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The accommodation should be able to host a number of people and have an equipped suitable room (large enough, with good ventilation and sufficient light spots). In principle, a dining area can be rearranged to host the meeting, but in this case all your accommodation needs to be booked by one and the same group. When you send some advertisement of your additional servicesto local companies or place it on your website or in the brochure, you should clearly indicate the capacity of the meeting room, list of available equipment and prices.
The typical meeting room is quiet and cannot be disturbed by other guests. It has an attractive or even somewhat stylish atmosphere and is furnished with a spacious desk (or desks arranged in U, V or theatre form) and high quality chairs. The equipment required for training sessions usually includes a beamer or at least an overhead projector, a blackboard or a stand with a big-format paper pad and markers for brainstorms and drafts of common decisions, several power outlets, and optionally notepads for each guest. It makes sense to arrange a separate table with coffee, tea, juice, mineral water, etc. as well as cups and glasses for self-service during breaks. The advantage is that there will be no disturbance toyour serving staff. Clear statements have to be made about smoking during breaks, indicating the location of the smoking areas.
In addition to the equipment installed in the meeting room, you might also need some business services such as Internet access, printers, photocopying machine, staplers, paper clips, stapler removers, folders and so on.
During business/training sessions guests normally spend most of the day working in the conference room, getting together and relaxing in a bar in the evening. In the very beginning of the event a welcome dinner or an introductory excursion to the surroundings can be appreciated, especially if it corresponds to the goals of the meeting/training (should be cleared out with the organizing company). After the work is finished, a banquet usually crownsthe event. Banquet facilities can be made out of the dining area or meeting room by rearranging the tables and improving the ambience with some new cosy and refreshing elements. The banquet room shall have an easy and short access from the kitchen. The menu for the banquet should be drafted and agreed in advance, since there might be special requests from vegetarians, gourmets or guests of honour. It is useful to have standard possible variants of the banquet menu, since in the future you might use this room for celebration of different occasions such as anniversaries, weddings, birthday parties, etc.
The main idea of having a seminar/workshop/conference/meeting out of town is the combination of work and recreation. Therefore, your guests are likely to expect additional possibilitiesof entertainmentin the evening.You can offer themsauna, dancing, horse-sleigh riding, pool and indoor games, a picnic out near a fire, etc.To those of the guests who stay on after completion of the event you can present the opportunityto go fishing, hiking along the trail, rowing, fishing, skiing or practicing other sports.
If you are determined toaccommodate meetings, the provision of service to business groups proves highly beneficial. Firstly, because events of this type take place out of high season and let the accommodation survive with profit throughout in-betweenperiods. Secondly, as a rule, training sessions end up in a banquet or a party or at least a final dinner. Some clients may wish to stay on after the completion of the session to participate in outdoor activities, so the services consumed and total revenues are high. Thirdly, during such events your accommodation becomes at once familiar to a number of people, some of whommight become your regularcustomers. Also, the group members can be live advertisement - recommend your accommodation to lots of people increasing the number ofyour potential clients.
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5.8.1. Preconditions | 5.9. Services for Special Target Groups |
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