Venue Spotlight: Top Meeting Room Venues in Liverpool
Famous for its vibrant, international appeal, Liverpool is a great place to visit and do business. Home to current European Champions Liverpool Football Club, birthplace of the Beatles, and inscribed as UNESCO World Heritage city, there’s certainly a lot going on and its easy to see why the city has such universal appeal. With a wide range of easily accessible transport links, and a large choice of potential venues, it could easily be the perfect place for your next meeting.
However, before you dial that 0151 area code, you still have a lot of work to do! Each event is different so whether you’re delivering training sessions, facilitating networking events, running interactive workshops or bringing teams or communities together for co-working activities, the venue you select must adequately meet your requirements. It’s time to start asking questions and closely examining the answers! We’ve put together the key commonly asked questions below, and followed this up with a bit more information on some great Liverpool venues.
Questions before you start looking at venues
- How many delegates will be attending?
- What is the cut-off date for them to register to reserve a place?
- Will you need parking?
- Will you need catering to be provided?
- Do you want a traditional meeting room or a venue that has more options? Think of the activities that you are planning. In other words what will your participants be doing?
- What type of environment will enable your attendees to get the best from the meeting?
- What equipment will your meeting need? For example, do you need flip charts and pens etc.?
- Will you be webcasting your meeting?
- What time of day will your meeting take place? Also, how many hours do you need the space for?
- Which day(s) of the week will your meeting take place?
- What is your budget?
With these questions in mind, let’s take a look at some event spaces in Liverpool that cater for meetings of all types.
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Hope Street Hotel
Hope Street Hotel is an independent 4 star hotel which has a variety of spaces available for meetings and events. It can be found in the heart of Liverpool’s Georgian neighbourhood. Close by are: Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, Everyman Theatre and a plethora of university departments, independent restaurants and pubs. That’s the neighbours accounted for, but what’s inside the hotel? Let’s take a glimpse at the rooms on offer.
The Fifth room is ideal for meetings and networking. It has two walls of glass and a terrace. Be careful of the view though as it could distract your attendees! The view allows people to take in the panorama of the city and beyond to the welsh hills, Snowdonia and across to the Irish sea. In terms of capacity you can have theatre format of 70 people and 30 people in boardroom style.
The Residents’ Lounge is discreetly lit and has comfortable leather seating. Cool oak and slate grey floors set off a Steinway Grand Piano. With a capability of 150 standing it’s good for drinks receptions and networking events.
The Old Bookroom has floor to ceiling windows, original brickwork and iron columns. It is ideal for private functions and meetings. In this room, you can have 50 people theatre style or 20 people in a boardroom format.
The Boardroom is a relaxing room for smaller gatherings from board meetings to private business dinners. It caters for 14 people boardroom style, of course. Lastly, the Conference room is a versatile room with a clean contemporary style and natural daylight. It can look after 40 people theatre style and 24 people in boardroom format.
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Brain Charity
The Brain Charity alongside their work of fundraising, research and advocacy offers meeting rooms for hire. They have been providing rooms for a large variety of public, private and voluntary sector organisations for over 20 years, and the revenue they earn from this enables the Brain Charity to help run their services. If social responsibility is important to you or your organisation then this could be a perfect venue for you. If you are a registered charity and have a turnover of less than £1M, you can be offered 40% off the room hire pricing. It’s basically the Brain charity helping small charities with their meeting and event needs.
The Brain Charity have three ground floor meeting rooms, with flexible layouts and a range of facilities, alongside a bright & airy foyer for coffee breaks and lunch. In addition there are a variety of smaller rooms available.
The biggest size for boardroom format is 30 people and 85 people in theatre format. It’s a venue that works well for small meetings and groups. If you want to explore it in person then just take a trip to Norton Street, Liverpool, L3 8LR.
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Hilton Liverpool City Centre
If you are looking for meeting rooms and event space that can accommodate bigger groups then take a look at the Hilton Liverpool City Centre hotel.
They provide 11 air-conditioned function rooms and the largest room which is the Grace Suite can take 450 people. In addition to the meeting room space if you need accommodation for your attendees there are 215 guest rooms that this hotel can provide.
The Grace Suite is located on the first floor and can cater for up to 450 people. It provides more than 4,700 Sq. feet for conferences, meetings and exhibitions. This is definitely a room for a bigger meeting. Their second largest room is the Albert Suite which is also located on the first floor. It can serve up to 160 people in a theatre layout.
If you are seeking a smaller meeting at the Hilton you could ask for details of their Meetings Simplified package. It’s essentially a solution for meetings of up to 25 delegates and offers free-flowing food and drinks all day at no extra cost.
This allows you to break when it suits you and it helps keep your delegates continually refreshed and refuelled. There is no need to confirm break times and menus. Food and drinks will be available in the breakout area, throughout your meeting. It’s an inclusive food offering. Those delegates with dietary requirements and food intolerances can be catered for without highlighting individuals or having the need to provide separate dishes.
This Hilton hotel is approximately 7 miles from Liverpool John Lennon Airport and less than one mile from Lime Street Station. The hotel, directly opposite Albert Dock and the UNESCO World Heritage Site, is within walking distance of ACC Liverpool, Echo Arena, and the Beatles Museum.
You can find the Hilton at 3 Thomas Steers Way, Liverpool, L1 8LW.
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Quaker Meeting House
The Quaker Meeting House is based in Liverpool city centre. From a private space for a small meeting to a full conference centre hire, they can look after meetings for 2 – 130 people.
Despite being competitively priced, any profit that is made goes to support charitable aims in respecting the Quaker values. When you use the Quaker Meeting House as your venue, you contribute towards Quaker work: building peace, equality and sustainability on a local, national and international stage.
The Large Meeting Room is situated on the first floor and is a bright, flexible space. The room can be set up in theatre style for up to 130 people, cabaret style for up to 96 people and boardroom style for up to 36 people. The Large Meeting Room has a stage with a grand piano.
The Small Meeting Room is also situated on the first floor. It is set up for 60 people in theatre style as standard. The room can be set up to 48 people in cabaret style and 24 people boardroom style.
The whole of the first floor which includes the Large Meeting Room, Small Meeting Room and Library along with sole use of the concourse foyer area and kitchen can also be booked.
The Institute Room is situated on the second floor. It is set up in theatre style for 60 people as standard. It can seat up to 18 people in boardroom style and can also be set up in cabaret style up to a maximum of 56 people. Also on the second floor is The Lecture Room. It is set up in U shape boardroom style for up to 24 people as standard and is the only set up available in this room.
The George Fox Room on the third floor is a more relaxed style room with an outside terrace area. It is set up with a circle of chairs for up to 25 people as standard. It can seat up to 16 people in boardroom style and can also be set up in cabaret for a maximum of 24 people.
The Quaker Meeting House is at 22 School Lane, Liverpool, L1 3BT.
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Holy Name Social Club
The Holy Name Parish centre is situated in the heart of Fazakerley, Liverpool. The function room is the biggest space and can cater for up to 180 people. The room comes with a large stage already built in. This is a definite bonus as it spares the expense of needing to pay to hire one in.
The facility is available to hire at competitive rates. Catering can be provided or arranged. There is a smaller area for up to 40 people and a meeting room that can accommodate up to 25 people without a squeeze. Visual equipment can be provided for meetings.
The Holy Name has a medium sized car park and the venue has disabled access. The venue can be found at 2 Moss Pits Lane, Liverpool, L10 9LG.
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Function Suite
The Function Suite is located in the heart of Liverpool city centre. Actually, the Function Suite is an indoor marquee space which could give you a different emphasis or twist for your meeting.
The space can hold up to 300 people. It is equipped with the essential equipment needed for any meeting which includes: Wi-Fi, projection screens and a lectern. All of which is important for those speeches and presentations. Food and drink is also on the menu from the Function Suite venue.
You can find this meeting space at 17-21 Fleet Street, Liverpool, L1 4AR.
Pricing and hidden extras
Pricing for hiring a meeting space is completely variable. There are many factors that contribute to how a venue decides its pricing policy. Just look at the Quaker Meeting House, part of the income received goes into their charitable work. Then of course, the price you pay will be determined by what you need. Many venues will charge based on: the number of hours you need, the number of people attending, the equipment and food and drink requirements. Whilst you may be able to get a broad idea of the final cost by looking at the venues’ website, invariably it’s best to phone direct and talk through your requirements. You may even be able to negotiate a better overall price.
Are there any hidden extra charges that you need to be aware of? Whilst hidden charges are not really hidden, you do need to scrutinise the paperwork before you sign the contract. This is where your acute sense of detail needs to be working well. Some venues will set out their room in a certain format and if you want it changed you may incur a charge. For example you want the room changed from the standard theatre style to a boardroom format. Digital projectors, flip charts with paper and pens may be charged. Internet connectivity may well be charged. Find out what happens if you exceed the hours for your meeting. Are there penalty charges? Hiring a space for a meeting for a few hours is a very different proposition to hiring a conference space for a few days. Hiring a short term meeting space can feel more prescriptive especially as there isn’t always the opportunity to negotiate. That is why you need to be clear on all charges.
Meeting your meeting objectives
Before you commit to the venue and sign with them, pause for a moment. Ask yourself if booking this meeting space will enhance or detract the objectives of the meeting. If you are running a training meeting do you think the venue will help play a part in accelerating the learning process? Once you are happy that the venue will help with meeting your objectives then don’t delay, just sign away. There is plenty of choice in Liverpool so the hardest thing might be narrowing your options. Use our tips to help you find the perfect home for your event.