Custom Furniture for Hotels: From Design Brief to Container

Hotels buy furniture as part of a larger package called FF&E: furniture, fixtures and equipment. Catalog pieces cover many needs, but a lobby, a restaurant or a room type with fixed dimensions often calls for custom furniture for hotels, made to a drawing. This guide follows a custom hotel order from the first brief to the container leaving the port, and shows what to decide at each step. For the services behind it, see our page on hospitality and commercial projects.

Why hotels order custom furniture

• The piece has to fit the space. Room layouts, corridor widths and lobby counters set sizes that standard catalog pieces do not always match.
• Design should match across spaces. Rooms, restaurant and public areas can share materials, finishes and details when the same workshop builds them.
• Your design stays yours. We develop custom designs for customers and do not show them to others. The terms are on our IP exclusivity page.

Step 1: Write the design brief

A clear brief shortens every later step. A designer, purchasing team or contractor can prepare it. Include:

• The list of pieces and the space each one goes in: guest room, lobby, restaurant, terrace.
• The quantity of each piece. For rooms, this is usually the number of rooms of that type multiplied by the pieces in each.
• Drawings, photos or references, with dimensions and clearances.
• Materials and finishes, or a description of the look you want.
• How the piece will be used. A bedside table in a guest room and a chair in a busy restaurant do not face the same wear.
• Indoor or outdoor use, and the climate of the site.
• Fire and safety requirements for the country (see Step 3).
• The delivery date you need at the site.

You do not need a finished drawing to start. A photo of a reference piece and a quantity is enough to begin a conversation, and we will ask for the rest.

Step 2: Match the material to how the piece is used

We work with teak, recycled teak, mahogany, mindi, recycled pine, metal, brass, leather, shagreen, rattan and upholstery. A few ways hotels commonly use them:

• Terraces and covered outdoor areas: teak is the usual choice for outdoor furniture. Read our guide to teak, mahogany and mindi.
• Character pieces: recycled teak gives a lived-in look that suits boutique hotels, but each batch varies.
• Indoor case goods and tables: mahogany or mindi, finished in the colour of your scheme.
• Frames and accents: metal and brass for table bases, mirror frames and details.
• Seating: leather, rattan or upholstery over a wood or metal frame.

Whatever you choose, approve a finish sample before production. Colour on a screen differs from colour on wood. The material and finish directory lists the options.

Step 3: State fire safety and strength requirements early

Hotels have safety rules that homes do not, and the rules depend on the country and the project. Upholstered seating is the usual concern. In the UK, for example, contract furniture is tested to ignition standards such as BS 7176. Other markets use different tests, and some set requirements for seating strength as well. Testing laboratories such as Intertek publish overviews of the main flammability tests.

What to do about it:

1. Ask your project designer or local authority which standards apply, and check the current edition.
2. Write the required standard into the brief, with the pieces it applies to.
3. Tell us before we quote. We will say what we can supply and what we cannot, and test reports are not listed on this site, so confirm any specific document you need in writing.

Step 4: Build the container mix

Our minimum order is one 20-foot container, and different products can be mixed in it. For a hotel this works well: one container can carry seating, tables, storage pieces and mirrors for different spaces. See the sample catalog for seating, tables and trolleys, storage and cabinetry and architectural mirrors.

Large projects can be planned in container lots, one after another, with the items grouped by space or by floor. Ask for the packed dimensions of each piece after sizes are confirmed, and give them to your freight forwarder to check how the load fits.

Step 5: Plan the timeline backwards

Production takes 30 to 60 days, and the clock starts when we have received your deposit and all details are confirmed. On a hotel project there are stages before and after that, on your side:

1. Start from the date the furniture must be on site.
2. Subtract installation time at the hotel.
3. Subtract sea freight, customs and delivery from Semarang port to the site. Your forwarder will quote these.
4. Subtract the full 60 days of production.
5. Subtract the time for your own approvals: drawings, finish samples and sign-off by the owner or operator.

The result is the date your order must be confirmed. Hotel openings are fixed dates, so plan for the longer end of the range, not the shorter. For the numbers in detail, read MOQ, lead time and payment terms.

Step 6: Payment and documents

You pay a 30% deposit when the details are confirmed, and the balance before the container ships from Semarang. Before you pay the balance, agree how you will check the finished goods, for example photos or video of each item and of the loaded container, or an inspection by a third party you appoint.

For wood furniture, we can send a copy of our SVLK timber legality certificate (VLHH-33-07-0788) together with the export documents. Details are on the export and logistics page.

Questions to ask any supplier before you award a hotel order

• Can you work from my drawing, and will you confirm the sizes in writing?
• Will I approve a finish sample before production?
• Can you meet the fire and strength standards my project requires, and what documents can you provide?
• Is my design kept exclusive to me?
• What is the production time, and when does it start?
• How will I see the finished goods before I pay the balance?

Common questions

Do you make furniture for hotels and commercial projects?

Yes. We build custom furniture for hospitality and commercial projects, as well as for importers, wholesalers and retailers. See the hospitality and commercial projects page.

Is there a different minimum order for hotels?

No. The minimum order is one 20-foot container, with mixed products allowed.

Can you build from our designer’s drawings?

Yes. Send photos, sketches or technical drawings, and we quote the piece. For private-label work, see OEM and white label production.

Will you show our design to other customers?

No. We develop custom designs for customers and do not show them to others.

Start your hotel order

Send us your piece list, drawings or reference photos through the quote form, or message us on WhatsApp. We reply with sizes and a quotation.