Huddle rooms are becoming essential for today’s workplaces. With teams embracing hybrid work and flexible collaboration, small tech-enabled rooms are a viable alternative to large, overly underused meeting rooms. Huddle spaces can facilitate collaborative team efforts, including quick check-ins, brief brainstorming sessions, or video calls. They strike a productive balance of privacy, focus, and convenience. So, let’s discuss what these types of rooms are, why they seem to be a growing trend, and how to establish them for the greatest effect.
A huddle room is a small, private space in the office where a few people can meet. Typically, it can fit 2 to 6 people. Huddle spaces are ideal for quick catch-ups, brief brainstorming sessions, or video conference calls. Think of these rooms as the intimate, focused discussion option to an open—plan space without the formality of using a traditional meeting room.
As the employment dynamic has shifted to allow more hybrid work-type schedules, huddle spaces are becoming more popular. Large meeting rooms often sit empty or get booked for short, casual meetings that don’t need so much space. These small rooms are a more compact, efficient meeting room, allowing teams to jump into a quiet space when they need to talk or connect.
Most rooms are equipped with screens, webcams, and microphones, making video conferences or screen sharing easier. Simple tech, comfortable furniture, and just enough room—that’s the magic of a good small meeting room.
These rooms are meant to be simple, but they still need the proper setup to work well. Even though they’re small, the right tools can make a big difference. Here’s what you’ll usually find in a well-designed room:
Overall, small rooms should provide a place to meet quickly, stay focused, and complete tasks. They don’t require a large space or an elaborate setup.
Huddle rooms may be small, but they deliver considerable value in the modern workplace. Here is a closer look at why more businesses are investing in these rooms:
Space savings
In many offices, space is limited. A smaller room requires much less space than a traditional meeting room. Therefore, you can get a lot of meeting space from small or unused corners, where larger teams are less effective. The small room is ideal for capturing every square meter of real estate. And one of the best cost saving ideas for the workplace.
Budget efficiencies
The cost of furnishing and technology in a large meeting room can come with a high price tag, compared to a huddle space, where we have fewer chairs, fewer tables, and less tech to worry about. Nevertheless, it will serve as a fully functioning meeting space without the high costs. This is great for startups and businesses that are trying to stay on a budget with office expenses.
They are versatile
Need a quick spot for a catch-up, a one-on-one meeting, or a little brainstorming session? Small meeting rooms are made for that. They can provide focus for various types of short meetings and don’t require the same re-configuration every time.
They support hybrid teams
Hybrid teams need venues and tools that support both in-person and remote working. These rooms usually have video conferencing tools, making it easy to pull a remote teammate in for a ad hoc meeting or decision. They’re the natural home for small virtual meetings.
They help teams move faster
Instead of waiting for a large conference room to be available, teams can quickly hop into a smaller room for a quick ad hoc meeting. This saves time, fastens the decision-making process, and increases productivity.
One added benefit:
Huddle rooms reduce the load on large meeting spaces, helping to ensure that they remain free for longer and more formal meetings, such as customer presentations or whole-team planning sessions.
Huddle spaces are intended for quick, focused work. They provide the space teams can jump into to do things quickly! Here are typical ways teams use these rooms:
They’re also great for those unplanned moments when a quick idea turns into a productive discussion. They’re flexible, easy to access, and always ready when you are.
Creating a great huddle room is not difficult. All you need to remember is to keep it easy, comfortable, and effective. Here are some things to do to get it right:
And one last thing: don’t overdo it. You want to maintain simplicity in the user interface; too much tech or furniture can do the opposite. Simplicity is often the best.
If you have multiple rooms, make sure each one has a clear meeting room name or label. Use names like “Room 1”, “Quick Meet A”, or even a fun theme like “Narnia” or “Focus Pod” to make them easy to identify and book. Having memorable identifiers helps to facilitate seamless reservations. It avoids confusion in a busy office environment, especially when multiple teams look for a room. It also makes booking screens and calendars easier to understand at a glance.
Even small rooms require management. Here are three main reasons:
Typically, most companies use meeting room booking software to manage huddle rooms. This software allows team members to book the rooms in advance or on demand. Specific booking software has options where, if no one shows up to a room, the reservation can automatically be cancelled so another team can use that space.
Many companies install meeting room displays outside their rooms to make things even easier. These displays indicate if the room is currently being used and, if not, provide on-the-spot booking. The display also indicates if someone is currently using the room, so walk-ins can be avoided during the meeting. Lastly, it reduces the confusion in busy office areas.
Some companies even use colour indicators on their displays, such as green for available and red for occupied, which is an easy way to get the visual status for the rooms at a glance.
Most meeting room booking tools also record the usage data, which helps office managers make better planning decisions for that space and other resources they will need to allocate.
If managed appropriately, these rooms can be utilised more effectively, and you will get more productive time out of them.
To maximise your huddle rooms, it’s best to connect them to tools your teams are already using. Most companies connect their room booking systems to tools such as Google Calendar or Outlook, so employees can reserve a room without changing platforms.
Some workplaces also use occupancy sensors to check whether a booked room is actually being used. If no one shows up, the room can automatically become available again.
Suppose your office has desk booking or space management software. In that case, you can connect it to give employees a unified experience. Therefore, employees can easily find a workspace and a meeting room in one system.
Connecting tools decrease confusion, save time, and allow the office to run more seamlessly.
Even a smaller space can create a number of challenges if not planned properly. Here are some common mistakes — and what you can do to avoid them:
The most successful rooms include simplicity, functionality, and easy-to-use features. Keep it neat. Keep it connected. Keep it comfortable.
Huddle rooms may be small, but they make a big difference. They are a viable and practical solution, providing teams a flexible, technology-enabled space to collaborate, away from the more formalised office setting. When designed and managed thoughtfully, smaller rooms can reduce wasted space, accelerate decision-making, and improve how teamwork operates daily. Suppose your office is looking to adapt to new ways of working. In that case, these rooms are an easy way to dip your toe in before completely diving into the deep end with full, re-imagined workspaces that require costly renovations and planning. Investing in a few tech-enabled smaller rooms is a low-cost, low-impact way to start a positive change.
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