options to meet clients for working from home tax preparer?

This tax season is my first one and I purchased a 10 days/month office rent arrangement with Regus. It is not tons of money but still a big impact on my bottom line. It turned out that I did not use it much and majority of my clients did not require an in person meeting.
I decided to cancel the office rent and only work from home and when clients insist on meeting in person, I will try to rent a meeting room by hour.
I created this post to ask for any guidance on other possible meeting place options. Also for those who have been operating in this way, does it matter much to clients if they know you do not have a fixed place for meeting?
Thank you so much!

Treating prospects and clients to lunch has never failed me.

New Prospects (may or may not be a waste of time) I meet at "after you are done working" at an upscale restaurant.
I have many within walking distance.
I'll order a Johnny black scotch and a crab dish (both expensive).
When done within an hour and the check comes - every time they pick it up - never fails.
That sets the price point of any future engagement.

nova -- I imagine you've built up that presence and sterling reputation over many years. I imagine many people want to work with you and you have limited capacity. I imagine prospects probably compete for a seat in said capacity.

It may or may not be appropriate for cl2018 to order scotch and an expensive crab dish, then play chicken with the prospect when the tab comes. There are a lot of factors at play here.

I

'll order a Johnny black scotch and a crab dish (both expensive).
When done within an hour and the check comes - every time they pick it up - never fails.
That sets the price point of any future engagement.

25 years back when I was in 0utside sales, I recall a meeting with a middle aged woman wearing a fur coat in NYC. And when we were in a restaurant she tells me "don't go cheap on me!". Later on I found out that was her modus operandi to get lunch out of salespeople

Sometimes I meet clients at Panera.

I used to meet at Starbucks but was never comfortable with the lack of privacy. I'd find myself trying to read upside down and then pointing at the return and saying "this number comes from..."

For years, I used an office complex that had what they called a "virtual" office. For a flat, nominal amount, I had occasional use of a conference room, a mailbox, and use of their receptionist for client pick-up/drop-off. Worked well for many years, but receptionist started being out a lot, so that did not work well for me.

Setting COVID situation aside, I tell clients I do not meet with anyone at my home office--I come to them, whether it is their office, home, or a restaurant or coffee shop. If we actually have a meal, I have NEVER not had the prospective client pay the bill. I have never lost a prospect because of not having an office--they enjoy the extra touch of personal service by someone from my company (generally ME) going to them when needed. Otherwise, it is often just a phone discussion and then everything else is done electronically through my portal and e-mail.

I do not care how many employees I end up having, I never foresee myself having an office--waste of money. I will shift from being the person doing most of the work to being the person that oversees client relationships and ensuring my employees are getting the work done by the due dates I indicate. I will always be the point of contact, especially since I have a revenue target in mind and I stop growing.

Interesting. I have lost a few clients who were used to meet at the CPA's office I used to work for. They wanted to drop in at a moment's notice. The CPA firm paid an enormous amount of rent for an office. I have a virtual office and rent a conference room when needed so that wasn't working for me and for a few of the clients that came with me.These few clients were used to dropping in for 20-plus years. This works when you're in the location 8 hours a day and pay rent for a full month which isn't cheap in CA. I pre-schedule everyone in the conference room in February. Most clients I have now are used to doing everything online.

With some of my business clients, I visit them instead of them visiting me, and like CornerstoneCPA mentions it is a level of personal service that can go well with some clients. I meet some clients at my home office, but I live and practice in a small town where this level of openness is more normal.

Honestly sometimes I think my 1040-only clients pay me money to play with my cats and the tax return being prepared is just a bonus.

Thank you everyone! Your input is so helpful! Really appreciate everyone's efforts!