How to Find Meeting Rooms Near You

There are hundreds of thousands of meeting rooms across the world.

Small, quirky, intimate, elegant, corporate, soundproof… whatever size, shape or style of meeting room you’re looking for, there’s a space to fit your needs.

Over the years, meeting rooms have gradually moved beyond conference centers and hotels. Now, you’ll find meeting venues in more places, and more buildings, than ever before. You’ll find them in business centers, coworking spaces, sports grounds, restaurants, hospitality venues, shops, cafes, and even banks.

Mobile working is booming; one survey suggests that remote work has grown by 159% since 2005. As work and life continues to integrate, commercial and leisure amenities are increasingly sharing space, which means the humble meeting room will continue to pop up in unlikely places — making it even more convenient for those times when you need a place to work or meet.

So the question is, how do you find the right meeting room near you?

How to Find Meeting Rooms Near You

Here, we’re going to examine some of the best ways to find a meeting rooms on demand.

Online Map Search

Thanks to advances in digital map features, it’s now easier than ever to find what you’re looking for by using an online map search.

Using a tool like Google Maps, drill down into your local area and, using the search bar, type in ‘meeting room’ or ‘conference room’. This will produce a list of local meeting venues in your area.

Bear in mind that the quality of search results will only be as good as the venue’s ability to effectively market their business online. If they don’t have good SEO standards, they won’t show up in online map searches.

If you don’t see the results you want, try varying your search terms. For instance, switch out ‘meeting room’ for ‘conference room’, or add ‘meeting rooms for rent’ to your query. Drill down by location too, adding street names or local transportation stations to help produce local results.

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General Web Search

When searching online for local meeting rooms, your best bet is to use a combination of key search terms including your location, type of meeting room, and even the purpose of your meeting.

For instance, ‘meeting room rental penn station new york’ is more likely to produce a refined list of results than simply ‘meeting room new york’, which could produce hundreds of potential options.

If you don’t get the right search results for meeting rooms, try searching for local coworking or shared office spaces in your area instead. Then contact the space direct to inquire about meeting room rental.

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Directories and Platforms

There are now many different platforms and directories listing meeting and conference rooms. Among them, check out:

• Meetingsbooker.com: In addition to listing tens of thousands of small meeting rooms, you can also browse large venues and let them bid for your event.
• Meetings.com: It has a handy search feature that lets you choose your room layout, in addition to standard features like location and number of people.
• Alliance Virtual Offices: Search for a location, book online by the hour, and a meeting coordinator will check availability and secure the arrangements on your behalf.

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Local Coworking Spaces and Business Centers

Got a business center, coworking space, or virtual office center nearby? They almost always have meeting rooms onsite, and they’re usually available to book by the hour. Contact them directly to inquire about meeting room rental; if they don’t have a suitable space available, they will usually be happy to recommend an alternative center nearby.

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Be Social

One of the best tried-and-tested ways of finding a great local meeting room venue is to ask your contacts. Post an update on LinkedIn or your favorite social media channel, and watch the recommendations roll in.

Shortlisting Your Meeting Room Options

Okay. So by now you should have a few potential suitors. What’s next?

To make sure you get the right type of meeting environment, work out your exact needs to help whittle down a shortlist:

• Who’s coming? The first rule is to know your audience. Are they travelling far? Will they use public transport? Do they need a car parking space? Do any of them have mobility problems? Once you know their requirements, you can filter your options by certain amenities, such as proximity to an accessible train station, and a building with elevators.
• What’s your ideal location? Have a distance radius in mind. Many search platforms now offer a map search, or the option to filter by distance, such as 25 or 30 miles from a specific location. However, keep in mind that in order to get the best meeting room, you may need to widen your preferred location and look for venues further out.
• What do you need the room for? This is really important, as you may need to request equipment or support. Will you be mind-mapping on the floor with paper and colored pens? Or will you be deep in video conversation with colleagues thousands of miles away? Most meeting room venues can provide collaboration equipment and can help set it up — but the staff will need advance notice. Think carefully about your purpose and what you will be doing, and then talk through your requirements with the onsite meeting staff.
• Which layout is best? Again, this comes down to what you will use the room for. Will you be working in teams? Alone? Presenting? Teaching? Brainstorming? Interviewing? Your room layout will depend on your planned activities and the number of people using the room. For large groups a classroom layout can be space-saving, but lacks collaborative spirit. On the other hand, multiple round tables is great for teamwork. Speak to your venue staff to decide which layout would best suit your needs.

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How Much Does it Cost to Rent a Meeting Room?

You can easily step inside a coffee shop for a quick ‘free’ meeting. But while it’s handy for an informal one-to-one or a friendly meetup, it doesn’t set the right impression for meetings with clients or investors. Public spaces are noisy, they lack privacy, and they’re not secure. Plus coffee shop meetings aren’t actually free — you still need to buy something!

So how much does it actually cost to rent a private meeting room?

As you might expect, the range varies enormously based on location, the size of the room, and what facilities are included with your rental.

As a guide, let’s take a closer look at the meeting rooms listed on Alliance Virtual Offices.

Under $15 Per Hour

This meeting room venue at Brickell in Miami, Florida, is listed at $12 per hour. It’s a small hub that can seat up to 3 people and includes WiFi, along with optional amenities such as a whiteboard, TV or DVD player, projector and video conferencing.

On 5th Avenue in New York, NY, this space is listed at $15 per hour. It’s a private cubicle with capacity for two people, so it would suit a one-to-one meeting or a quick catch up.

$20-$25 Per Hour

Near Atlanta, this meeting room in Snellville, GA, offers a medium sized space for 8-10 people from $20 per hour.

In Las Vegas, NV, this meeting space seats up to 5 people for $25 per hour, along with regular amenities including WiFi and phone access.

$30-$40 Per Hour

Chicago is home to a meeting venue on North Michigan Avenue with conference rooms at $30 for 4 people, or $40 for 8 people.

In Dallas, this space on the North Central Expressway offers boardroom rental for 14 people for $40 per hour, and smaller meeting spaces for $30 per hour.

$50 And Over

In Washington D.C. near the West End, you can get an 8-person capacity meeting room for $50 per hour, or larger spaces for 12-18 people for $75 per hour. This space in downtown D.C. offers a large 25-person meeting room for $75 per hour.

The larger the room, the more you’ll pay for the space. Hourly rental can reach $200-$300 in some locations, and sometimes more — depending on the type and style of meeting room.

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What’s Included?

Again, this varies enormously depending on the meeting room provider, but also the platform on which it’s listed.

At Alliance, for instance, most meeting rooms include basics such as WiFi connectivity, phone access, and whiteboards. But some amenities such as parking may be extra.

If you don’t know the building or the meeting room provider, always go and see the space prior to booking. It will help you get a feel for the space and whether it’s big enough for your needs, and you can also ask plenty of questions about facilities, help setting up, and WiFi strength.

Pro Tip: when visiting the space, ask if you can connect to the Internet and run a speed test to check the strength of the connection. This will be particularly useful if you expect to use a lot of bandwidth for video conferencing or other programs during your meeting.

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Summary

By now you should have a good idea of how to find your perfect meeting space. The key points to remember are:

• Vary your initial search criteria and use different terms, along with specific locations, to produce relevant search results. If you can’t find anything suitable, reach out to your community — social media is a great place to start.
• In addition to meeting venues, search for coworking spaces and business centers. They almost always have meeting rooms available to rent and have onsite staff, too.
• When you find a space you like, speak to the venue to ask about room layout and what’s included. It’s often worth going to see the space in person too, to get a feel for the size and style of the space.

And finally, have a great meeting! After the event, be sure to provide feedback to the venue. Good feedback is great to hear, but it’s also worth sharing any negative experiences to help the venue to improve their offerings for future meetings.