Some Creative Meeting Venues Travelers are using in the new Sharing Economy

Looking for a cure for monotonous meetings? Event travel planners are seeing an uptick in the booking of ‘unique’ meeting venues sourced from the sharing economy. Creative industries such as those in technology, fashion, and media have long booked non-traditional spaces, however, the trend of turning to more nontraditional meeting venues is spreading like wildfire as companies divert from bland board rooms and hotel meeting spaces in efforts to open minds and inspire innovation. Rather than the standard options commonly found on Breather and WeWork in big cities, businesses are booking privately-owned venues with a bit more pizazz.

What Unique & Interesting Places Could Host Your Next Meeting or Team-Builder?

In today’s sharing economy, opportunities abound in the U.S. and abroad:

  • Floating house boats.Some Creative Meeting Venues Travelers are using in the new Sharing Economy
  • Restaurant venues.
  • Cocktail lounges.
  • Historic wineries, cellars & wine caves.
  • Yoga studios.
  • Photography studios.
  • Museums.
  • Greenspaces.
  • Co-working spaces.
  • Private residences.
  • And more!

How Can You Get There?

Employees shouldn’t have to make their own arrangements to take advantage of unique meeting venues. Many business travel agencies are utilizing the sharing economy to access exclusive opportunities through online marketplaces such as Airbnb for Work and Spacebase. Which might be best for your upcoming engagement?

  • Airbnb
    Operating in over 800 markets globally, Airbnb is continuing to develop its platform, branching out to encompass ‘Airbnb for Work’ and ‘Airbnb Experiences.’ Rather than the usual fare, the former includes unique lodging for business travelers that incorporate a leisure/tourism element into work travel to break the work travel grind. The latter, facilitating experiential offsite meeting locales and internal events. A loyalty program is promised, but as yet, in the works.
  • Spacebase
    Intentionally designed to mimic Airbnb’s platform to make navigation easier, Spacebase was developed by an emerging group of entrepreneurs seeking to marry the needs of the meetings industry with the sharing economy. Matching the needs of businesses with occupancies in independently owned spaces that can double as event venues, businesses can take advantage of unique accommodations in popular destinations such as Munich, Paris, Barcelona, Amsterdam, and more. Book a space by the hour or day for 10-100+ people, then retire to upscale or quirky residences by night.

Hooking a Booking

The best travel management solutions make perusing availability and booking a venue easy. It’s easy to specify searches based on factors like space capacity, price per hour, or venue style. Though cost is difficult to compare in an apples-to-apples way with hotel meeting spaces, Spacebase’s website touts booking creative venues can save as much as 40% compared to comparable hotel meeting spaces. Cost per square footage is comparable, as is service quality and response rate. The value of breaking the boredom of office meetings and challenging the traditional to inspire imagination and creativity, however, is immeasurable.

Looking for corporate travel planners with an eye for the exceptional? Experience greatness at GTI Travel today.