It’s tough to do meetings right. That’s why there’s so many articles on the ideal meeting length, or who you should invite to your meetings, or whether you should have some meetings at all.
We’re focused on making life easier for businesspeople, so we think about meetings a lot (we’ve even been known to have a few ourselves). And what have we found?
Sometimes you need to break out of your routine to get inspired. Maybe you do that by switching up the agenda, or by (our go-to trick) bringing cupcakes. If you’ve spent so much time in the office that there’s a cubicle-gray glaze over your eyes, maybe a change of venue is in order. Here are 6 conference rooms that’ll help your team mix things up.
The Vault
San Francisco, CA
The Vault is a collaborative workspace in Jackson Square that’s nestled between antique dealers and art galleries. The space was once home to the Ghirardelli chocolate factory, so it’s got the lovely industrial touches (hello, bricks & beams!) that spark conversation, as well as the A/V bells and whistles that keep it going. And it still kind of smells like chocolate (OK, we can’t confirm that for sure—though it’d be a major selling point). Image via The Vault.
Amsterdam Meeting Room at Impact Hub NYC
New York, NY
Impact Hub is an international network of spaces with a focus on social innovation. They have over 50 locations, including spaces in Singapore, Johannesburg, and Madrid. The Amsterdam Meeting Room looks like a Renaissance banquet hall, if Ikea were to start designing Renaissance banquet halls. Renters receive all of the amenities you’d want, though we can’t tell if their communal kitchen is stocked with Lingonberry juice. If you’re a social entrepreneur looking for space to drive change, Impact Hub is your spot. Image via Liquidspace.
Studio 3 at Workspring
Chicago, IL
Wondering what Don Draper would’ve done with 50 MBPS Wi-Fi and side-by-side HDTVs? Workspring Chicago helps answer that question. A co-working space with a midcentury modern feel, Studio 3 offers a clean environment that’ll declutter your mind. Here’s our favorite part: you can take a virtual tour of the entire space on their website, so you can get the lay of the land without even picking up the phone. Image via Workspring.
Clipper Ship Room at the Chancellor Hotel
San Francisco, CA
Created in 1937 “to commemorate … the inauguration of Pan Am’s Clipper Ship service from Alameda to the Orient,” the Clipper Ship Room at the Chancellor Hotel is like meeting inside an airplane (with significantly more legroom). The room served as a famous cocktail lounge from the 30s to the 80s, and the walls are plastered with a panoramic photo of San Francisco from 1937. At a cozy 400 square feet, the room has all of the amenities you’d expect from a high-tech meeting space, with a whole lot more charm. Image via Chancellor Hotel.
Space 530
New York, NY
Meeting in Space 530 seems kind of like meeting in the future. In addition to renting out meeting space, they also host cocktail parties, fashion industry events, and photo shoots. Complete with elegantly-placed orchids, floor-to-ceiling windows, and stark white walls, this is luxury meeting space at its finest. Though it could easily be mistaken for a superhero’s hideout in the heart of a volcano, it’s walking distance from both Penn and Grand Central Stations. Image via Facebook.
Jazz at Workbar
Boston, MA
OK, OK—we mostly love this room because the color of the chairs almost matches our logo. Putting their excellent taste in color aside: it’s a great space. Workbar Boston is located in a brick and beam building that houses lots of meeting rooms you can rent by the hour. Their Jazz room, pictured above, has two full whiteboard walls for capturing ideas on the fly. Wherever you are, just double-check that the wall is actually a whiteboard before you start writing (yep, that happened to us). Image via Workbar.