If you are seeking a space to collaborate outside a traditional office, you know the familiar options: Starbucks, Panera, or some local coffee shop. Those are okay places. They’re typically crawling with people, though, and you smell like coffee when you leave. As someone who hasn't had coffee since I was 3, that's a major negative.
So what are other viable no-cost meeting space options for work at home professionals?
Here's my Top 10 list of informal meeting spaces. All are low or no-cost, low-traffic, easily accessible, and typically smell free!
Lobbies, especially for convention-oriented hotels, are great for finding open meeting areas. They work well for extended meetings since you do not look conspicuous as freeloaders amid the routine convention traffic.
Library card holders can generally get access to community and study rooms with whiteboards and doors you can close for some privacy.
Check self-serve restaurants with good Wi-Fi as prime locations for off hours meetings. With a self-serve place, you can typically linger longer since wait staff aren’t trying to move you along. Increasingly, grocery stores are an option in this category.
Lobbies, restaurants, and galleries inside museums can all be strong creative meeting space options. An annual membership may get you free parking, food and beverage discounts, and access to a dedicated meeting room.
Major office buildings often have plenty of accessible room in the lobby that works for informal meet and greets. If this is a route you want to go, scout the location ahead of time to see how it will work before booking a meeting.
A metro convention center generally features a variety of readily available small lobbies and gathering areas if the venue is open and not completely filled with conventioneers.
If you can get past the pesky parking issues, universities offer multiple meeting spots, including lobbies, restaurants, conference facilities, and dedicated meeting rooms.
This option obviously depends on where you are, but who didn’t want to go have class outside in school? It’s still a decent option for grown up business meetings.
Not exactly “friends with benefits," but friends with offices might let you use them for an occasional meeting, perhaps with a trade-out for something you can do for them in return.
Presentation meeting rooms are often booked longer than the presentation to allow for clean-up time. If you’re at an event, check with the meeting organizer to see if you can have an informal meeting immediately after a session is over.
I’d love to add your ideas to the list. Where do you find great meeting spaces that don't make you smell like a Starbucks three hours later? - Mike Brown