My company specializes in hotel design AND hotel purchasing. It is a unique little niche because we are a small business, very hands on, and we start a project at the beginning and continue until it is finished. Most other companies do one or the other – Hotel Design OR Hotel Purchasing. We like to do both, it gives us more control and it saves our clients money. We interpret or value engineer our design selections; we manage to find alternates that are more quickly available or cheaper if we need to. It is how we work…smarter, better and cheaper. It is hard to be a small business in these trying times. When we are focused on our projects, we don’t have the time to effectively market our services. Luckily, for 22 years we have managed to survive the ups and downs and maintain a solid client base. But, now may be the time to expand our wings!
The hotel business has become trickier. Big flag companies want to make decisions for all hotel owners, while only some allow “custom designs” to be submitted. It is the custom designs that allow for the local environment to come through, the clientele of a specific property to be addressed. Big hotel companies stifle creativity and are only as good as the design team they assemble. Sometimes this is a great thing, and sometimes not so much! But more importantly, it drives the costs in all cases.
I recently had a project where the brand required a specific piece of poster art to hang in the lobby. I was shocked when the poster art cost more than $2,500! How is that even possible? But, REQUIRED it was! I could spec the entire lobby of artwork for less money. I am all for branding, and I am for creating a brand, but does the brand have to be identical in every way? Is this good for business in the hotel business where people travel and want the “flavor” of the locale? These questions will always be a part of the hotel business.
