Your hotel is so much more than a series of rentable rooms - it's an expression of your brand, and an experience for your guests. So, what can you do to help ensure your hotel lives up to your expectations? Hire the experts.
Behind any successful hotel is a team of professionals that got it there; owners, designers, manufacturers, architects, general contractors, and procurement agencies. While each plays an important role, a procurement agency will help source experienced vendor, which guarantees more options to find the best product and the best service at the best price.
We’ve put together four important guidelines to keep in mind as you bring your hotel's decor vision to life.
4 Hotel FF&E Procurement Tips
- Make sure you and your manufacturer on on the same page from the beginning.
- Find a design team that meshes well with yours.
- Work with a manufacturer who can function as a true partner.
- Stay domestic, if and when possible.
How to execute these tips:
1.Make sure you and your manufacturer are on the same page from the beginning.
With the rapid rate of room turnover, even squeezing in minor renovations around guest scheduling can be a big challenge in the hospitality industry. Furniture delivery, acceptance, assembly, and placement should be considered on equal footing with construction renovations, in terms of time and effort allocation.
Even beautiful high-end furniture can cause a bad experience for guests if it arrives mid-convention week and demands heavy use of elevators and staff to install.
To delve even further into what production timelines should look like, we have a free eBook for you to reference!
2. Find a design team that meshes well with yours.
While the concept of having a non-furniture-industry artist pull together a bespoke piece seems interesting, it's not a concept that scales well in a hospitality setting. Look for an experienced design team that complements your own in-house team, or one that has an extensive furniture and hospitality track record.
Don't be afraid to ask for portfolios or recommendations; a professional team should have no problem providing both.
Remember, this is the furniture that will be defining your hotel for, potentially, years to come - sticking with experts can only benefit that goal.
3. Work with a manufacturer who can function as a true partner.
While third-party interior designer firms do an excellent job, more and more hotels are discovering the benefits of going straight to the source. Partnering with a manufacturer gives you all the access you'll need to custom possibilities, personalized recommendations, and easy upgrade and replacement parts - knobs, legs, and so on - to keep your furniture looking newer, longer.
When you find a manufacturer with an in-house design team, you can ensure that everything from the shop drawings to the installation is done cohesively.
4. Stay domestic, if and when possible.
Unless you've managed to avoid every scrap of news in the last year or so, you already know that the looming trade war with China and trade tensions globally are causing some instability in import markets - furniture among them.
With supply chains caught in a tangled web of shipment uncertainty and fluctuating cost, one of the easiest ways to simplify hotel furniture sourcing is to stay in-country.
Team up with a domestically-sourced manufacturer to gain the most "bang for your buck" in terms of stable furniture buying power.
Procurement the Easy Way
Procuring custom furniture for your next renovation or new build project does not have to be complicated or confusing.
Partner with a furniture manufacturer who goes above and beyond to make sure your needs are met, thus taking some of the work off of you or your procurement team.
