In many situations where a product is being designed, it's logical to create the vision and hash out the details before approaching a manufacturer to create it. Just like going on a trip, it makes sense to know where you’re going and the route you’ll take before getting in the car.
In hospitality logistics for casegoods manufacturing, it’s a little different. There are a considerable number of variables in play that need to be addressed during the creation process, not after. When addressed as they come up, these variables won’t impact the production and overall project schedules.
To ensure your hotel casegoods arrive exactly when they’re supposed to and their creation is streamlined, the best thing you can do is work closely with their manufacturer from the start. Not only does this optimize your hospitality logistics, but it also ensures that your order meets its intended real-world application.
What You Need to Consider in Your Hospitality Logistics
When working through a hotel casegoods project in real-time, there are several factors that should be on your docket to address and regularly check in on throughout the entire project:
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Material selection
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Costs
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Final product dimensions
1. Material Selection
Hotel casegoods’ design is primarily focused on aesthetics. And while that concentration is extremely important for making an impression with your guests, if age starts to show prematurely, your hotel’s FF&E (fixtures, furniture & equipment) will likely give a different impression entirely.
An experienced hotel casegoods furniture manufacturer guides you to materials with a proven track record for meeting the demands of frequent turnover and cleaning within your rooms. For example, a table in an average home isn't likely to have heavy suitcases hefted on it several times a week, nor is the finish likely to stand up well to hundreds or even thousands of cleanings a year with chemicals, no matter how gentle they may be.
2. Costs
The worst type of wound inflicted on a hotel FF&E budget during a project at any stage is the infamous line, "we'll figure it out later." Complicated designs that are brought wholly to life on paper without manufacturer weigh-in on the final bill end up being a massive financial obstacle, particularly if they're the textbook version of unique.
Personal touches and small add-ons drive up hotel FF&E costs, too, without industry know-how and informal quotes acting as a counterbalance. Laser-cut headboards and convertible furniture may sound interesting in a mock-up brochure, but if factories can't deliver specialty products at your budget or within your schedule, expect the kind of sticker shock that brings the design processes to a screeching halt.
3. Size
Huge, one-piece headboards are certainly an easy way to add drama to your hotel room design. But if they can't fit in an elevator or through a stairwell, you're going to end up with drama in your setup process instead.
Hotel furniture suppliers and manufacturers can advise on case pack sizes ahead of time, which means you'll have peace of mind that your vision will be able to make it up to the 15th floor without scraping corners or breaking door frames along the way.
Pro Tip: Be sure to ask your manufacturer about conducting a site visit.
This information is also vital to have when planning out setup time, particularly for hospitality chains: if each room takes an unexpected and outsized amount of labor to set up, maintain, or fix, any cost savings on bulk purchasing will go out the proverbial window.
Optimizing Hospitality Logistics for Casegoods
Whether you're deep into the design phase or just getting started on openings or renovations, there’s never a wrong time to reach out to a furniture manufacturer for ideas, feedback, and costs. There is, however, a better time than others – and that’s during the conceptualization stage of your project.
The sooner you involve the company or companies you're considering for supply chain partnership, the less explanatory conversations you'll need to have as due dates loom on your hotel FF&E schedule. Coordinating these important aspects of hospitality logistics can be the difference between the process going smooth or bumpy.
Master Timing Your Hotel Casegoods Project
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This piece was originally published in 2018 and was recently updated to reflect current industry trends.
