13 Essential Questions to Ask a Potential Hospitality Furniture Manufacturer

Selecting the right hospitality furniture manfuacturer for your next design project ensures that your products are delivered on time, on budget, and meet quality standards.

With hundreds of vendors to choose from, how can you be sure your choice is the right one for you?

13 QUESTIONS TO ASK A POTENTIAL HOSPITALITY FURNITURE MANUFACTURER

You shouldn't invest in hotel furniture without getting a very good read on the manufacturer. These are the basic questions you should ask when assessing a vendor's fitness for your project:

1. What are your capabilities for custom design specifications?
2. Do you offer value engineering if I need it?
3. What is the min & max order quantity?
4. Do you provide storage or vendor inventory management?
5. What is your quality assurance process?
6. Do you offer a warranty? If so, what are the details?
7. What are your payment terms and conditions?
8. Do you require a certain contract length?
9. How long is the expected lead time from receipt of my order to delivery?
10. What is the estimated delivery time to my chosen location?
11. Can you also install the final product?
12. Do you have a portfolio of previous projects?
13. Can I speak to previous customers about their experience?

Keeping this list of questions readily available makes it easy to consistently evaluate potential vendors on important criteria.

Why those questions?

Your hospitality furniture manufacturer will be working with you over a long period of time, and providing one of the most essential pieces of your hotel project puzzle. If you're satisfied with their services, you may even call them up for future projects. The 13 questions above help you scope out both short-term and long-term partnership potential.

The above questions help you assess these key factors:

Responsiveness

What if a piece of furniture is damaged? Can the vendor get you a replacement quickly? Some vendors are involved with your entire design, which means they need to think about ALL potential roadblocks and crises from the very beginning.

Flexibility

The reason you need a vendor in the first place is to expertly realize your design.

It’s important to outline clearly what you're looking for in the final product. This will help guide your manufacturer's production process and value engineering input. Note: your vendor has lots of experience with practical manufacturing - if they suggest making design changes, ask why. They're probably trying to save you time and money.

Bonus Question: Can you trust your hospitality furniture manufacturer to Fulfill Their Promises?

Make sure you choose a vendor that is upfront and honest, and be wary of those that overpromise. Those are the vendors likely to underdeliver. Here are the most common signs your vendor is not a great fit:

• They take a long time to respond to calls and emails (or don’t respond at all)
• They make quick promises without evaluating feasibility
• Information isn't consistent
• They don't want you talking to previous customers
• Their values don’t align with yours

Honest and open communication is always the better choice - no matter how cheap the alternative is! A manufacturing agreement is a two-way street, like any partnership. It can’t be successful unless both parties bring transparency to the table.

Choosing a new vendor is a tough process, and it’s critical to understand each potential vendor before making a decision. The 13 questions listed here will hopefully make your choice a little bit easier!

Related: 8 Things Your Hospitality Furniture Manufacturer Should Provide (But Probably Doesn't)