5 Ways to Cut Your Event Setup Time in Half

Last updated: May 2026

If your team spends hours setting up and tearing down tables and chairs for events, you are not alone. Hotels, convention centers, churches, and schools across the country face the same challenge every week. The good news is that a few simple changes to your equipment and workflow can cut your setup time in half, and dramatically reduce staff injuries in the process.

1. Switch from carrying to carting

The single biggest time-saver is eliminating hand-carrying. A staff member carrying 2 folding chairs per trip takes 50 trips to move 100 chairs. The same person using a 36-chair Model 935 hanging truck does it in 3 trips. With a 60-chair Model 900L, that drops to 2 trips.

That is not just faster, it is safer. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, overexertion from lifting, carrying, and pushing is consistently among the top causes of workplace injuries across industries. Chair carts and table movers eliminate the repetitive heavy lifting that causes back injuries, shoulder strains, and workers' compensation claims.

Time savings. A Raymond Products Model 935 reduces a 100-chair setup from approximately 45 minutes to under 15 minutes. Over a year of weekly events, that is 30+ hours of labor saved per employee.

2. Use the right cart for each chair type

Not all chairs stack the same way, and using the wrong cart wastes time and damages chairs.

Folding chairs need vertical-rail hanging trucks that hold them folded. Loading is fast because you simply hang each chair on the rail, no stacking or balancing required. Model 935 holds 36 folded chairs and 8 tables. Model 900L holds 60 Lifetime brand folding chairs.

Stacking chairs (banquet chairs) need platform-style carts or two-wheel dollies that support the stacked column. The Model 500 Stacked Chair Mover holds 16 stacked chairs (240 lb capacity). The Model 560 Universal Stacked Chair Dolly holds 12 across mixed chair types.

Pro tip. Do not mix chair types on the same cart. It is tempting to save money by using one cart for everything, but matched carts load 3 to 4 times faster because each chair fits the system correctly.

3. Invest in table movers (Table Toters)

Tables are the most time-consuming items to set up because they are heavy, awkward, and usually require two people to carry. A table mover changes the equation entirely.

With a Raymond Products Table Toter, one person rolls a banquet table to the event floor in a single trip. Round table movers (Model 3700 series) handle round folding tables up to 1,600 lb capacity. The Model 935 hanging truck combines folded chairs and folded tables on a single rolling frame.

Time savings. Moving 40 round tables from storage to a ballroom floor takes approximately 80 minutes with two-person hand-carrying. With table movers, one person can do it in a fraction of that time.

4. Optimize your storage layout

Your storage room layout has a massive impact on setup speed. Here are the key principles:

Store closest to the door what you use most often. If you set up folding chairs every week but only use round tables once a month, the chair carts should be nearest to the exit, not buried behind the table movers.

Create one-way traffic flow. If your storage room is large enough, create a path where carts enter from one side and exit from the other. This prevents bottlenecks when multiple staff members are loading equipment simultaneously.

Label everything. Mark each cart with the type and quantity of chairs it holds. When a new staff member pulls a cart, they should know exactly what is on it without counting.

5. Create a setup checklist and floor plan

The fastest event teams work from a standardized setup checklist and printed floor plan. This eliminates the two biggest time-wasters: uncertainty ("Where do the round tables go?") and rework ("We put the chairs in the wrong section, move them all").

For each event configuration you run regularly, create a one-page floor plan showing exactly where every table and chair goes, how many of each are needed, and the cart-loading sequence. Laminate it and hang it in the storage room.

The bottom line. A church or event venue that combines proper equipment (chair carts and table movers) with an optimized storage layout and standardized setup process can typically cut their setup time by 50 to 70 percent and virtually eliminate lifting-related injuries.

Backed by a lifetime warranty

Every Raymond Products cart, dolly, mover, and lift carries a lifetime warranty against manufacturing defects. Made in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota since 1958.

Where to buy Raymond Products

Fastest path is direct from raymondproducts.com, with most standard orders shipping from Minneapolis within 48 business hours. Raymond Products is also available through major industrial distributors:

• Grainger
• Global Industrial
• Worthington Direct
• Northern Tool
• Fastenal
• McMaster-Carr

Ready to speed up your setup?

Browse our complete line of chair carts and table movers, or request a free quote customized to your venue's specific needs. Most in-stock orders ship within 48 business hours from our Minneapolis warehouse.

Questions? Call 612-331-5400 or email sales@raymondproducts.com. We have been helping facilities move smarter since 1958.

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Related Reading

• How to Choose the Right Chair Cart: A Complete Buyer's Guide
• Best Chair Carts for Hotels and Banquet Venues
• American-Made vs Imported: Why Equipment Quality Matters
• The Facility Manager's Guide to Event Setup Equipment

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