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Meeting Rooms with a Difference

09/04/2019

Meeting rooms with a difference – that’s what organisers of meetings and events are looking for. It’s out with the beige, vanilla blandness of your bog-standard hotel facility and in with the impactful, edgy stimulation of your local co-working space, hipster coffee house, penthouse pad or start-up hub.

There’s no limit either to what might be considered a meeting room with a difference. On-line platforms like MeetingsBooker, Headbox and Spacebase include many weird and wonderful spaces alongside traditional facilities, and hotel meeting rooms around major airports are still the market leader.
 

Meeting room with a difference around the world

So anyone for a “bright, urban jungle” in Berlin? This meeting room with a difference can take 50 for a stand-up reception or theatre style as shown below. It’s bright, airy and flooded with natural daylight - all key features.

Or how about an historic venue in Washington DC? The Mansion on O Street is pretty difficult to categorise being a small private hotel, a venue, a restaurant, a museum, a gallery and a store selling everything from a needle to an anchor. There are 100 different sized rooms across a number of brownstone Victorian buildings. The facility can host meetings with a difference for up 300 people and is really popular for corporate retreats.
 

Meeting Rooms must deliver on meeting objectives

Meeting organisers are seeking out different meeting rooms because, to paraphrase Canadian philosopher Marshall McLuhan “the medium has become the message”. So much of the impact and outcome of meetings are delivered through the setting in which it takes place. It’s a simple equation:

Boring setting = boring meeting = bored attendees = poor outcomes.
Stimulating setting = interesting meeting = engaged attendees = positive behaviour outcomes.

And it really is as simple as that. Meeting organisers now realise more and more that meeting rooms with a difference do, eh, make a difference!

Meeting Rooms with a Difference at Croke Park

We introduced some meetings rooms with a difference some time ago when we embarked upon our “Croke Park Meetings & Events re-imagined” programme. We wanted to offer meetings and event facilities that would meet the needs of a rapidly changing market while staying true to our roots and origins, the things that make us unique.
 
The All-Star Suites are small to medium sized meeting rooms with a difference. The “difference” is partially the high specifications – best HD WiFi speeds in Dublin, high definition 80 inch LED screens and wireless technology, LED lighting, integrated white boards, high end ergonomic furniture, limitless Nespresso – but mainly the stunning, iconic views: where else can you stage a meeting with uninterrupted views over a field of dreams?


 
The All-Star Suites recently hosted the Speakers’ Academy, a meeting aimed at professional speakers who derive their livelihood from speaking at meetings and events all over the world. Conference organiser Kevin Kelly of KevinKellyUnlimited wanted a meeting room with a difference and eventually selected the All Star Suites for his inaugural event. He commented:
 
“The facilities here are world-class with super-fast broadband. One of our key speakers was streamed live from the US and you’d think he was in the room such were the download speeds and the resolution on the screen. Our delegates have spoken in high-end meeting facilities all over the world but were blown away by the All-Star Suites and breath-taking views over Croke Park. I drew 3 names out of the hat and offered the lucky winners the opportunity to deliver a 1 minute speech from the location outside the All-Star Suites where the championship trophies are presented to the winning counties. Stirring speeches were delivered and a few emotional tears were shed. Staging a meeting at Croke Park does that!”
 

At Croke Park Meetings and Events we do meetings with a difference for 2 to 2000. We have over 90 small meetings rooms in addition to our four All-Star Suites. Give our team a call on +353 1 819 2300 to discuss on-going meeting needs and experience meeting rooms with a difference.

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