Running a company seminar in Douala
Housing the delegates in the same building as the room solves half the problems. Here is the other half.
The first trade-off for a seminar in Douala is not the room, it is transport. As soon as delegates sleep somewhere other than where they work, the day opens with an hour of uncertainty and closes with a second one. Putting accommodation and the room on one site removes that risk outright.
On the room itself, two criteria matter more than floor area: no column in the middle of the plate, which always writes off a block of seats, and a glazed façade so a full day runs without artificial light. Everything else (furniture, sound, layout) is configurable.
Plan around the local rhythm: start early, take a real break in the middle of the day, and finish before traffic closes over the city. A programme that ends at six costs everyone an extra hour on the road.
For catering, decide in advance whether you are bringing someone in or going out. Both work, but hesitating on the day costs forty minutes. Above about fifteen people, bring it in.
Finally, keep a fallback room. An August downpour, a power cut, a speaker arriving late: a second space on standby turns each of those into an adjustment rather than an incident.
