A gentleman in a business suit checks into a 1920s New York City hotel. He’s in town for business, and he’s pleasantly delighted with the art nouveau decor. In the corner sit two facing chairs, ornately carved, matching the intricate floral etching adorning the headboard.
A woman in capris checks into an Orlando hotel today. She’s there visiting Disney World with her kids, and she’s pleasantly delighted with the simplicity, understated yet classy. In the corner sit two facing chairs with a functional design, matching the contemporary straight-line motif of the headboard and nightstand.
Two hotel guests, separated by nearly a century, were delighted by polar opposites in custom hotel furniture design. But why? Let’s let history explain.
The History of Custom Hotel Furniture
The history of custom hotel furniture follows the path of the furniture industry as a whole, reacting alongside fashionable trends, supply and demand, and economic realities. Long ago, with few exceptions, hospitality options for travelers rested on good folks willing to take them in. Simplicity reigned supreme.
Commercialization through the years has swelled the industry, which generated over $1.5 trillion in American economic output in 2016. You know today’s options:
- Superchain hotels
- Boutique hotels
- Inns and B&Bs
- Economy lodging
Contemporary custom hotel furniture fits well in most hospitality settings. But hoteliers back in the day never could’ve imagined the quality mass production capabilities available today.
A Quick Blast from the Past
In your design study, you may have encountered period style names like Chippendale, Sheraton, and Hepplewhite. Spanning various periods, each of them lasting several decades respectively through the 1700s and 1800s, they joined other more recognizable names like Queen Anne, Colonial, and Georgian, bouncing back and forth between simple and extravagant to form a complete style guide of early American history.
The nicest inns and B&Bs from the time would’ve housed these fruits of skilled artisans’ labor, some of which now can be found only in antique shows and museums.
The Roarin’ 20s
Our friend from the beginning of this narrative didn’t know it at the time, but he was a participant in the early stages of formal custom hotel furniture mass production. While the predominant style was more grandiose than what you’d find in most mainstream hotels today, a strong market servicing the hospitality industry had emerged to mass manufacture the best furniture for America’s traveling movers and shakers.
One of the most prosperous times in Jamestown, NY (where our headquarters is located) came in the 1920s and 1930s, when as many as 50 furniture factories dotted the city and made up the then “Furniture Capital of the World,” as it nestled within a large regional timber industry.
Cookie-Cutter Hotels
The year was 1952. The late Kemmons Wilson built the first Holiday Inn, which quickly expanded into a chain of franchisees. With the post-war economy booming, a growing middle class was able to vacation like never before. They needed places to stay. Guests were comfortable staying where they knew exactly what to expect, whether they were in Portland, Maine or Portland, Oregon.
The Holiday Inn model served as inspiration for dozens of other chains to sprout, each virtually the same as the last, up along America’s growing interstate highway system. Owners required mass-customized hotel furniture to stock the cultural phenomenon. Economically built furniture pleased consumers seeking convenience over luxury.
Keeping Up in Today’s World
People today want both convenience and style. Cheap material is easy to spot. Hotel brands with cheap reputations are even easier for travelers to avoid. Hotels need a responsive custom hotel furniture manufacturer capable of:
- Large-scale production
- Strong communication
- Meeting quality specs on deadline
- Value engineering services
- Surveying & installation
Hotel designs today must balance between offering guests both the expected and unexpected in aesthetics. They walk into a room and expect to see beds, headboards, tables, chairs, and dressers. But does the style have to be exactly the same as the last place they stayed? Not by a long shot, and they actually love it that way.
