Training room hire: what room layout works best for your training session?

What to consider when booking a training room for hire

With so many options available to you as a business owner or department manager looking for local training room hire, it can be difficult to know what kind of venue, facility or room layout will work best for what you need. Let’s discuss what to consider when booking a training room, including what room layout will work best for your training session. 

What to consider when booking a training room for hire

When looking for your ideal training room hire, the best place to start would to confirm the following:

• Location
• Number of participants/attendees
• Available parking
• A/V equipment requirements
• Date and time of training session 
• Your budget

As, knowing exactly when you need a training room, the number of people required to attend, the type of equipment you’ll need and the location – even if you have a rough idea – as well as how much you are able and willing to spend will help you to narrow down your options. 

A note on A/V and other venue equipment

A lot of facilities for hire – especially halls or classrooms/boardrooms offer certain A/V equipment such as TVs or stereos – enabling you to run presentations, show videos or play music, for example. But, it’s a good idea to have at least a vague understanding prior to booking a venue as to what you’ll be doing during your training session and therefore exactly what equipment you’ll need access to. 

What room layout works best for your training session?

The most common training room layouts and their individual benefits are – 

Boardroom style: the boardroom style layout consists of one large table with chairs all around, allowing the facilitator to sit or stand at the very front of the room and command attention and control of the group, moving around the room easily as questions are asked or help required. This is a great solution for smaller groups of people, lecture style sessions and foster group discussions/collaborations or brainstorming sessions. 

Cabaret or conference style: similar to boardroom style, a conference style layout consists of a circular table or tables surrounded by chairs that face the front of the room, where the facilitator can stand or sit at the front of the room and move freely around the tables as and when needed. This is a great solution for larger groups and discussions/collaborations. 

U-shape style: this is probably the most popular style of training room set up as it allows for group and individual discussion, fosters interaction, whilst also drawing attention to the front and centre of the room as and when is needed. This is also a great layout should the facilitator have a presentation to share or a video to show to the group. 

Classroom style: the classroom style of training room layout consists of rows of tables with 1 or 2 chairs on each, facing the front of the room. This is a suitable layout for lecture-style training and development and where individual attendees/participants need to concentrate. 

Theatre style: theatre style is perfect for presentations and lectures where participants don’t need to interact, discuss or collaborate to complete the training session at hand. Theatre style consists of an empty centre aisle with chairs in rows facing a whiteboard or projection/TV.

Essentially, forming the right layout comes down to what you want from the session ahead and how you want your participants to interact, if at all! 

But, what’s most important when hiring a training room is finding a venue that’s flexible, appropriately sized, well-located and affordable (within your budget) and school lettings offer all of the above, alongside the added benefit of knowing that – when you hire a school facility – you’re supporting your local community, local families and children & young people. 

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