What is the difference between a reception area and a waiting room? Is there a difference at all, and do they need to be separate from one another?
Reception areas and waiting areas are often confused as being the same thing but they’re actually subtly different.
A reception area is where a visitor reports to the reception desk to announce their arrival. This will normally be because they have an appointment or because they want to ask a question or sort out a problem. The receptionist will probably ask them to go and sit on the office reception chairs and wait whilst their appointment time arrives or until they can contact the relevant person to come and help the visitor.
A waiting area is literally what it says on the box - a place people sit and wait. There is often no reception desk in a dedicated waiting area and simply seating, perhaps a TV, refreshments, etc. When someone is waiting in this space, someone will usually come to fetch them when it is their time to be seen, or their name will be called by an automated system and they’ll be told which room to go to.
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So, when it comes to office reception design, do you need to keep the two spaces separate or not?
It really depends on how much space you have and how busy you expect your reception area to become. Many businesses combine their reception area and their waiting area together as one, and that’s perfectly fine and acceptable. Other businesses separate the two. If you have a confidential service or some visitors may be feeling upset or sensitive, a separate waiting room is often a good idea.
When it comes to designing any space such as this, you need to focus on what it feels like to the visitor and the impression it creates. Is it comfortable and welcoming? If so, you’re onto a winner. It also needs to reflect the company and be in-keeping with the brand identity. As long as the space is a comfortable place to wait and the receptionist is as helpful as possible, you really don’t need to worry about the rights and wrongs of combining the two areas or keeping them separate.
It’s a personal choice but one that you need to weigh up the pros and cons of carefully to get the decision right for your individual business.