Arbitrators meet disputants and conduct hearings in a conference room mutually agreed upon by the opposing parties to a dispute. This can be a meeting room of one of the parties, or a public facility. The neutral must travel to the meeting site, with the expense split equally between the parties. Some businesses, government agencies and labor unions hire full-time salaried neutrals who are provided offices for use when working on cases.

Many arbitrators are affiliated with non-profit professional organizations and, in that case, the organization's facilities are usually used for negotiations and hearings. In the United States, the American Arbitration Association is the largest, and has offices across the country and in Canada. In the United Kingdom and Europe, the ICC International Court of Arbitration provides arbitration services in 35 languages.