In a typical office, meeting rooms are some of the most popular and yet some of the worst utilized spaces. How is that possible?
Meeting and breakout rooms usually make up roughly 15% of an office floorplan. They are consistently in high demand, being often occupied on average for 2-3 hours per day. On busy days, we often encounter times where over 80% of the meeting rooms on a floor are in use.
So how can they still be poorly utilized?
The answer: Most companies have too many large meeting rooms and too few small ones.
In a post-pandemic hybrid work environment, most teams operate in a distributed manner. Meeting and breakout rooms are now often used for virtual team meetings and collaborative work, which means fewer in-person attendees. Despite that, almost half of the meeting rooms in a typical office are designed for six or more people. This creates a clear opportunity for workplace and real estate leaders to rethink room sizes and better align them with how people actually work.
In practice, what we see is that the meeting room is only utilized to an average of 28% to its capacity.
Across multiple portfolios, meeting rooms of capacity 15 people and below see an average meeting size of 2.3 people.
The good news is that meeting rooms are relatively easy to modify.
Unlike reclaiming desks or private offices, which can be politically tricky, reconfiguring a large 15-person meeting room into two smaller rooms usually doesn’t require navigating complex team dynamics. It’s a low-friction change with high impact.
Let’s also look at the ROI. Meeting rooms are often some of the most technologically enabled spaces in an office. With video conferencing systems, interactive displays, audio systems, and wireless presentation tools, the cost of a single meeting room can reach up to $37,000 per year when you include equipment, square footage, and energy use. Improving their utilization not only prevents waste but can, in fact, also reduce costs when space utilization sensors are integrated with HVAC.
When teams can find a space that fits their needs, work feels easier.
Beyond the obvious financial benefits, right-sized and available meeting rooms boost productivity. When teams can find a space that fits their needs, work feels easier. Think of the difference it makes to work in an area with comfortable seating, ample natural light, and quiet areas for focused work.
So how do you know if your meeting and breakout rooms are being well-utilized? You start by measuring. You can’t improve what you don’t track. Here are a few questions to ask:
Curious how occupancy intelligence can help you get more out of your conference and meeting rooms? Set up a time with us to talk with our team about your workplace goals.
