You might already think that “affordable meeting spaces in Amsterdam” sounds like a funny statement especially when Amsterdam is added to the sentence. Well, it’s not all that terrible. Amsterdam is not a cheap place to be although the tips I am about to share can easily scratch off plenty of euros from the final bill.
I want top highlighting that real estate in Amsterdam is generally expensive. Consider that the average cost of a m2 for housing is approximately €23,00. This results into a cost of €2300 for a 100m2 apartment. A day out of the office with your team will come at a cost, nevertheless the outcome produced in an offsite meetings space is invaluable and totally worth the investment.
In the examples used below I consider a typical team consisting of 10 people.
1. Choose an alternative meeting space location in Amsterdam
Among other great things, Amsterdam is famous for the unique central canals including historic streets such as Kaizersgracht, Prinsengracht, Herengracht. Expect a meeting space in this area to cost you an average of €800 per day for 50m2 without including anything but the venue lease itself. I can guarantee you extra charges for coffee or tea, flip charts, post it’s and facilitations kits and sometimes even the flavoured water itself! Sounds expensive although you have a spacious real estate exclusively for your team in a prime location to be the most productive.
My best advice is to explore alternative locations such as Amsterdam East, West, New West or even Amsterdam North. This will immediately scrape at least €200 from the bill, lowering the meeting space rental to an average of €600 per day if not less.
Your savings: €200 per day
2. Choose a meeting space with everything included in the price
You have the cost of the meeting space and you have everything else that will make your stay convenient and pleasant. One of the most frequent questions we are asked from our customers when they book is whether they will be able to have coffee or tea, if we have flip charts, monitors etc… It’s funny that we always considered these facilities for granted. Recently I did some thorough research which inspired this article and I found crazy extra charges. Avoiding these can massively reduce your bill.
Extra meeting space rental charges that will blow your budget
- Flip charts – €50 per flip chart
- Coffee & tea – €3,50 per person or €16 per person for unlimited
- Flavoured water – €16 per bottle
- Projector – €80 per day
- Cleaning fee – €50
While I am not here to judge the pricing strategy of other meeting spaces in Amsterdam I must say that these extra charges can add to the bill at least €215,00 per day, therefore why not search for a space that has everything included in their price?
Your savings: at least €215 per day
A helpful tool to compare these extra charges for meeting rooms Amsterdam is Spacebase.com.
3. Find an affordable meeting space that allows bringing your own lunch & catering
4 years in this business it never gets old to see the smiling faces when lunch arrives! Even though catering services offer great convenience, I am frequently asked by customers if they can bring their own lunch. Of course you can! You rent the venue therefore I want you to feel like home. Organise your own catering or lunch and I am offering a kitchen that facilitates this. A group of 10 people with an average lunch cost of €26 per person adds an extra €260 to the final bill. You can check our catering prices just for reference.
While doing my own research I found many meeting spaces that charge a fee of €10+ per person to arrange your own catering. This is not right… Search for a meeting room that allows you to organise your own catering without any cost.
Your savings: Can be from €60 to €350 per day
4. Make sure to choose a meeting space that grants you free preparation / wrap up time
Whether you are running a team building bootcamp or an ideation session you probably have plenty of preparation work in advance. This shouldn’t come with extra costs even though I found that most spaces are putting an hourly charge on this.
My advice is to double check with the meeting space manager before you book. Simply ask them beforehand if you are allowed to arrive earlier and have the venue prepared and ready for your session. My personal opinion is that organisers MUST allow preparation time free of charge.
Your savings: from €60 to €120 per hour
5. Ask for affordable parking possibilities close to the meeting space
Municipal parking options
Amsterdam is one of the most expensive European cities to park, costing you a staggering €7,50 per hour in the red zone. The second most expensive zone is €6 per hour. Consider if some of your participants will arrive by car. Knowing the parking options in advance can save you and your team a lot of money and frustration.
Choose a Park & Ride (P+R) location
Bicycle is always the best option although when this is not possible the second best choice is to leave your car at a park and ride space(P+R) and come to the city with public transport. This will massively reduce your parking costs.
Other private parking options
Other alternatives, cheaper than the municipality parking, are QPark and ParkBee which are private parking facilities still cheaper than the extreme municipality charges.
Wrapping this up
Our 4 years of experience have shown us that teams and organisers are appreciating the simplicity of making the reservation and most importantly the ambience of the meeting space. The time spent in a meeting space is primary for achieving great team results therefore fostering productivity is our number one priority and should be for every other meeting space provider out there.
Having the right tools in a productive environment is paramount for a positive day out of the office.