Why I Don't Recommend Elevator Cab Design from Elevator Companies (and When to Ignore Me)

I Think Most Companies Make a Mistake Letting Their Elevator Vendor Handle Cab Design

I'll say it upfront: if you're planning a new building or a major renovation, I think you should seriously consider not using your elevator company's in-house cab design service. This includes Otis, Schindler, KONE—any of them. I know that sounds counterintuitive, especially since they're the ones who know the elevator systems best. But after managing building fit-outs for our company's offices in three different locations over the past five years, I've learned this lesson the hard way.

When I first started handling our office relocation in 2020, I assumed going with the elevator manufacturer for cab design was a no-brainer. They built the elevator, surely they knew what finishes would work best. That assumption cost us about $6,000 in change orders on one project, and my VP of Operations made it very clear that wasn't acceptable. Let me walk you through why my thinking shifted, and more importantly, where I might be wrong.

Argument 1: The Incentive Structure Fights Against Good Design

Here's the thing nobody tells you about bundled services from major manufacturers. The team designing your elevator cab at Otis or any of the other big players isn't incentivized to give you the best design. They're incentivized to give you a design that works with their standard supply chain and keeps their installation team happy. Those are not the same priorities as making your lobby look amazing.

In 2023, we were redoing the lobby for our headquarters—about 400 employees across 3 floors. The Otis rep offered their standard cab design package. The renderings looked fine, professional. But when I started asking about material alternatives—a specific bronze finish we'd seen at a competitor's building—suddenly the response time slowed way down. Quotes came back with huge premiums for non-standard materials.

Looking back, I should have recognized the pattern. If I remember correctly, the premium they quoted for our preferred finish was about 40% more than what we eventually paid an independent cab designer who sourced the same material from the same supplier. The elevator company wasn't ripping us off intentionally—their procurement system is optimized for their standard materials, and anything outside that incurs friction costs. But friction costs in procurement mean money out of your budget.

Argument 2: Cab Design Is an Interior Design Problem, Not an Engineering One

I might be misremembering the exact conversation, but I believe our architect said something along the lines of, "The elevator cab is basically a very small room that moves." That reframed the whole thing for me. Yes, the elevator machinery is engineering. But the cab design—the materials, lighting, handrails, mirrors, flooring? That's interior design. And interior design isn't what elevator companies excel at.

Processing 60-80 orders annually for various building services, I've learned to distinguish between vendors' core competencies and value-add services they offer to increase revenue. Elevator companies are fantastic at maintaining your lift system, handling inspections, and replacing belts and cables on schedule. Their Gen2 and Gen3 systems are, in my experience, excellent pieces of engineering.

But when I look at the cab designs they produce—and I've seen maybe a dozen across different vendors—they tend to follow the same patterns. Standard materials. Safe choices. Nothing that would offend anyone or cause installation delays. That's not bad for many buildings. But if you want an elevator cab that reflects your company's brand, or that creates a specific impression for visitors? I'd argue an independent interior designer who specializes in commercial spaces will give you a much better product for about the same budget.

Argument 3: The Real Savings Come from Separating the Contracts

Here's an angle that surprised me when I learned it: bundling cab design with your elevator installation actually reduces your negotiating leverage. In 2024, during our vendor consolidation project, I was comparing proposals for a new building. The bundled package from one major manufacturer gave me one number: $X for the elevator, installation, cab design, and materials. But when I asked for itemized pricing, the cab design component was essentially hidden. No transparency on materials costs, design fees, or installation labor for the cab specifically.

When I went with a separate approach—buying the elevator system from the manufacturer and hiring an independent cab designer and installer—I could negotiate each piece. The independent cab designer quoted $X for design. The materials supplier quoted $Y for the bronze panels and specialty glass we wanted. The cab installer quoted $Z for installation. I could push on each line item independently.

For our 2024 lobby project, switching to separate contracts for cab design saved us around 15%, maybe 18%—I'd have to check the actual numbers. But more importantly, when something went wrong (the first batch of bronze panels had a slight color mismatch), I knew exactly who was responsible and could manage the problem directly, rather than having the elevator company's project manager act as a middleman who might deprioritize my issue.

The Objection You're Probably Having: "But Won't This Create Coordination Headaches?"

Fair question. And honestly, in some situations, yes. If you're working with a general contractor who's experienced with elevator installations, coordinating between the elevator manufacturer and a separate cab designer adds complexity. You need the cab to fit the shaft exactly. The door mechanisms need to interface properly with the cab. There's a real risk that things don't align perfectly, and then you're in a blame game between two vendors.

I'll give you an example. In our first attempt at this approach, the independent cab designer measured the shaft opening incorrectly by about 2 centimeters. Not huge, but enough that the cab door panels didn't align with the elevator manufacturer's door gear. That delay—fixing the design, getting new panels fabricated—added about three weeks to our project timeline. Three weeks of having a lobby under construction meant additional disruption costs. I'm not 100% sure of the exact figure, but the total overrun from that mistake was probably in the $3,000-$5,000 range.

So here's where I'd contradict my own advice: if your project timeline is extremely tight and you can't afford delays of even a few weeks, the bundled package from the elevator manufacturer might be the safer choice. The likelihood of coordination issues is lower because it's all under one roof. The cost premium (which I estimated earlier at maybe 15-20%) is effectively an insurance premium against the headache of managing multiple vendors.

Bottom Line: My Advice and Its Limitations

In my opinion, for most companies—especially those with dedicated facilities management teams or access to a good general contractor—splitting elevator cab design from elevator procurement is the better approach. You'll likely get a more distinctive design, better pricing leverage, and more accountability when something goes wrong.

But here's the honest limitation: if you're a smaller company without someone who can manage vendor coordination, or if your project timeline is absolutely rigid, the convenience of the bundled package might outweigh the benefits of separation. That's not a failure of the approach—it's a question of whether your organization has the resources to capture the value. As of January 2025, with current construction labor shortages in many markets, the risk of delays from coordination issues might be higher than when I started doing this in 2020.

Personally, I'd recommend for companies with 200+ employees or projects with flexible timelines to at least get quotes from both approaches. The comparison itself might tell you something. If the bundled price isn't significantly cheaper than the separate approach, there's likely no real integration advantage—just convenience markup.

And if you're in the 20% of situations I've described—tiny team, no project management buffer, or a 100% fixed deadline—feel free to ignore me entirely. The bundled package from Otis or your preferred manufacturer will probably serve you just fine. That's not me backing down from my opinion. That's me being honest about when it applies.

Prices and rates mentioned are based on projects I managed from 2020-2024. Verify current pricing with vendors as market conditions have shifted significantly.