Freight Elevator Reservation Checklist

The freight elevator is a critical-path item: one shared elevator, limited windows, everyone’s deliveries competing for it. If it isn’t reserved, your crew waits — no matter how well everything else was timed. This checklist gets it booked and confirmed.

What it’s for

To reserve the freight elevator and loading dock for both your furniture delivery/install and the move itself — and to confirm the physical details before a truck shows up and something doesn’t fit.

How to use it

1. Book as soon as you know your dates — this is one of the first calls to your property manager.
2. Reserve windows for every major delivery, not just move day.
3. Confirm the details below in writing, then carry the approved windows into your Move Day Run of Show.

The checklist

Reserve the windows

• Freight elevator reserved for furniture delivery/install date
• Freight elevator reserved for move day
• Loading dock reserved for the same windows
• After-hours/weekend use approved (if needed) and any fees confirmed

Confirm it fits

• Freight elevator interior dimensions (W × D × H)
• Freight elevator weight limit
• Loading dock truck size limit and clearance height
• Path from dock → elevator → suite checked for tight turns and doorways
• Largest items measured against all of the above (FF&E Inventory)

Building requirements

• Floor/wall protection required — and who supplies it
• Elevator operator required (building-provided or self-operated?)
• Certificate of insurance (COI) on file for the moving vendor (COI Tracker)
• Building contact and emergency number for the day

Tips

• Two bookings, not one. Delivery/install and move day are separate events — reserve both.
• Measure the biggest thing. A conference table or server rack that won’t fit the elevator is a problem you want to find this week, not on move day.
• Get it in writing. A confirmed window in email beats a verbal “should be fine.”

See the full workstream: Property Manager & Building Rules.