4 Tips to Choosing Great Hospitality Furniture
The design and layout of hospitality furniture play a huge role in the atmosphere of the indoor environment. Carefully selected furnishings can provide both function and aesthetic value. Furniture plays a key role in offering visitors a unique, unforgettable, and comfortable stay. So, what exactly makes great hospitality furniture? How and what should you choose for your hotel, long-term care facility, or university dorm room?
Hospitality Furniture 101
Before we talk about what makes great hospitality furniture, we need to address what it is. There are several different types and are often categorized based on location and function.
Public area furniture is where guests are meant to rest and include sofas, chairs, and coffee tables. Dining area furniture is where guests are meant to refuel. This consists of items like dining tables, chairs, bar counters, coffee tables, and bar chairs. Lastly, guest room furniture includes beds, bedside tables, sofas, coffee tables, desks, chairs, and closets or wardrobe units.
When it comes down to it, hospitality furniture has three main functions: practicality, comfort, and style. Furniture is closely related to people’s various activities. A practical piece of furniture serves and supports the people using it. A piece of furniture must also be designed with comfort in mind. Knowing that people will need to use the furniture, it has to be comfortable to sit or lie in. And finally, furniture has to look appealing to the eye. Essentially, you want your furnishings to look good, feel comfortable, and work well for your guests. It goes without saying, furniture can play a major in your guests’ experience at your facility.
So, what makes great hospitality furniture?
Below are four helpful tips on what makes great hospitality furniture and how to choose the right pieces:
Great hospitality furniture is beautifully crafted and fits seamlessly into the overall aesthetic of a space. As stated earlier, furniture and interior design can heavily influence your guests’ experience. When a guest first walks into their hotel room their senses are on alert: How does the room smell? How does the room look? Are there any noise issues?
Within the first few steps guests decide whether or not the furniture is aesthetically pleasing, and if so, does it look comfortable? First impressions are lasting impressions and can contribute to customer loyalty. Artfully designed hospitality furniture with pleasing materials, color schemes, and styles from the lobby to the guest rooms can greatly improve an experience.
2 – Incorporate Technology
Smart furniture allows for several functional activities such as charging mobile devices or listening to news and radio. This is a rapidly growing market and is considered to be the future of the furniture industry. We live in a technology-driven society and have reached a point in which hospitality furniture design can, and should, accommodate the need for convenience by marrying design and technology. For example, having built-in charging stations and quality lighting would greatly appeal to a business traveler with several devices and late-night computer work or video conference calls. Especially in a post-pandemic world, remote work is becoming more the norm and their home away from home should support those needs.
3 – Choose Durable and Easy to Maintain Pieces
When purchasing hospitality furniture, it is important to choose pieces that are comfortable and functional. Hospitality furniture with ornate or intricate designs can be harder to maintain. These furnishings may require more labor to clean, repair, or replace when damaged. The best hospitality furniture is a melding of beautiful design, durability, and low maintenance. A successful combination of size, fabric, and ever-evolving materials helps achieve optimal comfort still strong enough to withstand external changes.
4 – Have a Timeless Vision
Hospitality furniture is a big expenditure, and unless you have the luxury of a bottomless budget to support a brand new refresh every few years – odds are you will be shopping for furniture that is built to last and timeless in appearance. Interior design trends come and go, and it’s tempting to follow suit. However, good buyers and designers must ensure the vision they have will have long-term vitality and their work doesn’t look dated in 5-10 years. Good hospitality furniture is classic and most often a basis for a style that will continue to evolve.
It’s also important to note that trendier hospitality furniture styles may not have the same lifespan as pieces that are considered timeless. Trendier pieces may not even be manufactured to the same quality – as the expectation is that with the shift in trends they will be replaced. Guests will notice if furnishings look cheaply or poorly made, and will associate similar negative sentiments to your brand or facility. Even well-made trendy furniture quickly loses appeal as the trend passes, making resale less likely and disposal fees more probable.
The Takeaway
Many factors come into play when choosing the right hospitality furniture. The key is to furnish a space by following an overall vision – one that reflects your brand, values, and underlying budget.
Choosing hospitality furniture that appeals to the aesthetics of your targeted clientele makes a big difference. Carefully-selected hospitality furniture can provide both function and aesthetic value, and play a key role in offering a unique, unforgettable, and comfortable stay.
WoodgeniX manufactures a variety of hospitality furniture for several different markets including hotels, long-term care facilities, retail displays, and custom or specialty businesses. We specialize in innovatively designed wood furnishings that support a wide range of needs including comfort, function, desk, and information to create the best spaces.
Call us to start a conversation about your project and see what we can do for you.