So many people travel these days, for business or pleasure or some combination, that entertaining outside of the home is a very practical alternative for people. Perhaps you are traveling with your son’s hockey team or you are meeting a bunch of family members for a distant relative’s wedding or you are getting together with work colleagues from across the country at your company’s national conference. Whatever the situation may be, entertaining in a hotel room or hotel public space is becoming a viable option for many people. Following are some guidelines and suggestions for the best use of space and functionality for this type of hospitality.
Concept
Create a small get together in your hotel room or hotel suite. Focus on simplicity and a relaxed atmosphere, because candidly, with 2 queen beds in the room, formality is just NOT going to work!
Set up
- The most important factor here is to insure that the room is tidy! This means that if the maid hasn’t cleaned the room yet, don’t offer to host the party! Remove as many personal belongings as possible to the closet or the dresser. Push the suitcases under the bed or put them on the floor of the closet. Put away your personal toiletry items, just in case someone wishes to use your bathroom.
- Take a look at the furniture layout. Many times, you can move the side table, desk, or chairs to create better traffic flow. A person only needs about 18” of clearance to maneuver around an object, so be gutsy when you’re arranging the pieces. The beds will be used for seating, and possibly to hold food items, so make sure that you have created clearance around them.
- Plan to use the dresser top to hold beverages and smaller snack items, since you will need to use a firm surface for these things.
- If the party will revolve around the TV (i.e. watching a football game or movie) make sure that the seating is facing the appropriate direction.
- Music can be provided by the room’s clock radio (not usually the best method, unless your hotel has an amazing radio!), the TV tuned to a music station, your laptop streaming digital music or your iPod plugged into portable speakers or your television’s audio input.
In the follow up article, information will be shared on appropriate food and beverage items for a hotel room get together, and how to facilitate different types of functions. Please continue reading.
