The New Year is just around the corner, and with it comes another year of important client, department, committee, and other organizational meetings. Vancouver venues are competitive, and often booked early. Are you ready? Get the most out of your 2016 business-planning, internal, corporate, marketing, or strategy sessions by making sure you’ve planned ahead.

We’ve created this guide to the points you should always consider when choosing a meeting venue for a successful business meeting.

Comfort

Often Vancouver event planners are faced with choosing between booking a meeting room based on a budget versus placing priority on creating a productive environment for attendees. Being price-conscious is important, but you’ll get the best results from a space that’s conducive to thought. Small spaces, environmental noises or smells, and bad lighting prevent attendees from focusing on the task at hand, especially during all-day meetings. You should choose a meeting room that looks and feels good, with space for guests to move around and features that enhance comfort and well-being, like natural light.

Convenience

Event professionals and meeting chairs have a lot on their plates come meeting time, from preparing presentations and materials, organizing and printing handouts, managing additional speakers or out-of-town guests, verifying the RSVP list, and so much more. Choosing a meeting venue that can take care of operational details allows you to focus on what’s important: your message. Check with the venue to see what they have on-site that can reduce your stress and what you need to bring or arrange on your own, such as A/V equipment, stands, furniture, flip charts, and other supplies.

Connectivity

While you’d prefer that your attendees aren’t distracted by their smartphones and tablets, in this day and age our phones are often such a part of our business and personal lives that we can’t expect anyone to entirely leave them alone. It’s important to allow attendees breaks to check in, or else they can become distracted or look for opportunities to sneak social media time. And depending on the type of meeting you’re having, you might actually want attendees to be accessing files or media, taking notes on tablets, or sharing what they’ve learned on social media. You might also need your own phone for notes, reminders, and other last-minute parts of your presentation. You’ll want to inquire in advance about a meeting venue’s WiFi.

Location

Where you host your meeting is absolutely crucial to its success. Is it far enough from the head office to escape distraction? Is it central to attendees? Is there ample and free parking? Is it convenient to reach by public transit? Is it a wheelchair-accessible venue? If someone has to wrestle with complicated directions, drive around the block for half an hour to find parking, park far from the venue and walk in the elements, take multiple transit transfers, or just plain can’t find the place due to a remote location, it’s likely to lead to the early part of the meeting being wasted on calming frustrated nerves. The easier it is to arrive and park or access your meeting venue, the more relaxed attendees will be – and the more ready they’ll be to get down to business.

Nourishment

It goes without saying that well-fed, hydrated (and in some cases caffeinated) attendees will be happy and attentive participants, while hangry attendees with growling stomachs will be checking their watches every few minutes until they can leave. Food and beverage options are often overlooked as a large unnecessary expense rather than treated as an essential part of your meeting program. Make sure to discuss food, drink, and snack options with your meeting venue. For a full-day meeting, having delicious and nutritious food on hand helps attendees focus and increase productivity and overall effectiveness. Include healthy snacks to boost brain power, such as whole grains, nuts, berries, and veggies including broccoli, to keep attendees alert and focused!

We hope you found this guide on choosing meeting rooms helpful. Deeley Exhibition is conveniently located on the Vancouver and Burnaby border, with a nearby SkyTrain and bus stops, and is a wheelchair-accessible meeting venue available for rent. Take a virtual tour of our facilities, or contact us today to get a quote.