8 Reasons to Invest in a Temporary Meeting Space

As solopreneurs and businesses emerge from COVID-19 work-from-home restrictions, much uncertainty certainly exists. Those that had invested in virtual or hybrid workspace environments are likely double down on these investments. And while some businesses may return to working from permanent on-site workspaces, many that had previously rejected virtual workspaces and meeting spaces may reevaluate their policies—prompted by the fact that workers are actually more productive when working remote and moreover a majority want remote work options.

Post-COVID-19 Workforce Will Require More Temporary Meeting Space

Data shows that a little more than half of the workforce in the U.S. can work virtually today. Of that workforce, Global Workplace Analytics predicts that between 25% and 30% will work from home multiple days a week by next year.

This workplace transition is likely to create varying levels of disruption for businesses and individual workers. For businesses that downsize or even eliminate their permanent on-site offices, they will need to look to other options for meeting space. Even for those businesses that retain on-site offices, including meeting space, they may find that they require temporary meeting space outside of their offices—whether larger spaces for greater social distancing or meeting space locations that are more convenient for dispersed workforces.

Why Businesses Should Invest in Temporary Meeting Space: 8 Reasons

There are a number of reasons a business should invest in temporary meeting space. Following are some of the key reasons:

Lower Cost of Temporary Meeting Space

As businesses quickly discovered during COVID-19 shelter-in-place shutdowns, permanent office space, including the conference rooms that come with them, adds up to a significant number on the balance sheet—particularly when they are not occupied. Temporary meeting space is a fraction of the cost of a permanent office location. One option some businesses may explore coming out of COVID-19 is hotel meeting rooms. However, in addition to lacking the presentation and collaboration tools typically needed to execute an effective meeting, hotel meeting rooms are upwards of 50% more expensive than rented meeting space.

Convenience of a Temporary Meeting Space Location

Leasing a permanent office space can be a challenge to customers, partners, and even employees. Long commutes to locations across town for a meeting were never convenient before COVID-19. But likely for some time to come following the easing of COVID-19 workplace restrictions, many professionals will have competing responsibilities—spouses with competing schedules and children who need to be dropped off at and picked up from school and other activities. While these work-personal complexities will be greater as the U.S. emerges from COVID-19 shutdowns, they likely will continue for some time. In these circumstances, temporary meeting space that is closer to their homes and kids’ schools may be needed.

Meeting Space Presentation and Collaboration Tools

Productive meetings are not always easy to execute. The majority of professionals believe most meetings are a waste of time. In addition to great meeting planning and execution, a temporary meeting space must come with the presentation and collaboration tools needed to facilitate engagement between the different meeting attendees. This includes everything from whiteboards and markets to audio and video conferencing. Hotel conference rooms very likely do not come with these. And in the case of a permanent office location, they translate into higher operating costs.

Catering in a Temporary Meeting Space

Nothing can kill a productive meeting but the need to stop it to break for lunch or dinner. This is where catering in a temporary meeting space can make a big difference. Keep your meeting attendees rolling by bringing in lunch or dinner. Beverages and snacks can enable attendees to pick up the pace when things start to drag during the late morning or mid-afternoon. Rented meeting space like Davinci Meeting Rooms comes with business catering options and meets all of these requirements.

Booking a Temporary Meeting Space—from the Web to Mobile App

Reserving a hotel conference room can consume valuable time that a business can spend on other more critical business issues. Rented meeting space can be booked online and often many rented meeting room providers offer omnichannel engagement options—website, live web chat, phone, email, and even text. Plus, with some even make it possible to find, vet, and reserve meeting space using iOS and Android mobile apps. The latter can be especially handy for businesses that are constantly on the go.

Temporary Meeting Room Lobby Greeters

Even if solopreneurs and small businesses have permanent office space, they often cannot afford to have a full-time lobby greeter or receptionist. Rented meeting space comes with a lobby greeter who can offer concierge services and assistance to guests when they arrive and throughout their time during a meeting. This special touch provides a level of experience that is simply not possible with a hotel meeting space or even permanent office environment.

Setup of a Temporary Meeting Room

Unlike hotel conference rooms or permanent office locations, solopreneurs and businesses do not need to worry about arriving an hour early for a meeting in order to set up when using a rented meeting space. Each room is set up to meet the requirements of the presenter or facilitator—high-tech presentation tools, high-speed wireless Wi-Fi, and much more.  

Temporary Meeting Space—Available On-Demand

Rented meeting space is a great temporary meeting space option. Solopreneurs and businesses are not locked into a long-term lease for a permanent office with meeting space. They simply pay for the time spent using the actual meeting space—which is often available in increments of one hour, half a day, and a full day (normally hotel meeting space is available per day only). This on-demand model can generate huge cost savings over an extended period of time.

Temporary Meeting Space to Be a Critical Post-COVID-19 Catalyst

As mentioned at the beginning of this blog post, workers value the ability to work from home—and many are as productive or more productive than when they worked from a preassigned workspace five days a week for eight hours before COVID-19. Yet, at the same time, they also acknowledge the need for face-to-face interaction—and this is where temporary meeting space will play a critical role. Finding the right meeting space is important, and businesses need to understand the benefits of temporary meeting space in order to adequately evaluate their options.

A great place to start is Davinci Meeting Rooms, which offers over 5,000-plus meeting spaces worldwide and serves over 40,000 virtual clients in the Americas, Europe, and Asia-Pacific regions.

About Patrick Spencer

Patrick Spencer (Ph.D.) is the President and Founder of TIRO Communications that helps companies develop, build, and manage content, customer, advocacy, and demand-gen programs. Included in its offerings is TIRO Cognition Insights, a data analytics tool that enables B2C and B2B businesses to pinpoint what their customers and competitors’ customers are saying and to identify corresponding actionable product, services, competitive, sales, and marketing intelligence. LinkedIn Profile: LinkedIn Website: www.tirocommunications.com