Corporate Event Hire Guide
Corporate Event Hire Guide
Corporate events cover a wide range of formats with very different furniture requirements. A theatre-style conference for 300 needs chairs and clear sightlines; an award dinner for the same number needs round tables, formal chairs and service aisles. This guide covers the main formats.
Rows of chairs facing a stage or screen, no tables. The highest-density layout for a given floor area. Allow 0.65m² per person for comfortable spacing with aisle access. 200 people in theatre style needs approximately 130m² of usable floor space.
Padded conference chairs suit full-day seating. Folding chairs work for shorter sessions or higher-volume events where comfort is secondary to cost.
Rows of rectangular tables with chairs behind them, all facing forward. Used for training sessions, CPD days and presentations where delegates take notes. Allow 1.0–1.2m² per person. A 6ft rectangular table seats three per side in classroom rows, so 50 delegates need 17 tables.
One large table with seating on all sides for AGMs and executive meetings, or cabaret layout (clusters of round tables facing a stage) for mixed conference-and-dining events. Allow 0.75m of table edge per person for boardroom style; 1.5–1.8m² per person for cabaret.
Poseur tables only — no chairs. One poseur table per 8–10 guests. 0.5–0.75m² per person. For receptions before a seated dinner, clear poseur tables before guests move to the dining area.
Seated dinners use round tables to allow conversation across the full table and provide service access from all sides. A 5ft round table (152cm) seats 8 comfortably; a 6ft round (183cm) seats 10. Formal award dinners typically use Chiavari (white or gold) or Wishbone chairs with table linen. Contemporary brand events work better with coloured Eames chairs matched to the brand palette.
| Event type | Recommended chair | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Conference / seminar (full day) | Padded conference chair | Padded for comfort; stacks to 10 high |
| Award dinner / gala | Chiavari white or Wishbone | Formal finish; suits table linen and silver service |
| Product launch / brand event | Eames style (7 colours) | Contemporary look; colour-matchable to brand palette |
| Training day | Conference chair or Eames | Stackable; conference chair for all-day sessions |
| Team away-day | Eames or Eiffel armchair | Relaxed feel; armchair adds comfort for longer sessions |
| Guests | Theatre chairs | Classroom tables (6ft) | Round tables (6ft) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 50 | 50 + 5 spare | 17 | 5 |
| 100 | 100 + 10 spare | 34 | 10 |
| 200 | 200 + 20 spare | 67 | 20 |
