Passion for tables? Some might think that’s a hotel oxymoron like jumbo shrimp cocktail or one-room suites—until you converse with some of the (table) movers and shakers or perhaps that should be “stackers” (not to mention rollers) in this often considered essential yet bland supply chain.

“Banquet tables are often considered the bottom of the food chain,” puns Ken Hufstater, VP of marketing for Midwest Folding Products, noting what often appears to be a chasm between sexier items like china, chairs, and linens. Hufstater cautions that this low prioritization and perception often leaves hotels scrambling for space, desperately seeking every nook and cranny to stack and store tables.

Hufstater implores that, if nothing else, tables must be bought with care, cost/benefit analysis, and the unique challenges each hotel faces with labor and space. “Ideally, a hotel should allocate a height of 15 feet for storage,” says Hufstater, for both cost and space efficiency. Hufstater reports that Midwest Folding’s Upper Zone™ system was designed to maximize space allocation and allows easy access to often-used table inventory with additional inventory positioned on a second upper layer for larger guest functions.

“The best case scenario,” Hufstater says, “is when we’re involved early in the hotel’s design,” but admits that is more infrequent than he’d like. In those cases, the hotel and table supplier must invest more time and resources to custom design a storage system that accommodates available space.

Space is not only the final frontier for table storage, but also for table comfort, explains Hufstater, noting the familiar problem of leg room, especially in lengthy seminars. “How many times have you bumped your knee or spilled coffee by hitting the table with your leg?” Hufstater observes, reporting that Midwest Folding Products was the innovator of the cantilever leg design aka Midwest Folding’s Comfort Leg seminar table designed to lessen the frequency of bumps and spills.

Changing demographics, such as the need for speed and space, higher customer expectations and the advancement of technology all appear to be contributing to the new breed of durable tables.

Marketing department manager Nancy Clark of SICO America Inc. agrees and notes the evolving workplace includes more and more women and older employees, necessitating the need for lighter weight, durable tables with quick set-up/breakdown time capabilities. Clark says tables must be able to “fold, roll, and nest” to maximize labor, time, and space. Clark is not naïve regarding the need for speed, and space often generates less than gentle handling from an already time crunched labor force. She notes SICO’S catering table must be mobile and portable as well as stylish in the hectic and high demanding world of hotel catering.

"Our Upscale Catering Tabletop is a granite composite consisting of 95 percent natural stone and 5 percent polymer," Clark reports, adding "hot items up to 500 degrees are no problem to set on the the tabletop directly without affecting the finish. It has superior scratch, stain, and impact resistance, and you can cut directly on the table surface." In addition, Clark says the catering table is designed so F&Bers can create catering presentations in the back of the house and roll it directly into guest functions.

“Lightweightness,” coins Amanda Blanchard, marketing director for Southern Aluminum, “durability, superior quality, and longevity of the product are essential when considering tables. “Ironically, our tables are 35 percent lighter than plastic or wood tables,” Blanchard touts, “yet they can withstand up to 3,000 pounds of weight.” Blanchard notes Southern Aluminum’s tables are constructed of aircraft grade aluminum making set-up “quicker and quieter.”

Blanchard points out that as important as practicality is, appearance is what the guest sees. “Our aluminum tables give us the ability to ‘dress up’ a banquet or folding table and make it look like furniture. Our newly developed (handetched) Swirl design has been successful in the hospitality industry because it offers something unique and lets hotels save money on linens. Our passion is innovative sustainable design our customers have come to expect from us.”

Passion is also what fuels Ken Roselli, president of Roselli Design, who admits to getting tears in his eyes when creating one of his unique tables. “Our business is about passion and dedication, form, and function,” says Roselli, “We take the romance (of table design) to another level.”

The birthing of Roselli’s Potenza rolling table is just one example of the company’s approach to table design. Roselli paints a visual picture of the new design, likening it more to a Fernando Botero painting with its large round legs narrowing into petite feet or castor wheels as the case may be. “The Potenza table fills a need,” says Roselli. “It’s a table imitating art. Design must fit in with the environment (of upscale hotels).” Roselli also realizes the importance of practicality in his designs and stresses that his products are portable, stackable, and durable with such features as solid stainless steel handles and customer-designed trapezoid lockable wheels.

And don’t use the L (linen) word around Roselli, who adds that Roselli products are also very affordable for hoteliers looking at the big picture. They can save hundreds of dollars in procurement and laundry costs by eliminating lines, thereby exposing the elegance and beauty of the food-safe granite, marble, or stainless tops with Roselli’s unique “non-directional finish.”

So given all the considerations of aesthetics and application, what should a hotel consider when choosing a table? Ken Persson, vice president, sales & marketing for Maywood Furniture Corp. (original manufacturer of the Howe 200 series for over 70 years), sums it up by noting, “Durability and strength, yet still lightweight, and very easy to set up and break down ... practicality such as Maywood’s Original® Series with single leg action ... you can fit people on all sides comfortably.”

Persson says if a hotel has a spec or RFP process, elements such as model number, series, edge, height, top (plywood, mayfoam, or laminate), leg color, size, quantity, and how many classroom, banquet, and rounds are required in a particular set-up should be included. Finally, he admonishes hotel F&B executives to assess the “whole value package.”

Perhaps, after pondering the advantages of investing a little extra time and effort when considering a hotel’s table needs, F&B executives may be willing to “roll” tables up the foodservice chain.

Win Davis, president of Win-Formation Ltd., is a frequent contributor to Hotel F&B Executive.