The start-up revolutionizes the classic meeting model with the opening of its new building in Madrid. Well-being has been shown to improve communication between employees: it helps strengthen bonds and improve relations between workers, including with managers, because when you feel good, you work better. In other words, it boosts performance and efficiency, improves decision-making, stimulates creativity, increases productivity and reduces absenteeism at work.
Comet Meetings, supported by its "Meeting Scientists" or experts in productive meetings, advises and offers wellness sessions before every meeting. They are designed to restore our energy and nervous system and direct our attention through the body. They include breathing and stretching exercises to maintain concentration and commitment, set the pace and relax during the sessions. After 50 minutes of uninterrupted work, we lose almost 50% of our attention span, and need to regenerate it with the help of effective breaks. Similarly, practicing yoga or meditation renews our capacity for thought, because when we sit still for too long, blood flow to the brain slows down and our clarity of mind diminishes. What's more, it remobilizes energy: by reactivating the cardiovascular system through movement, the whole body (and especially the brain) replenishes itself with the oxygen and nutrients it needs to function properly.
At Comet, they understand how circumstances can positively or negatively affect our state of mind and performance, which is why, especially on the saddest day of the year, they want you to think about it and relax for just a moment.
To do this, Comet divides the day into 4 parts:
Focusing before a meeting,
Relaxing before a meeting,
Remobilizing energy at noon
and Ending the day in peace.
Each of these parts contains different exercises or techniques with their own objectives. For example, the Balancing Posture to help you concentrate, or the Body Scan as a self-relaxation exercise after a long day. These and other activities can be found this month at Comet Meetings - the French start-up, co-founded by Victor Carreau, Nicholas Findling and Maxime Albertus in Paris and which raised 30 million euros in a fund-raising round in 2020 (Eurazeo, BPI, among other new and historic investors) - has already enjoyed great success in France and Belgium, and is now making its Spanish debut in a landmark building in Madrid. The key to their success: promoting face-to-face meetings in environments that encourage collective intelligence, with innovative equipment in an inspiring location.
For its first opening in Madrid, Comet Meetings has chosen a protected building steeped in history, opposite the Retiro Park, on one of Madrid's most emblematic avenues, Calle Alfonso XII, opposite the emblematic Puerta de Felipe IV and next to the Casón del Buen Retiro. "Comet Retiro" will be made up of different universes spread over 6 floors in a 1,900 square-meter space featuring various catering areas, meeting rooms, common areas and outdoor spaces. The 19 modular meeting rooms can accommodate from 2 to 80 participants, and are fully equipped to encourage creativity and teamwork. There are also 2 outdoor areas with privileged views over Retiro Park.
"At Comet, wellness is a cornerstone of our turnkey offering, because when you feel good, you work better," says Juliette de Cointet, Head of Wellness.
The services on offer include a team able to respond to all customer needs, as well as all-inclusive packages at very competitive prices and with a range of activities to choose from, such as wellness sessions to get the meeting off to a great start.
"For us, being able to convey Comet's vision in our projects is essential: companies need to learn to have fewer meetings, but better meetings. For us, a successful meeting must respect these 5 dimensions: the right environment to encourage exchanges, the right level of services to focus on the essentials, the right participants, the right content structured and delivered correctly, and finally, the right mindset to achieve the meeting's objectives", says Victor Carreau, co-founder and CEO of Comet. "This new opening and arrival in Madrid marks a very important step in our international expansion to bring the format of successful meetings and the Comet concept everywhere."
The various options offered, depending on the project (classic half-day, gourmet half-day, full-day and afterworks and evenings), benefit from personalized support with before- and after-work activities such as wellness sessions and team buildings; and services such as their team of moderators to structure the day and guide content, all with the aim of fostering every productive meeting and stimulating, motivating work.
