So you have 300 attendees to fit into your general session room. The hotel information says the ballroom capacity is 400. Great! Actually, there is much more to it than that.
There are many ways to configure the space for your event, depending on your purpose and goals. Theater style, classroom, or rounds just to name a few. For large groups that are attending a motivational session that does not require audience participation, theater style is ideal. For a meeting that will require audience participation, work group and collaboration, half-rounds are a great option.
Seating configurations are really just the first part of the puzzle though. The next area to review is your stage set, lighting, screens and projection. Rear projection will require more space behind your stage, moving your attendees further back in the space. When it comes to lighting, screens and projection, ceiling height is very important as are rigging points.
Line of sight for attendees is so important for your event. Some ballrooms may have obstructions that are not readily apparent in the hotel provided information. Site visits are so important to be able to determine if obstructions are an issue or how you can work around them.
Room diagrams are so important for making sure that all of your attendees have a great experience, can view the presenter and screens clearly and are able to interact as the meeting prescribes.
TRG Meeting Partners works with all of our clients to help identify the optimal meeting space to achieve the meeting objectives and to properly layout the space so that each attendee has a great experience. TRG creates a custom diagram for each room at each show using AV and provides to the hotel to ensure that the set-up is correct.