Whether we are talking about a brand new hotel with a modern, trendy look and feel or a more traditional hotel with perhaps an English flare choosing the right hotel furniture is an important part of creating the mood.
Take a new build or renovation in a city center for example. You’ve got to pay great attention to the minor details that make up the overall design and look of the building. Things like the wide-screen televisions in the bedrooms, the power showers and the quality of the table cloths in the restaurant. All these details add up to a considerable sum, but if you spend the time to get it right they will last you for years – and outlive the cheaper options.
Ok, so we know the details matter. These details make up the impression that your customers have of your business – and you want to leave a good impression. Furniture is a crucial element in any hotel as it’s one of the things that each and every visitor will interact with many times each time they stay. It’s not just a case of choosing a few chairs for the bedrooms. It’s every single visual element that makes up the furniture: the restaurant, the bathroom, the office, the reception, the bar and even the rubbish bins and ashtrays.
The seating, chairs and tables that help to make up the look of your hotel should make a statement to everyone who visits. It’s up to you what you want that statement to be, moder, traditional, classy or retro. For the most part, your customers will not notice the individual pieces of furniture, but the complete design. You are unlikely to have people walking into the lobby and saying “I really like the chrome finish on that table base!”, but if you plan the design right, you will certainly get more general compliments.
The stainless steel bar stool GM Al Bombo SD240 designed by Stefano Glovannoni would look great! Fantastic trendy lines, swivel stool, height adjustment, and stainless base with polished die cast aluminum seat. A perfect chair choice, combined with a similar style table such as a bistro table or a glass table with say a stainless platform.
Below are some important points that you should consider when designing and choosing furniture for you hotel. Remember, the beauty is in the details.
1. Consider the final look of your hotel. Have some clear ideas in your head, and preferably on paper. Are you going for an ultra modern hotel? Traditional? Retro? Match the design of your hotel to the area it’s located in and you primary customer base.
2. I hope that you have already done extensive demographic research into your target market already – use this information to create a design that will appeal to the group of visitors that you anticipate visiting your hotel. Make sure that you use features, colours, furniture and seating that they will appreciate.
3. Spend some time to decide what ambiance you want for each room. A usual approach is for the bedrooms to be relaxing and the lobby to be professional with a couple of striking features or colours, but it really depends on the look you’re going for.
4. What is your budget – there may be all kinds of furniture that will fit your market but will it fit your budget. When you set your budget first you don’t waste your time and you don’t find yourself over budget either.
5. Is the furniture going in the restaurant? The bedrooms? The lobby? Make sure that you choose the right pieces of furniture for the right areas. The last thing you want is to find that those metal chairs are rusting outdoors because they weren’t finished in stainless steel. Examine the properties of each piece of furniture and match them as closely as you can to how you will be using them.
6. Location, location, location. Where are you? Or rather, your hotel. There are 2 things you have to consider here: firstly that you match the furniture with the area you are in. You don’t want ultra modern furniture in a small village where that look won’t be appreciated. Secondly, if you are in very hot or humid country that will influence the furniture you choose. Make sure to get something that is sure to live up to the temperatures and weather conditions it needs to.
7. Quality should never be overlooked. Cheap furniture almost always breaks. Consider you budget carefully as the furniture can serve you well if buy top quality products the first time around. You don’t want to keep replacing the furniture every 6 months.
It doesn’t have to be difficult. If design is not one of your skills, then outsource it to a designer or hand it over to someone on your team. If you take away only 1 thing from this article – remember: it’s the details that make up the design.
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