People working remotely who need to step away from their home office for an in-person meeting represent a demand segment that hotels are adapting to quickly, which includes accommodating short booking windows for small meetings.

Vanessa Claspill, vice president of sales for Davidson Hospitality Group's lifestyle hotel management division Pivot Hotels & Resorts, said her company started booking small meetings over the summer on only a few days' notice.

At first, people were booking a week in advance, but that then moved toward only a day or two ahead of time, she said.

Pivot's Kimpton Cottonwood Hotel in Omaha, Nebraska, just booked a meeting in the week for the week, she said. When one of the guests checked in, he requested a conference room for 10 for the next day and 10 guestrooms because his party decided they wanted to stay overnight.

“All of our hotels have learned how to be agile and flexible,” she said. “In our industry right now, it’s a balancing act of the middle of the week where we’ve got really tough occupancies and yet we wanted to take advantage of these customers who are wanting to have some sort of meeting."

Pivot properties have been able to make these meetings happen by turning two guestrooms into meetings space. Claspill said hotel teams are adapting rooms with different presettings.

For example, one room might be set up in a "U" shape to accommodate 10 people while maintaining social distancing, while the adjacent room is a more private setting that can be used for any deals to be made during the meeting.

Hotels have also worked closely with their culinary teams to "create menus that are very adaptable" for small, short-notice meetings, she said.

"Instead of using traditional banquet or catering menus, we’ve really reorganized our restaurant menus to make them user-friendly for these small meetings," she said.

Claspill said it’s hard to staff these short-notice meetings appropriately given the pandemic environment, so staff members have learned to wear multiple hats and serve as AV specialists, catering and sales managers and “banquet captains."

“That’s really what’s key here is being able to produce that kind of event in a very quick-formatted fashion," she said.

Jasmine Simon-Wallace, regional director of sales and marketing at Real Hospitality Group, said people have gathering for meetings in the lobby at some properties and have then moved to meeting rooms.

She said the lobby is designed to be social-distanced and people are allowed to gather there, but some people might want a more private setting for their business meeting or break from the home office.

If the hotel staff happens to see that type of gathering, the team is trained to approach the group and ask if they can assist with anything and if they would like something a little more private in a meeting room setting, Simon-Wallace said.

“We are then able to convert that to a piece of business for the day and then drive a bit of additional revenue by charging a room rental,” she said.

Vibeke Sansone, director of sales and marketing at the JW Marriott Orlando Bonnet Creek Resort & Spa, said via email that her property has had day-of requests for small gatherings of six or seven people.

The groups that are booking these day-of meetings are usually in-house corporate travelers looking for a last-minute gathering, she said.

The hotel does not have an upcharge for last-minute bookings, Sansone said.

"The same-day bookings are charged a meeting room rental fee and the published price for any food and beverage options the group chooses," she said.

Mark Nooren, general manager of the Curaçao Marriott Beach Resort in Willemstad, Curaçao, said via email that local banks, insurance companies and utility companies have been booking small meetings within a window of one to five days, which is considered to be last minute at the hotel.

"We handle these last-minute meetings with urgency and rarely turn them down," he said. "As long as we are sure that we can provide the Curaçao Marriott standard and have the necessary resources to ensure that we are compliant with local health and cleanliness standards, we welcome any day-of or last-minute bookings."

There has been an increase in the number of day-of meeting requests at the Confidante Miami Beach, Lanette Torres, director of group sales, said via email.

She said the hotel has "established an easy and seamless way to book our meeting spaces" given the increase in day-of requests.

"Our smaller meeting rooms are ideal for small, day-of meetings with preset existing setups and built-in AV and video conferencing capabilities and enhanced internet bandwidth," she said. "All inquiries are handled by the Confidante’s sales team who then work with the guest to reserve their space for the day and assist with any other requests throughout the day."

Jessica Bowman, area director of sales for Charlestowne Hotels, said via email the French Quarter Inn and HarbourView Inn properties she oversees don't get an abundance of day-of meeting requests, but accommodates these requests depending on availability and the ability to execute on all of the group's needs.

"We do not want to overpromise and underdeliver," she said. "If the group is in need of meeting space, we will ensure we can get the room set by our staff and provide audio visual and food and beverage if needed. While we may not be able to provide all items off the catering menu, the food and beverage director and I can customize a smaller menu that we could offer to day-of groups in hopes that this would satisfy their needs."

Over the past few months, the hotel has had the most short-term meetings bookings from law groups that need to prepare for a disposition as well as civil engineering companies, she said.