Organizing a Business Review Meeting at a Hotel: What Should I Consider?

Organizing a Business Review Meeting at a Hotel

My MD told me to organize a Business Review Meeting in a hotel this time rather than organizing it in our company itself. I have no experience in organizing it in a hotel. Kindly suggest to me what things need to be taken care of while organizing this meeting. Should I personally go to the hotel to check out the hall and explain the arrangements to be made? How about the seating arrangements?

I should also record the minutes of the meeting. Kindly give me some basic ideas on how it should be taken care of.

Kindly look into my post and give me your valuable suggestions. Awaiting your response.

Best Regards,
Maria J.

Dear Maria, where are you based? Please tell us how you can book a hotel venue without visiting it and assessing what is available. Have you attended a Business Review Meeting before? If so, you should know how many people are involved and how the seating arrangement was done in-house. Why should it be any different when held in a hotel? If you have not, consult members that form the review board, and they will tell you. Similarly, if you can access previous minutes, you will know what should be recorded.

Without knowing the numbers involved and the duration of the meeting, it's difficult to give you concrete advice. You will need to arrange for snacks and drinks, maybe lunch too. Usually, the hotel will provide pens and pads. Just ring around a few hotels in your area, and probably an event manager there will give you advice as they may have arranged for other companies.

Have a nice day.

Regards,
Simhan A retired academic in the UK

Dear Mr. Simhan,
Many thanks for your valuable advice. I just received an update from my MD in the evening that the participants would be around 20 people, which includes top-level and mid-level management. I spoke to a hotel close to our factory and obtained a rate for the boardroom. I will be personally visiting the venue in order to finalize it. An agenda will be drafted and circulated by tomorrow.

My worry is that I tend to have a habit of putting everything that is said by a person on paper, which sometimes causes me to miss important communications or decisions made. This habit worries me a lot since I have to record minutes this time. I feel it's a nightmare.

Kindly advise me on this.

Many thanks in advance.

Best regards,
Maria J.

Carry a Dictaphone and a few blank tapes. Please ensure you inform your MD so that there is no misunderstanding later regarding your intent of carrying it. This way, you can review the tapes later, catch up on anything important that you may have missed, and include it in the MoM.

All the best.

Regards,
TS