Catering Chair

What changes when you buy catering chairs rather than dining chairs

A restaurant buys forty chairs once and leaves them on the floor. An events buyer buys two hundred, stacks them weekly, moves them by trolley, dresses them differently for each booking and reorders the same model three years later. That changes which specification matters.

Four things decide the purchase. Stack height, because storage space costs money. Weight, because staff lift these repeatedly under time pressure on a turnaround. Dressing, because the frame has to work with the pads and covers you already own. Reorder availability, because a model discontinued in two years leaves you with a mismatched room. For permanent dining rooms rather than event floors, see restaurant chairs instead.

How many chairs fit per table and per room

Seat counts for standard banqueting layouts:

• 5ft round table (1525mm) — eight covers, ten at a squeeze
• 5ft 6in round table (1675mm) — ten covers
• 6ft round table (1830mm) — twelve covers
• 6ft x 2ft 6in trestle — six covers, three a side

Allow roughly 1.1 to 1.4 square metres per guest for banquet rounds including circulation, and 0.5 to 0.6 for theatre-style rows. Cabaret layouts, where one side of each round is left open for the stage, cost two to three covers per table but read better for conferences.

Stacking, storage and turnaround times

Banquet and Chiavari frames are built to nest, and most stack eight to ten high, though the figure varies by model and is worth confirming before a bulk order. Two hundred chairs at ten high is twenty stacks, and a stack occupies under half a square metre, so a storeroom of around ten square metres with access space holds a full room's seating.

A chair trolley is the difference between a two-hour turnaround and a four-hour one, since one person moves a stack rather than carrying chairs in fours. Budget for trolleys alongside the chairs, not after the first event.

Frame types compared

Prices as listed on 17 September 2026. Stacking is confirmed where the model name states it; check the product page for the rest. The volume workhorse here is the premium banquet stacking chair at £24.

Seat pads, covers and dressing the room

The frame and the dressing have to be chosen as a pair. Chiavari frames take a separate seat pad, so colour changes per booking cost the price of pads rather than chairs. Banquet stacking frames arrive upholstered, which fixes the colour unless you cover them. Stretch covers and sashes are cut to specific frame shapes, so test one against the model before ordering a hundred.

If you run weddings alongside corporate bookings, a neutral frame with swappable pads costs less over three years than two sets of chairs. The Chiavari range starts at £20 per frame.

Volume orders and reordering later

Prices shown are per chair as listed on 17 September 2026, with finish and fabric options priced per variant. Send your seat count, storage constraints and dressing requirements, and Great Albion Furniture will quote against current stock.

FAQ

How many chairs fit around a 5ft round banqueting table?
Eight covers is comfortable seating for a 5ft (1525mm) round, with ten possible at a squeeze. A 5ft 6in round takes ten and a 6ft round takes twelve. For cabaret layouts, drop two to three covers per table to leave the stage side open.

How high do banquet and Chiavari chairs stack?
Banquet and Chiavari frames commonly stack eight to ten high, which is why they suit venues clearing the floor between bookings. The exact figure varies by frame and is listed per model, so confirm it before committing to a storage layout or a trolley specification.

Can I buy seat pads separately for Chiavari chairs?
Chiavari frames are built to take a separate seat pad rather than fixed upholstery, so pads are bought and replaced independently of the chairs. That is the cheaper route if you dress rooms differently for weddings, corporate bookings and private dining.

How many spare catering chairs should I order?
Order above your seat count rather than exactly to it. Chairs take knocks in transit and during clearing, and a spare from the original production run matches the room where a later replacement may not, because fabric batches and frame finishes shift over time.