Materials and care for a hard-working hotel floor

No furniture in the building is handled like banquet furniture. Chairs are stacked, carted, unstacked and wiped several times a week, and a terrace set sits in sun and rain from the first warm month to the last. Each product page names its materials. What follows goes material by material, with the care that keeps a room ready for the next event.

Vinyl upholstery

Vinyl is the usual seat on a banquet chair because it wipes clean between functions. A soft cloth dipped in warm, mildly soapy water does the work; rinse with a second damp cloth and dry the seat. Bleach, ammonia, solvents and strong alcohol sprays dry the surface out and, over months, can crack it, so test any sanitizer on the underside first. Damage from the wrong cleaning agents falls outside the warranty. Dye from new denim rubs off onto pale vinyl; in a room with a light seat color, plan to wipe more often.

Fabric upholstery

Fabric looks warmer in a hotel restaurant and asks for quicker hands. Blot a spill, never rub it, and work from the outside of the stain toward the middle. Vacuum seats on a schedule, since grit ground into the weave wears it thin. Use a cleaner suited to that particular fabric and try it out of sight. For a function room that pours red wine every weekend, vinyl may be the calmer choice.

Wood frames and stain

A wood frame gives the hotel restaurant its warmth. Wipe it with a cloth wrung almost dry and dry it straight away. Standing water and steam cleaning soften the finish and swell the joints.

Every few months, turn a chair over and tighten its hardware. A loose joint wears quickly. Stain reads differently on each batch of wood, because grain drinks stain unevenly, so order a stain sample before matching chairs bought earlier.

Steel and powder coat

Steel frames carry most banquet and stacking chairs. Powder coat is a finish baked onto that steel. Soap, water and a soft cloth are all it needs; scouring pads and abrasive powders scratch it. Where a chip reaches bare metal, touch it up early, especially on chairs that live near a pool door or a kitchen. If the product page lists a stack count, keep to it, and lift chairs off a stack rather than dragging them across the top one.

Chrome

Chrome suits a lobby bar, on stool frames and table bases alike, where it catches the low evening light. A soft dry cloth and a mild glass cleaner keep it bright, and abrasive cleaners dull it for good. Chlorine and salt in the air can pit chrome, so keep it indoors and dry it after a spill.

Aluminum

Aluminum is light, which counts when a terrace is reset twice a day, and it does not rust. Rinse with fresh water, wash with mild soap, and dry. By the sea or the pool, rinse more often, since salt and chlorine leave a film that dulls the finish.

Resin and synthetic teak

Resin chairs and tables shrug off water and move easily. Synthetic teak gives the look of wood with no oiling or sealing, which suits a pool terrace where nobody has time for a weekend of varnish. Wash both with soap, water and a soft brush. A pressure washer held close can roughen the surface. Lift them rather than drag them across stone, and when the terrace closes for the year, put them under cover or away indoors.

Coated steel outdoors

Coated steel is heavier than aluminum, which helps on a windy terrace. The coating does the protecting, so look for chips each spring and seal them before rust spreads. Check that water drains out of seats and tubes rather than pooling.

Laminate tops

Laminate is non-porous and takes the daily wiping of a breakfast room well. A mild cleaner and a soft cloth are enough. Its weak point is the edge: water left at a seam can swell the core beneath, so dry the edges after washing. Hot pans and knives mark the face. In a breakfast room, a trivet at the toaster station saves the one top that takes all the heat.

Solid wood tops and butcher block

Solid wood moves with the air, swelling a little in humid months and tightening in dry ones. That natural movement is normal and is not treated as a defect. Wipe spills quickly, never leave the top wet, and keep it out of the blast of heaters and air vents. Solid wood tops carry a 6-month warranty, so inspect them closely when they arrive. See the table tops for the woods and sizes listed.

Granite and stone

Granite tops are heavy and steady under a full place setting. Clean them with a pH-neutral cleaner. Vinegar, citrus and other acids can etch some stones and dull the polish, and many stones benefit from resealing on a regular schedule. A heavy top needs a base sized for it: measure the spread of a round base, and keep it at two thirds of the top's diameter or wider. The table bases list their spreads.

Glides, carts and the banquet store

Glides are the small feet under a chair, and in a ballroom they meet carpet one night and a parquet dance floor the next. Check them monthly. A missing glide scratches wood and tile and lets the frame rock, which loosens the joints above it. Replace worn ones before the floor shows it.

Stacked chairs keep best on a cart in a dry store, away from the damp air of a pool hall. Keep each stack straight, cover it if the store is dusty, and never park a loaded cart against a wall heater.

Through the year

• After every event: wipe the seats, clear the tops, and stack chairs onto a cart rather than the floor
• Each month: tighten hardware on dining and banquet chairs and replace worn glides
• Each spring: wash outdoor pieces, check coatings, and set them only where water drains
• Each autumn: rinse, dry, then cover or store everything that lives outside

Over the years, the rooms that look best are the ones where this list is pinned inside the banquet store and someone owns it. When a finish must match furniture already on the floor, ask for a free sample before you order. Our banquet chairs and outdoor range list the materials of each piece, and the warranty explains what care it expects.