Seven Things a Meeting Room Has That a Virtual Workspace Does Not

An empty meeting room

Meeting room rental is an excellent way to supplement your remote workforce with in-person spaces for multiple purposes. Here are some of the excellent benefits of renting a meeting room over trying to do things digitally. 

Benefits of a Meeting Space Over a Virtual Office

Why Rent a Meeting Room?

As we near the end of 2023, the virtual workspace has only continued to grow in popularity. If you’re dealing with remote work fatigue, don’t despair — there are many things that a virtual space cannot provide that a meeting room easily can. Remote work is a much more cost-effective option for employers and employees alike, but there are sacrifices made for the benefits too. Meeting in a physical space has many advantages that the digital space simply lacks. So why is a meeting room important? Here are seven things a meeting room has that a virtual workspace does not, as well as why you should rent a meeting room for your next team catch-up. 

1. Face-to-Face Encounters

Interacting with others in a physical space is a much better way to communicate according to numerous studies by business professionals and psychologists. One of the main reasons for this improved communication in person is nonverbal cues like body language. Knowing how another person feels is much easier when speaking with them in person. The benefits of a meeting room are plenty, but the ability to look someone in the eye while meeting with them is probably the biggest.

2. Stability

What’s the biggest hurdle of conducting a meeting online? While there is certainly more than one downside to online meetings, internet stability and technological disruptions are responsible for a lot of fumbled info sessions. When meeting in person, you don’t need to worry about someone’s spotty connection or laggy screen share. 

Additionally, you’re only relying on one or two people’s computers functioning correctly alongside the provided technology in your meeting room. At Center 615, we pride ourselves on providing Nashville workers and entrepreneurs with the best tech and Google Fiber connections in all of our meeting rooms.

3. Amenities

When you meet up online, you aren’t going to have any of the perks that come with office life. Most meeting rooms for rent near you are in coworking spaces like Center 615, where there are amenities available to all of our customers in common areas. These amenities include free local coffee and tea, fast and free WiFi, and dog–friendly spaces so you can bring your furry best friend to work with you. 

4. Character

You can customize your Zoom background to fit your vibes, but beyond that, there isn’t much you can do to make an online meeting space feel personal. At Center 615, our meeting rooms for rent each have their own unique theme and decor, giving you a space to meet that’s full of character and charm. From the Draper Room themed after Mad Men and the ad agency board rooms of the ‘60s to the sci-fi futurism of the Vogon Room, you’re sure to find a space that’s going to impress and fulfill your needs.

5. Tactility

We already know that a meeting room provides more personal interactions given its physical space, but that’s not all that being in a room can do for your meeting. Productivity can improve greatly during in-person presentations, and things like whiteboards and projector screens can help foster better brainstorming and collaboration. Maybe you’re a business that designs products, and you need to share a mockup or prototype. In a meeting room, you can pass it around so that everyone gets a chance to see it up close. Online, photos and blueprints can only do so much to get your point across. Humans are mostly tactile learners, and that hands-on approach to meetings can do big things to get your message across more clearly. 

6. Fewer Distractions

Imagine you’re in a meeting with several coworkers when someone pulls out their phone to check their fantasy football scores. In person, everyone is going to notice that blatant distraction, but online, it’s much easier to hide. A physical meeting room can help ensure that everyone’s eyes are on the prize, which means your meetings get more done. Everybody has moments in a meeting where they might get distracted, but it’s much easier to do when everyone is remote. Even things like family members being in the room or delivery drivers knocking on the door can greatly disrupt a meeting. These aren’t factors in an actual meeting room, and that is an important reason why they offer a better way to meet. 

7. New Connections

When you are introduced to someone for the first time online, chances are you aren’t going to take that encounter all that seriously. It’s not because you don’t care; it’s because the brain is limited in the connections it can make within a virtual space. While you can meet with a coworker or client once in person and never see them again, the chances of striking up a meaningful conversation in a physical space are greater. Online meetings are very utilitarian and can feel somewhat cold and disconnected. Once you get to the point in a meeting, whether it’s with an old colleague or a new client, that’s usually the end of it. We don’t tend to have meaningful water-cooler discussions or connections that can lead to new business opportunities when meeting online. In person, the social pressure to chat and fill silence is actually a good thing. It’s our natural urge to find connections and build rapport with other people, and the opposite is true too. You can get a feel for a prospective client or new hire when meeting them in person much faster. When you rent a meeting room for a day and meet new people or reconnect with coworkers you haven’t seen in months or years after going remote, you can greatly improve your work relationships. 

Meeting Matters Center 615 has eight meeting rooms, each with a unique theme, that are suited for a variety of meeting types. No matter what you need, we’ve got you covered. So give us a call today to schedule a free tour and check out what the meeting rooms at Center 615 can offer.

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