to the room. Having it in a central location for all attendees, with good access to public transport and parking is always a good start.

Whether you have a small office outside of a central location or you need special facilities found in bigger centers, you’ll find them when hiring a meeting room with Regus.

We offer over 10,000 meeting rooms, across over 4,000 locations worldwide. Thanks to this, you’ll always find a location that fits your needs.

We also make it clear when our centers offer easy accessibility, such as with wheelchair access via lifts or ramps, as well as essentials like disabled toilets.

Before booking the room and sending the invites out, it’s worthwhile confirming with the attendees beforehand, checking their commutes and any special requirements.

8. The cost of a conference or meeting room

Even if a business isn’t fully satisfied with their own potential meeting room, they may opt to try utilising it as such because of cost-saving purposes. However, it’s worth remembering that hiring meeting rooms isn’t incredibly costly, and in some locations may be cheaper than you’d think.

This is especially true when considering the state-of-the-art facilities available at them, which would likely cost a small fortune to outfit a business’ own on-site potential meeting rooms with.

To give some context on affordability, the average cost for a Regus meeting room in the US is approximately $39 per hour, with prices ranging from $29 to $135 per hour.

Prices fluctuate based on where the meeting room is based, the size of the room, and whether it or nearby centers are available. Because of this, we’d recommend checking within our meeting room hub for the most accurate prices in your local area.

For a quick guide here are the lowest meeting room costs in a few of our locations:

■ New York from $39/h

■ Chicago from $29/h

■ San Francisco from $29/h

■ Miami from $29/h

■ Los Angeles from $29/h

■ New Orleans from $29/h

■ Austin from $29/h

9. How to find and hire a meeting room

You can easily find a meeting room with our online booking system. This helps to find a suitable meeting room when you need it, all and at a reasonable price.

For more help and advice with meeting rooms, you can reach out to our team of experts. They’re on-hand to help you with any meeting room booking inquiries

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Regus offers office spaces all across America. Within these locations you’ll find a variety of different meeting rooms, ranging from small and private spaces for interviews to grand conference facilities for large and important gatherings.