Qantas closes all airport meeting rooms & some valet parking locations

[Mattg]

Qantas recently made a (very) quiet change to its website to mention that:

Domestic airport meeting rooms​

Effective 6 December 2020, Qantas has permanently closed all Meeting Room services.

and

Valet parking​

Effective 6 December 2020, Qantas Valet services in Brisbane and Adelaide have permanently closed, however valet services in Sydney and Melbourne remain, with a planned reopening date in 2021.*

* Information correct as at 17 November 2020 but is subject to change.

 

[TheInsider]

Qantas recently made a (very) quiet change to its website to mention that:



and

Honestly a lot of the meeting rooms were gone pre-covid.

 

[Maccaj73]

Odd...always thought the QF BNE Valet looked pretty full. Wonder if VA will follow suit, be a shame after their investment in the premium entry.

 

[Mattg]

Honestly a lot of the meeting rooms were gone pre-covid.

Yes, and I believe the remaining rooms have all been closed since March anyway. I guess this announcement just formalises the change.

Has anyone here ever used one of the Qantas meeting rooms? I have certainly met colleagues and had meetings in Qantas Club lounges before, but haven't found a justification to pay for a private meeting room when chatting in the main lounge area normally works just fine.

 

[kookaburra75]

Yes, and I believe the remaining rooms have all been closed since March anyway. I guess this announcement just formalises the change.
Has anyone here ever used one of the Qantas meeting rooms? I have certainly met colleagues and had meetings in Qantas Club lounges before, but haven't found a justification to pay for a private meeting room when chatting in the main lounge area normally works just fine.

Not for a few years. I used them in the past where I had people flying into Melbourne from different locations, as we had to meet face to face, and the meeting rooms out at the airport were a practical option, rather than travelling into the city. However, people are thinking a bit differently these days.

 

[serfty]

Has anyone here ever used one of the Qantas meeting rooms?

Some have ...

FT meeting - BNE QC, 21 Feb, 2.30pm onwards - FlyerTalk Forums

Qantas | Frequent Flyer - FT meeting - BNE QC, 21 Feb, 2.30pm onwards - For those who haven't noticed the Qantas Club Bar thread, a number of us are meeting at Brisbane Domestic QC from 2.30pm (local time)on Friday, 21st February. I have booked a meeting room in the name of SPRING HILL FINANCIAL...

www.flyertalk.com

Qantas Club Bar - FlyerTalk Forums

Qantas | Frequent Flyer - Qantas Club Bar - Well guys, out of all the topics on the board, i think this one is by far the most important. WHAT TIME DOES THE BAR OPEN IN DOMESTIC QANTAS CLUBS? I am dtermined throughout the year to get my investment in the QC back in drinks so i need to plan my...

www.flyertalk.com

 

[Flying Fox]

Shame. When my kids were younger I used the meeting room as a family room so as to contain the mayhem & noise. I didn't want others in the lounge to suffer

 

[bogusidiot]

Something to do with outsourcing ground staff and/or getting rid of service desks? Although you'd think they could outsource the meeting rooms to Sofitel or whoever does the lounges these days

 

[dajop]

I used to use them frequently when I was travelling within Australia, had various meetings in MEL and SYD clubs at times with colleagues. That was 10+ years ago now,

More recently I often (except 2020) have used small meeting rooms in SQ lounges (at my home port in SIN) to take conference calls. One of the more unpleasant aspects of lounges is listening to people speaking loudly on the phones so I try to do so outside the lounge or in a meeting room/"phone booth" wherever possible.

Anyway this is not surprising. It's all part of cost-cutting the "evolution of the travel experience in line with customer feedback"

 

[Pushka]

Some have ...

FT meeting - BNE QC, 21 Feb, 2.30pm onwards - FlyerTalk Forums

Qantas | Frequent Flyer - FT meeting - BNE QC, 21 Feb, 2.30pm onwards - For those who haven't noticed the Qantas Club Bar thread, a number of us are meeting at Brisbane Domestic QC from 2.30pm (local time)on Friday, 21st February. I have booked a meeting room in the name of SPRING HILL FINANCIAL...

www.flyertalk.com

Qantas Club Bar - FlyerTalk Forums

Qantas | Frequent Flyer - Qantas Club Bar - Well guys, out of all the topics on the board, i think this one is by far the most important. WHAT TIME DOES THE BAR OPEN IN DOMESTIC QANTAS CLUBS? I am dtermined throughout the year to get my investment in the QC back in drinks so i need to plan my...

www.flyertalk.com

Our business has when we had people from three different states fly in for a meeting. Those were the days.

 

[Daver6]

I used to use them frequently when I was travelling within Australia, had various meetings in MEL and SYD clubs at times with colleagues. That was 10+ years ago now,

More recently I often (except 2020) have used small meeting rooms in SQ lounges (at my home port in SIN) to take conference calls. One of the more unpleasant aspects of lounges is listening to people speaking loudly on the phones so I try to do so outside the lounge or in a meeting room/"phone booth" wherever possible.

Anyway this is not surprising. It's all part of cost-cutting the "evolution of the travel experience in line with customer feedback"

A bit OT, but that got me thinking. If lounged had those little phone booth rooms like they do in WeWork offices, it might make it a better experience for all. Possibly something QF might consider with the meeting room space when it's part of the lounge. Ie, like in ADL.

 

[jakeseven7]

Yes, and I believe the remaining rooms have all been closed since March anyway. I guess this announcement just formalises the change.

Has anyone here ever used one of the Qantas meeting rooms? I have certainly met colleagues and had meetings in Qantas Club lounges before, but haven't found a justification to pay for a private meeting room when chatting in the main lounge area normally works just fine.

Yup we used them quite a lot.

Were quite handy but honestly when I was there not many meeting rooms were in use so not unsurprised that they are gone.

 

[AIRwin]

Possibly something QF might consider with the meeting room space when it's part of the lounge.

Or merge back into the overall lounge space for social distancing purposes...

 

[samh004]

Perhaps in the future the spaces can be repurposed into greater lounge space.

Shame about valet in Brisbane, I was meaning to try it... one day... not anymore!

 

[Mattg]

A bit OT, but that got me thinking. If lounged had those little phone booth rooms like they do in WeWork offices, it might make it a better experience for all. Possibly something QF might consider with the meeting room space when it's part of the lounge. Ie, like in ADL.

They already have these in many Japanese airport lounges. It's a fantastic idea.

 

[VPS]

We used to use the meeting rooms for day work meetings - it worked for most states that you could fly in early morning and be home that night - mainly Melbourne but for the WA and NT people it was a very long day

 

[dajop]

A bit OT, but that got me thinking. If lounged had those little phone booth rooms like they do in WeWork offices, it might make it a better experience for all. Possibly something QF might consider with the meeting room space when it's part of the lounge. Ie, like in ADL.

Agree totally. With some gentle nudges to encourage people to use them could really improve the lounge experience, and reduce the noise from the DYKWIA calls and grandparent facetime calls.

 

[serfty]

They already have these in many Japanese airport lounges. It's a fantastic idea.

It's not a new idea - the Qantas First Emerald lounge in AKL has a couple - back in the 90's they even had landline devices.

 

[Daver6]

They already have these in many Japanese airport lounges. It's a fantastic idea.

Well the Japanese are known for being extremely courteous and considerate of other people. Even on the trains someone will leave the main cabin area if they need to make a call.

 

[PineappleSkip]

QF BNE Valet looked pretty full. Wonder if VA will follow suit, be a shame after their investment in the premium entry.

Yes, no QF valet parking in BNE is a sad loss, I loved going direct from car to checkin.
Wondering if QF has also permanently closed/vacated the premium entry, which the valet desk was a part of. Virgin's website still saying 'watch this space' regarding premium entry and premium valet. Last week the infrastructure was still there.

BNE still claiming it's own Valet parking is only temporarily shut, but no indication if/when that will reopen, and it's location was a lot less convenient. If the airlines ditch theirs, less incentive for BNE to reinstate theirs.

cheers skip