A privately hired riad can host a seminar for ten to thirty people, rarely more. The limit is not the lounge, it is the bedrooms: most riads in the medina have five to ten, which means five to ten participants in single rooms, or twice that if your colleagues are willing to share. Beyond that, two set-ups work: hire two neighbouring riads, or put the group up in a hotel and book the riad for a working day or a dinner. On budget, our costing model puts a riad on a par with a 4-star hotel, and well below a 5-star.
How many participants can stay in a riad?
A riad is a house built around a central courtyard. The bedrooms are spread over one or two floors, and their number is the first figure to ask for, even before the photos. For a seminar, the question is not “how many beds?” but “how many single rooms?”: a sales director and an intern rarely share a room, and some corporate travel policies forbid it.
The arithmetic is simple, and it decides the format:
| Rooms in the property | Participants in single rooms | Participants in shared rooms (twin beds) |
|---|---|---|
| 5 (small riad) | 5 | 10 |
| 8 | 8 | 16 |
| 10 (large riad) | 10 | 20 |
| 2 neighbouring riads of 10 | 20 | 40 |
| 41 (medina riad-hotel, El Fenn as an example) | 41 | 82 |
Take one room off if the facilitator, the host executive or the coordinator needs to sleep on site. And check that each room can actually take two separate beds: many riad bedrooms only have one large bed. The last line shows the other type of property: some establishments in the medina combine several houses and run like small hotels. El Fenn, for example, lists 41 rooms and suites on its website. You keep the riad architecture, but you are no longer on your own, unless you hire the whole place.
How many people can work together in a riad?
Work happens in a lounge opening onto the courtyard, less often in a closed room. That is what gives the format its appeal, and what sets its limits: ten to thirty people at most, depending on the layout. A single boardroom table or a U-shape for a twelve-person leadership team is easy to set up. A plenary for thirty in rows facing a screen already needs a large lounge. Our guide to seminar venues in Marrakech covers the other types of room available in the city.
Three technical constraints come up in every riad. Electrical capacity is often limited, in the region of 10 to 20 amps, and there is no socket in the middle of the courtyard. Sound bounces off the stone walls: one microphone and two compact speakers are enough, conference-hall sound would be overkill. Finally, daylight falling into the courtyard washes out projection: a flat screen, or a powerful projector set up in the closed lounge, works better than a screen stretched out under the open sky.
Think about the season too. An open courtyard is pleasant in spring and autumn, but nights from December to February are cool in Marrakech, with average lows of 6 to 8 °C. Ask whether the lounge can be closed and heated, and whether the courtyard can be covered.
How do you get to a riad in the medina?
It is the question buyers ask least, and the one that matters most on day one. Cars do not drive into the medina: the vehicle stops at the gate or the nearest car park, then everyone finishes on foot, luggage included. Depending on where the riad is, that means a few minutes or a proper walk through narrow lanes.
The deciding factor is therefore the distance between the riad and the drop-off point. A riad close to one of the medina gates (the “bab”) lets the minibus stop a few metres away; a riad at the end of a “derb”, a narrow alley, means a welcome on foot and a porter for the bags. El Fenn, located near Bab el Ksour, says so on its own directions page: with no cars allowed in the medina, getting to a taxi can mean a long walk depending on where you are staying, and it explains that you can get a taxi right outside its boutique entrance; the hotel also describes itself as 15 minutes from the airport. Ask every shortlisted riad for the same detail: where the vehicle stops, how many minutes on foot, who carries the luggage.
Two consequences for the programme. Rooms are often spread over several floors, reached by narrow stairs: check that no participant has difficulty getting around before choosing this format. And every evening outing starts with a walk to the vehicle, with someone to guide the group. In the daytime, a taxi from the airport into town usually costs 70 to 150 dirhams; for a group, an organised transfer with someone meeting the arrivals stops participants scattering. Our seminar organisation page explains how we handle arrivals and transfers.
One riad, two neighbouring riads or a hotel: how do you decide?
Group size gives the first answer; technical needs and the profile of your participants give the second.
| Situation | Recommended format | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 6 to 12 participants, leadership team | One privately hired riad | Everyone sleeps, works and dines in the same place, with no other guests |
| 12 to 20 participants, single rooms required | Two neighbouring riads, or one large riad | The number of rooms becomes the limiting factor |
| 20 to 30 participants | Hotel to sleep, riad for a working day or a dinner | The riad lounge is still big enough, the rooms are not |
| Over 30 participants, plenary with projection | Hotel or venue with a closed meeting room | A riad’s power supply, sound and capacity no longer keep up |
| Participants with reduced mobility | Hotel with a lift | Riad stairs and lanes exclude part of the group |
Two neighbouring riads need extra coordination: a shared working space, meals taken together, and a set time for moving between the two houses. The mixed format, hotel plus riad, is often the best compromise for a three-day seminar: it keeps the comfort and technical set-up of the hotel, and puts the riad where it adds most, a small-group working day or the closing dinner. Our team building programmes in Marrakech show how to fit those moments around the working sessions.
Is a seminar in a riad more expensive than in a hotel?
Not in our costing model, which is the one behind the online calculator. For 16 participants, two nights in single rooms, two working days with meeting room, breaks and lunch, basic AV, two dinners and airport transfers:
- in riads (sixteen single rooms, so two neighbouring riads according to the table above): around €5,900 to €10,200, or €370 to €640 per participant;
- in a 4-star hotel: around €6,200 to €10,300, or €390 to €650 per participant;
- in a 5-star hotel: around €9,600 to €15,800, or €600 to €990 per participant.
The riad and the 4-star are neck and neck: the night and the working day cost roughly the same. What makes the difference is moving up to 5 stars. For a larger group that stays at the hotel and only takes the riad for one evening, the gap can be measured too. For 40 participants in a 4-star hotel, two nights and two working days, an evening at the hotel comes to around €16,400 to €27,300; the same evening in a privately hired riad, with local shuttles, brings the total to around €19,400 to €34,500. The difference comes mainly from hiring the venue and from the shuttles.
These ranges include a 10% contingency. They exclude flights, alcoholic drinks, tourist tax and organisation fees: check those four lines in every quote. You can test your own figures with our seminar budget calculator.
What should you ask the riad before signing?
Six points, to be written into the contract. Exclusive use: the whole riad, or just your rooms with other guests around the courtyard? The rooms: how many, and how many can take twin beds. Alcohol: not every venue is licensed to serve it, and the answer has to be checked case by case, never assumed. Finishing time: in the medina, amplified music often stops between midnight and 1 am. Connectivity: a guaranteed speed in the working lounge, and a back-up solution. Access: the drop-off point and the walking time, as covered above.
Add the question of timing. High season runs from March to May and from September to November; riads are usually booked three to six months ahead, more on those dates. Bear in mind too that hiring the whole house is priced separately from the rooms: ask for it as a distinct line in the quote.
If you are torn between a riad and a more open setting for the evening, our article on holding a seminar in the Agafay desert covers the other most requested option, less than an hour’s drive away.
Frequently asked questions
Can you hold a 50-person seminar in a riad?
Not with everyone staying there. Fifty people exceed both the rooms of a riad and the capacity of its lounge. The group can, however, stay at a hotel and spend half a day or an evening in a privately hired riad.
Is a riad more expensive than a hotel for a seminar?
In our model, no: the night and the working day in a riad cost roughly the same per participant as a 4-star hotel, and much less than a 5-star. The model includes no supplement for hiring the whole house: have that priced separately. The rest of the hidden cost is logistical: arriving on foot, porters, lightweight AV to plan for.
What documents do participants need?
For French nationals, a passport valid for the whole stay: according to France Diplomatie, the passport is compulsory, including for groups, and an identity card alone is no longer accepted to enter Morocco. Participants of other nationalities should check their own government’s advice. Check expiry dates as soon as people sign up.
Can alcohol be served in a riad?
It depends on the venue and its licence. Ask at the first contact and have the answer written into the contract, together with the conditions for bringing in your own drinks, if allowed.
How far ahead should you book a riad?
Three to six months as a rule, earlier for a seminar in spring or autumn, in high season, and if you need two neighbouring riads on the same dates.
We shortlist riads by number of rooms and access, negotiate exclusive use and coordinate the group’s arrival: find out more about our seminar organisation in Marrakech, estimate your budget with the seminar budget calculator, or ask straight away for a free quote with your dates and number of participants.