When some employees hear ‘business meeting’, they immediately start thinking of a boring event where the management staff gets to show off themselves whilst the junior staffs are forced to sit and listen. Is this how you want your employees to think of your business meetings? I guess not.
Business meetings should be something that employees look forward to—a chance to learn new skills, socialize and network. But if business meetings always hold in the same boring place or in the office conference room, I doubt that there would be anything interesting to look forward to.
So for your next business meeting, try to do something out of the ordinary. Go somewhere else. Arrange something fun, and you just might get better results. Also, you should remember that business meetings not only refer to meetings with your employees, it may be with your investors, shareholders, stakeholders or even customers.
10 Business Meeting Location Ideas for High Productivity
1. Event centers
The conference or meeting hall of an event center may bring a breath of fresh air and the right atmosphere you need to brainstorm and learn. Event centers usually have the right facilities needed for business meetings, and they have smaller meeting rooms for two to five persons in case that is what you need.
2. Eateries and coffee shops
If you are hosting a business meeting on a budget and do not need projectors and public address systems, and are hosting just a small number of people, this is the best choice for you. You can just look for a nice, not-too-lousy coffee shop where you can sit with your guests and have your meetings conveniently.
It is however important to ask for prior permission or ask for their rules on hosting meetings. You don’t want your guests to be embarrassed in case the eatery or coffee shop doesn’t permit holding of meetings in their premises.
3. Resorts
One good thing about hosting your business meeting in a resort is that your guests can also get to relax and escape from the hustle and bustle of the city for a few days. They would be able to refresh their minds, souls and try spa resorts, business resorts, beach resorts, golf resorts or wild life resorts for your next business meeting.
4. Cruise ships
Ever thought of the idea of hosting your business meetings aboard a cruise ship? What else could be more exciting and thrilling than that? This is one meeting your guests would certainly be looking forward to attending.
5. Islands
If you can afford it, find a very nice island and ferry your guests off for a quiet and private weekend. Apart from holding an interesting meeting session, your guests would also have a lot of fun activities to do which would make the event very memorable.
6. Ranches
You could also consider hosting your business meetings in a ranch. There are dozens of Ranch resorts that offer very cool atmosphere for guests and allow them the opportunity to be closer to nature.
7. Hotels
Hosting your business meeting in a hotel is quite comfortable. Hotels offer all-in-one experiences for event planners; good locations, accommodation, feeding, transportation and entertainment. You don’t have to worry about anything else if you can get a good hotel that would support you and offer all the facilities you need to make your business meetings memorable and successful.
8. Bookstores
For simple, short and formal meetings, a bookstore is a very good place to hold very brief business meetings. This is a very good idea for work-from-home entrepreneurs who do not really like the idea of meeting clients in their home.
9. Public libraries
Yet another great idea for people who are planning business meetings on a budget is to make use of public libraries. Some public libraries have meeting rooms where they allow members to hold meetings. However, if it’s a meeting where you would like your guests to be entertained, a public library would be a very wrong place to host such meetings.
10. The Internet
You can also host e-meetings on the internet without having to stress yourself or your guests. This is, in fact, very good for people who are hosting international meetings. There are lots of tools and apps that can be used to host video conferences and meetings. Examples are GoToMeeting, Cisco Webex, Google Hangouts, Team Viewer and Join.me. Some of these tools are free of charge while you have to pay a token for some of them. Google hangouts, for instance, is completely free.