Essential & Timeless Hotel Casegoods for Any Budget
Casegoods are non-upholstered furnishings such as desks, tables and stands, and storage components. They are often the larger pieces of FF&E (furniture, fixtures, and equipment) you’ll find in a hotel. With a big presence, casegoods define a room and guest experience and go a long way toward creating an enjoyable environment. On the other hand, if they show damage, instability, lack of style, and poor design, they detract from the guest experience.
To select timeless casegoods, one must consider guest desires, brand, property location, and ownership preferences, as they are all important factors in what you choose.
The Difference Between Trendy and Timeless Casegoods
Trendy products exploit whatever is currently “in,” but may look dated in a few years. Unlike trendy designs focused on simply being relevant today, timeless design focuses on staying relevant and looking appropriate for many years. As a result, timeless designs look fabulous no matter what trendy accent pieces you might add to the mix. They also make a smart purchase for budget-conscious hoteliers who don’t want to reinvest in significant changes just to stay relevant every time trends shift.
Many interior designers argue that design should always be timeless since this requires an extra level of aesthetic refinement and subtlety that a “here today, gone tomorrow” trend can’t always afford.
Tips for Buying Casegoods
It’s advantageous to begin thinking about your FF&E in the early phases of your hotel’s new construction or renovation. In addition, by planning furniture and related orders ahead of time, deliveries will be organized and coordinated, which will minimize double-handling and additional storage costs.
With today’s supply chain challenges in mind, choosing a source in North America, if possible, can be a good move that would result in lower freight costs, earlier arrival of shipments, and fewer variables that could disrupt your schedule.
Furniture made for hotel use is called “contract quality furniture” and is designed to be in service for ten years or more. Even if you didn’t have a hotel brand requiring it, buying contract casegoods would be a worthy investment. Hotel casegoods are subject to significant wear and tear and non-contract or residential furniture is not built to hold up well over a longer period.
We also recommend doing your homework when selecting a casegoods supplier. If working with an interior design and procurement provider such as Innvision, they will guide you and share information about the manufacturer’s track record and fit with your hotel brand. Don’t be afraid to ask for references or a factory tour.
The 6 Questions to Ask About Casegoods
To get the best essential and timeless furniture for your hotel—and avoid costly mistakes—discuss with your design and procurement provider these six questions about a casegoods manufacturer:
- How does the manufacturer handle quality control within its company and factory?
- In which hotel brands is it an approved manufacturer?
- How many projects has it completed, especially for your hotel brand?
- What is its product warranty?
- Does it support designers and procurement providers through installation and beyond?
- How does the manufacturer prepare your casegoods for shipment, documentation, and labeling? (shrink-wrapped, crated, palletized, boxed, knock-down, etc.)
At Innvision, we work hard to understand our client’s needs to select the appropriate casegoods supplier. We provide products at different price points for our clients to compare from our carefully curated vendor list. We only recommend vendors that follow industry standards, offer a warranty, actively manage quality control, and have a history of delivering products on time.
To learn more about how Innvision can help make your next hotel project a success, reach out!
