Conference and meeting rooms around the globe are typically bland and uninspiring affairs, contributing little to participants' creativity or the quality of the results. A new series of meeting facilities gearing up for launch, however, aims to redefine the concept with a creative and upgraded approach to conference spaces.
New York-based Meet at the Apartment is a two-story, 2,500-square-foot, open loft that has been outfitted with idea-generating amenities not found in typical hotel meeting spaces: a library stocked with art, design and photography reference books; a kitchen pantry filled with snacks; and lavishly furnished breakout rooms. An upstairs area spans 1,300 square feet with windows on three sides and curtains to divide the space into four sections. Breakout rooms feature lounge furniture, phone chargers, iMacs and high-definition presentation screens; the open loft kitchen includes a "kitchen table" large enough to accommodate 10 people. Overall, the space can accommodate 35 for sit-down presentations or 100 for product launches and premiere events.
Downstairs, meanwhile, is a 1,000-square-foot conference room featuring a Vitra conference table accommodating 18 in Vitra Worknest chairs, a mobile presentation screen, whiteboard walls and a computer, TV and telephone. There's also a Green Room offering added space for privacy. Mornings at Meet typically begin with fresh fruit smoothie shots; at mid-day, fresh fruit and fresh-baked cookies keep the creative juices flowing, followed by wine and cheese at day's end. Eschewing the a-la-carte pricing used by most hotel meeting spaces, Meet at the Apartment employs a flat-rate scheme that ranges from USD 5,000 to USD 10,000 per day including staffing (concierge, server and on-call A/V tech), audio-visual components, meeting facilitation supplies and unlimited beverages and snacks.
Sara Schiller, Meet cofounder, explains: "If ever there was an industry in need of a ground-breaking idea, it is meetings. Most meeting spaces are mind-numbingly boring. They're the ugly stepsister of event planning. With Meet at the Apartment, we entirely reinvented the concept of meetings and infused it with energy and creativity that currently doesn't exist anywhere in the world." Meet will officially launch next month in New York; after that, work will begin on similar facilities in London and Dubai, Schiller says. One to launch in other cities? And how about a chic & cheap version, for style-loving brainstormers on a budget?
Website: www.welcometomeet.com
Contact: hello@welcometomeet.com
There is a very similar space which has been around for many years in Chicago, Catalyst Ranch (http://www.catalystranchmeetings.com/page1.html) which I have been to events at - very creative space, flexible rooms, in many ways very similar to the space in NYC. And also in Chicago is another similar space (which I haven't personally used) Thinkubator http://www.solutionpeople.com/thinkubator.htm
I am the owner of Catalyst Ranch and we have been in business for 6 years. We provide creative meeting and event space. We have 5 large rooms and 2 small rooms that can accommodate groups from as small as 3 people up to 110 people. Our space is located in a vintage loft building dating back to the 1880's and is furnished with vintage furniture, ethnic artwork, toys, books, colorful walls, lots of natural light. We have all the A/V equipment and support needed to host a successful meeting, along with attentive Ranch Hands on-hand at all times. We host many Fortune 500 Company meetings.
Oh, I forgot to mention that there is also a wonderful creative meeting space in Columbus, OH called Sparkspace (www.sparkspace.com) which has been open for 9 years, as well as a company called SohoSoleil with lofts available for creative meetings in SOHO, NYC (www.sohosoleil.com). There are also smaller venues in several other states. Meet at the Apartment is definitely not the first in this country, let alone the world.
And you actually make a living doing this eva?
Yes, I make a fine living. The demand grew so great that I added the 2nd floor of meeting rooms 3 years ago and the 2 very small conferences rooms in the last year. It's a great feeling to hear from clients how much they feel that the environment enhanced the results they achieved in their meeting. People come here for every sort of meeting, not just new product brainstorming sessions. We host strategic planning meetings, training seminars, management meetings, staff retreats, workshops, offsite conferences and any other sort of meeting for which people choose to leave their offices.
Many of our clients use Catalyst Ranch when in Chicago and rave about it. Eva is actually a pioneer in this industry and the style of her venues and ideas have been awarded the highest praise, they've been copies.
We at SoHoSoleil Locations have been in business in 1996. We started with print, TV, video and film shoots which we continue to this day. So our locations are varied from a Park Ave plastic surgeon's operating room, to a Gingerbread Victorian in Brooklyn.
Eva is correct, our corporate meeting/event spaces are SoHo lofts in NYC.
You can see of them next on NBC TV on the Celebrity Apprentice, Sunday, April 5, 2009 at 9p EST.
We are interested in trading links in our "Sources" section with many different industries that serve our clients who are in marketing, advertising, media & publishing, food & beverage, high technology, finance, Fortune 500's (client list on www.sohosoleil.com) etc.
Wendy