Hi Glen, Just to jump in here, when we first opened we had a number of large established meetups contact us about using the space for free - we heard the same phrase over and over again about how we would gain exposure etc. however, we quickly worked out that this simply wasn't true and I later discovered that some of these same networks had paid venues in the past and also had venue sponsorship coming through. After that we decided no free event space - our members receive up to 50% room hire discount and we quickly found that there were groups and individuals who are happy to pay, and who value your space. That been said about six months ago we decided to take another look at this approach, our front room area was being used more and more as a meeting space by our members and we also had some established not for profits booking space with us. As a CiC we decided to create a 'Friends of the Guild' membership where we invited 20 not for profits to become members, we didn't charge and they got access to our front space where they could meet a guest for free and 50% room hire discount. Of the 20 invited about half took up the offer and we now see many of them using the front space, which helps create a buzz in there, we also noticed more importantly that they were booking our charged rooms more and more as they felt encouraged, supported and a certain amount of loyalty in doing so.
We did check and this is something that our members supported, in fact they recently suggested widening the offer to students. In regards to meetups and networks we have a policy where if they are ran by one of our members then they can use the front space for free - no staffing is provided and a member needs to be on site at anyone time. Again as a result we have noticed an increase in bookings from those attending. Hope that helps. Tatjana On Thursday, July 30, 2015 at 8:43:13 PM UTC+1, Glen Ferguson wrote: > > Thanks Tony & Alex, and thanks for some new ideas I can offer. I'll see > how they go over. > > > > > *Glen Ferguson* > Phone: 301-732-5165 > Email: [email protected] <javascript:> > Website: http://coworkfrederick.com > Address: 122 E Patrick St, Frederick, MD 21701 > > On Sat, Jul 25, 2015 at 7:38 PM, Alex Linsker <[email protected] > <javascript:>> wrote: > >> Hi Glen, I can totally relate to what Tony wrote about costs and valuing >> a place. At Collective Agency, we started out with a no charge option, and >> that worked great until many unintented consequences happened. >> >> I'm very happy to rent out conference rooms for meetups and user groups. >> Members get 3 hours per day in conference rooms. Non-members pay. Event >> space rental is always paid, for up to 45 or up to 125 people, and only >> after hours. >> >> I do not think groups or boards or companies can be responsible for an >> event. I think individuals can be responsible. If one person isn't >> responsible for something, no one is responsible, is a belief I have. But >> individuals can work together, and responsible decisive responsive leaders, >> and setting assertive limits, and systems and processes, is the best. >> >> Alex Linsker, Collective Agency, Portland Oregon >> >> -- >> Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com >> --- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "Coworking" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to [email protected] <javascript:>. >> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. >> > > -- Visit this forum on the web at http://discuss.coworking.com --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Coworking" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
