Businesses are already using drop-in office spaces for meetings and professional catch-ups, but if you’re looking to offer your conference room for hire, here are some refurbishing tips to give them a new lease of life.
Go grand with the table
The table is, without a doubt, the centrepiece of any conference room. There are so many different shapes, sizes and styles to choose from in a conference table, but it’s important to think about space and social distancing. Right now, the bigger the better. If the room isn’t big lengthwise, you could conjoin two meeting tables to form an L-shape or choose a table that is designed in a similar way to optimise space. For the table top, glass shows class or alternatively, wood or oak work beautifully; it all depends on the room’s décor.
Make sure seating is super comfortable and spaced out
We cannot emphasise enough that you think about social distancing, so make sure you’re spacing out the seating to create a safe meeting space. If it’s proving difficult, you may need glass barriers or protective screens. Likewise in the central line of the meeting table if the table isn’t wide enough. Seating should be comfortable, and set up in a way that makes for easy discussions. For instance, if some people have to move to view a screen or whiteboard, moveable seating (like 360 turning) will be ideal.
Create an immaculate stationery presentation
A key feature of conference rooms is the stationery. With notepads, pens, pencils and even serviettes, hotels like to put their mark on things to not only offer the business guests useful resources, but to share their brand. Make sure your stationery is up to date and matching any brand changes. Whether you lay it out on the table or have a back table with resources is up to you, just as long as the presentation is perfect.
Bring a conference room to life and use your brand
Conference rooms can have the habit of looking pretty much the same or even a bit plain. Why not refurbish with some standout wall features, like mirrors, stencil art or an art gallery? You could even go for texture, add some inspiring quotes or eye-catching images. And it doesn’t have to be minimal or neutral – don’t be afraid to use your brand and its colour palette. To attract businesses to your rooms, and to stand out from the competition, it’s good to put your unique print (even literally) onto your meeting rooms to inspire workers and secure those bookings.
Renovate the flooring
It’s the same for carpets and floors, don’t be afraid to inject some life into the room. Floors don’t have to be plain, grey or dark – you can go for patterned carpets or a mix of hard and soft flooring. Where the refreshment table is positioned, it could be on a hard floor for easy-to-clean-up spills or if refreshments need to be wheeled in and positioned; then the main meeting table could stand on a carpeted floor. You could even add rugs for a hygge style or opt for a vibrant floor colour to brighten things up.
Light up the room, but do it perfectly
Office lighting is so important and can often be overlooked. Businesses can get carried away with planning their offices and conference rooms, sourcing the perfect fixtures, units, technology and seating, only to realise the lighting is poor, causes glares on the main screens or doesn’t do the room any favours. The lighting colour itself may not work and the intensity may cause discomfort. If a room struggles to get natural lighting, it’s crucial you get the artificial lighting perfect – especially if you want to make an impact and good impression (which is also what your business clients want to do). From ceiling lights, spotlights and table lights, to lamps and wall lights, a conference room can be beautifully lit up in a diverse range of ways, and even the lighting fixtures themselves can create some awe.
Add in acoustic materials
Don’t forget about acoustic materials to absorb sounds in open spaces. These materials can be installed in a variety of places to make rooms echo-free for clearer speeches and meeting calls. It’s hard enough with Zoom calls creating lags or echoes, so a conference room with excellent acoustics is perfect.
Get with the future of tech or get left behind
One of the main selling points of a conference room is the technology it can come with. Long gone are the days of chalkboards and flipcharts. Today technology is utilised for impressive presentations or innovative and data-filled reporting. From meeting table intercoms to intelligently linked video communications, sell your meeting room by leading the way in business and conference technology. Give businesses something to be excited about and a space where they can get what they’re missing out on from other places.
Incorporate your hospitality
Hotels are fantastic places to host meetings, for their professional and hospitable settings. So use this to your advantage and make sure your tableware and refreshment units aren’t appearing tired or worn. Maybe it’s time for new cutlery sets, glassware or trolleys.. Remember the main selling point of the hotel conference room is for the hospitable environment, businesses often go there to impress and to win over clients, so they’re expecting high standards and exceptional service.
With so many years in the office design and refurbishment industry, we’ve helped many businesses renovate their spaces, including in the hospitality industry. Contact us today for any questions, as our friendly, expert team are more than happy to discuss your queries and ideas.