Retreat Insider

Rooms, that is … meeting rooms! Meeting planners have inquiring minds: They want to know and to them, size DOES matter! But that isn’t all …

A Little History

Back in 1998 when All About Retreats was born, there was no practical and reliable information about retreat facilities in northern California. The Retreat Centers section of Common Ground was full of ads that told only about “a magical mountaintop” and “sacred, ancient healing ground”. But if a  meeting planner wanted to know whether a meeting space could accommodate their yoga group of 30,  she had to make a slew of phone calls … websites and email were still really NEW back then!

James and I knew first hand about retreat center facilities … remember, our first business was catering to retreat and workshop groups! We took note of lodging, meeting facilities and guest amenities wherever we cooked … Did you know that AAR began by matching groups with retreat facilities? Within the first 6 months of our ad campaign in Common Ground and other Bay Area alternative tabs, we got almost 500 telephone calls from meeting planners and facilitators, because we had the info they wanted! Bingo!

Today, nearly every retreat and conference center has a website

…that shows photos of meeting rooms, if not a comprehensive list of meeting spaces, their dimensions, and square footage. An improvement, but, as more facilitators and teachers employ electronic media to deliver lectures and presentations, meeting planners require more detail about facilities. How easy is it for them to find that info on your website? How familiar is your staff with your facilities?

It ain’t the size, it’s what you do with it!

Now, don’t get all excited, but here is a tool that can help: I discovered a well-done presentation written for  the sales staff and meeting support people at a 500 person capacity conference center. It’s called The Room Capabilities and Equipment Book. Following the nuts and bolts of a system that is practical and economical to put in place. You can bet that your center’s sales will rise and your staff will thank you for making the task of courting meeting planners more efficient. If your sales folks work on ‘commish’ … this reference booklet will help them make more sales!

Details in this model include all the vitals per meeting room:

• max capacity and a display of all possible seating arrangements
• complete conference center inventory:
• tables and chairs
• staging
• audio-visual/IT equipment and A/V supply

There is also an ideal set-up section detailing rooms in their most popular layouts, which is handy to show prospective customers who come for a site visit and/or you can use it to plan meetings. The Room Capabilities and Equipment Book is a really slick tool for reservationists, sales, event planning, and operations staff, as well as food and beverage coordination and set-up. You can create a few pages or an entire notebook, depending on your facilities.

Satisfaction Guaranteed: it will save time, support your staff and probably make you money, too!