Hollow Square Seating in MICE & Hotel RFPs (Plain English Definition + Examples)
Definition
Hollow square seating arranges tables in a closed rectangle with chairs on the outside facing the center — used for board meetings, governance sessions, and any group of 16-40 where all participants are peers and there is no presenter.
In day-to-day European event sourcing, hollow square seating sits inside a broader workflow that includes the brief, the longlist, the shortlist, the contract negotiation, and the post-event reconciliation. Understanding it in isolation is not enough — what matters is how it interacts with the other levers a planner can pull. The definition above is the textbook version; the sections below explain how it actually behaves in real RFPs.
Why Hollow Square Seating matters
Hollow square signals equality of voice — there is no head of table, no facilitator zone, no projection screen by default. It is the right setup for governance meetings, working groups, and any session where you actively want to flatten hierarchy. The trade-off: AV is harder (no clear front), so projection usually requires four pop-up screens or a center-of-room rig.
Example
A 28-person association board meeting uses a hollow square with 1.5m of table per seat in a 180m² room. Microphones at every third seat for hybrid streaming. Hotel quotes room rental €1,400/day + €60/wireless mic × 10 = €2,000/day. Planner negotiates wired tabletop mics included.
Where Hollow Square Seating appears in contracts
Hollow square is specified in the meeting space section. Verify mic count, projection setup (none, center rig, or 4-corner), and whether the room has integrated power at table level — most hotel rooms do not, and adding floor-box power is a costly day-of surprise.
When reviewing a hotel proposal or contract draft, scan for hollow square seating early — it is often easier to negotiate before the supplier has anchored on their preferred position. Easy RFP surfaces these terms in every comparison view so planners can spot deviations from market-standard ranges at a glance, rather than reading 14-page proposals line by line.