When planning your work and travel schedule, do you smile when you know you’re heading to a particular City? Do you have a premonition that your business trip will be a success simply because of the City you are travelling into? Conversely, when you see that you are traveling into a particular urban jungle, do you get tense over the proverbial “mountain to climb”?

Admittedly, this week I had too much time on my hands at an airport waiting for a flight. My thoughts drifted to the five urban centres I have been in through the last four weeks – and how the different locations made me reflect on the success of my business in each locale. This got me to actually ranking those Cities…

The Best (of a few selected) Cities for Business Meetings

5 Cities: Buffalo, Halifax, Niagara (the Region), Ottawa, and Toronto. (This selection is based on my own travels this past month.)

8 Factors: 1) Ease of travel in and out of City; 2) Ease of travel between meetings within urban centre; 3) Costs factors (parking, coffee, meal); 4) Public facilities / amenities for business; 5) “the business factor” – the feel re business practices, surroundings; 6) client entertainment options; 7) “feel good factor” – the centre’s hospitality, cleanliness, feeling of safety; and 8) “the friendliness factor” – most smiles per 10 people, likelihood of a RAOK.

Ratings (1 to 5 marks based on latest experience): 

• Buffalo: 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 1, 1, 2 for a total score of 19
•  Halifax: 4, 4, 4, 3, 2, 3, 4, 5 for a total score of 29
•  Niagara: 5, 3, 4, 2, 1, 2, 3, 3 for a total score of 23
•  Ottawa: 2, 3, 1, 4, 3, 3, 2, 2 for a total score of 20
•  Toronto: 1, 3, 1, 4, 5, 5, 1, 1, for a total score of 21

Rankings: My experience suggests Halifax is ranked the best and Niagara Region is second best locale for conducting business meetings. Of these five cities, Buffalo is that “mountain to climb.”

So, BGJ is interested in your experience with the Cities you travel to for business meetings. Which ones are ranked high on your list? What other Cities can we add to this survey? Let us know your favourite meeting locations – as well as your “mountains”!