Delivery planning
Freight, receiving and the day the truck arrives
Plan the arrival
Plan the arrival at the loading dock.
Freight comes palletized to a business address, and your hotel staff move it inside from the dock or tailgate. Book a liftgate or inside delivery with the order if the property needs one.
An intended opening date is a planning detail, not a confirmed arrival date. Review the delivery terms below and keep the written order and freight information available to the person receiving the shipment.
Discuss delivery detailsFrom the furniture collection
A ballroom's worth of banquet chairs fills several pallets. Knowing how it arrives, and who does what at the dock, saves your team a long afternoon.
How it travels
Everything moves by LTL freight, strapped to pallets. On standard service the truck comes to a business address and hands the pallets over at the dock or the tailgate. From there your own staff unload and bring them inside.
Extras you book with the order
Pick these at the moment you send the order. Each is billed above standard freight.
- A liftgate, where the building has no loading dock
- Inside service, carried past the threshold
- Limited access, for restricted sites: schools, hospitals, churches, military bases
- A residential stop, at any home address
No driver takes freight up or down a staircase. And whatever you book, opening cartons, putting pieces together and hauling the packing away stay with your team.
How long it takes
Standard pieces spend 14 to 21 business days with us before they go. Custom work, say upholstery beyond the listed options or a special-order finish, can need close to 8 weeks. Road time comes after either, and any transit figure we give is an estimate, never a promise. Plan the opening of a terrace or the refit of a ballroom around those figures, with room to spare. For a new property, count back from the first booked event rather than from the ribbon cutting.
Big orders can come on two trucks or more. Receive each one with the same care as the first.
How the freight quote works
Each address gets a quote of its own. A resort with a main building and a beach restaurant at a separate gate gets two. Prefer your own carrier account? Tell us when you send the order, and it goes out under your account.
Deliveries to a working hotel
A hotel never closes, so the dock is shared. Linen, produce and beverage trucks use the same door. Warn the security desk a day ahead, keep the service elevator free for the afternoon, and measure that elevator and every door along the route before the truck is due. An elevator that takes one pallet at a time doubles the unloading. If you want a set hour for the truck, remember that a fixed appointment can add a carrier charge.
Charges when the day goes differently
Carriers bill extra when the day does not match the booking: detention while a truck waits, a second attempt, a switch to another address, storage, an appointment fixed to the hour. Those pass straight to you at whatever the carrier charges.
Getting the dock ready
Tell the receiving team the delivery window and how many pallets to expect. Roster a crew who can start unloading within about 30 minutes of arrival. Clear a staging area near the dock, off the guest routes, where cartons can be counted before they travel anywhere in the building. If each room has its own plan in Property plans, print the project sheets so the cartons go to the right floor.
Receiving, step by step
Tick off each pallet and carton on the bill of lading as it comes down. Look at each. Every dented, split or missing carton goes onto that bill while the driver waits, before your signature does; short of time for a full check, sign it "subject to inspection". Take pictures of the damage, wide and close.
Damage hidden inside a carton has to reach us within 24 hours of opening. Hang on to the spoiled cartons and wrap till the claim is resolved; we help build the case for the carrier. Shortages and faults must be in writing to us within three days of the truck's visit.
Canada
Most of Canada is on our map. You appoint the customs broker who clears it. Brokerage, duties and Canadian taxes are all on the buyer. Start the subject with FREIGHT and name the province, and the quote comes back priced for that address.
Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico
We can take large orders out to these three as well. Use the specialist form to send us the details before ordering, and our written reply sets out the route and its price.
Everywhere else, we serve the continental United States. A question about a quote goes to sales@hotelandresortfurniture.com with FREIGHT as the first word of the subject. Before the order goes in, read how ordering works; for freight on a return, see returns, and for common questions, the FAQ.