Start with one TV near the entrance to your coworking space. Give it three jobs: show guests where to go, tell members what’s happening today, and flag anything that has changed. Keep room booking in the system your team already uses. A lobby screen should help someone find the right room or booking link without asking the front desk.
Put the information people need on arrival first
Stand at the entrance and watch where a first-time visitor stops. If guests regularly walk past reception looking for a meeting room, put the screen where they make that turn. If members tend to ask about events while getting coffee, a lounge screen may be a better second location. Start by solving one of those problems.
Here’s an example playlist for a shared workspace with one lobby TV.
- Welcome and directions. “First visit? Check in at the front desk. Meeting rooms A and B are past the kitchen.” Keep this slide in the rotation all day.
- Today’s events. “12:15 p.m. Member lunch · Lounge” and “4:00 p.m. New member tour · Meet at reception.” Include the room or meeting point next to every time.
- Temporary notice. “Thursday only: pick up packages at reception.” Give the notice an end time or put a reminder on the staff calendar to remove it.
- Booking instructions. “Need a room? Open the member portal.” If you add a QR code to your own booking page, show a short URL too and test both from a phone. Members still book through the portal.
Use large type and read the full loop from the spot where guests stand. If a visitor has to wait through several slides for basic directions, shorten the loop or put the directions on a printed sign beside the TV.
Choose a room schedule people can trust
A public events calendar works well for tours and workshops. A room booking calendar serves a different purpose. If members need to know whether Room B is free, first check whether your booking system can expose an approved display view with just the room, time, and availability. A lobby display is visible to guests as well as members, so keep booking titles, attendee names, meeting links, and door codes off it.
For a lobby events board, create a separate Google Calendar that contains only approved public events. If your organization permits public calendar sharing, copy the calendar’s embed URL from its settings and add it to a HipDeck slide with an Embed element. Test it while signed out and on the actual player. If the calendar requires sign-in or the layout is too small to read, use a manually maintained “Today at the space” slide. See the HipDeck Google Workspace embed guide.
Keep room availability claims out of the lobby rotation until you’ve tested a booking change, a cancellation, and a reconnect. If you can’t confirm the display stays current enough for walk-up decisions, show the booking link and let members check availability there.
Build and test one screen in HipDeck
- Pair the lobby display and name it by location, such as “Main entrance TV.” Try the web player on a compatible browser. On your exact TV, verify that the browser stays open, fills the screen, and can resume after a restart. If it needs manual intervention that staff can’t reliably provide, test a supported external player before expanding. See Add Your First Screen and the TV browser setup guide.
- Create a default playlist with guest directions, approved events, and booking instructions. Publish and assign it to the test display. Check the screen in person so you can catch anything the editor preview misses.
- Create a separate playlist for a time-limited event. For a Thursday open house, show “Open house check-in · Lounge” during the event window, then check that the screen returns to normal lobby content afterward. Follow HipDeck’s scheduling guide for playlist time slots.
- Give a staff member one real change to make, such as moving the tour from reception to Room A. Confirm they can update the screen, verify the change in person, and remove it when it expires. Reopen the player after a restart and check any calendar embed after reconnecting. Keep a static directions slide ready to use if the embed fails.
Decide whether a second screen earns its place
Pick one question to track before launch, such as “Where do I check in for the tour?” Ask reception staff to tally it for a few comparable shifts before and during the pilot. Also note how long staff spend maintaining the screen and whether any expired information stays up. These observations can tell you whether the first screen is saving work or creating another chore.
Add a lounge screen if members need event reminders away from the entrance. Consider a room-side display when people need to make a decision at that door and you have a reliable, approved source for availability. If the lobby TV already answers the common questions, keep the setup simple.
Start a HipDeck trial with the TV you plan to use. HipDeck lists a seven-day trial with one screen included and no credit card required. Growth is $8 per screen per month after the trial. Use the trial to test one event change, one scheduled switch, and one restart before adding a display.
