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“Why Not Buy Direct?”




Reminiscences of an FF&E Contractor #1

 

If you’re sleeping in a hotel bed tonight, odds are a contractor specialising in Furniture, Fixtures, and Equipment [FF&E] designed, made, and installed that bedhead behind you. We’re the backstage crew of the hospitality world, turning design visions into commercial realities. I moved into this industry 20 years ago after leaving financial markets, and I’ve since learned that hotel fit-outs are as much about managing risk and capital as trading stocks are. Early on, a General Manager asked me about a cushion’s rub test— this was my “Well, how did I get here?” moment. It was the start of a wild journey.

Today, I’m tackling a question that often comes up: With importing from Asia simpler than ever, why don’t more hotel owners and operators skip the ‘middleman’ and go straight to the source? The answer isn’t straightforward.

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The Temptation of Going Direct

Back in 2005, I wandered through Chinese factories that were more sweatshops than showrooms—toxic dust clouds, workers unaccustomed to Westerners and no WeChat translators. Those same factories now boast European machinery, clean floors, and managers trained by Westerners. They now produce European-quality furniture at scale, and freight logistics is easier than ever. So, why do most hotel owners and operators still pay FF&E contractors a premium and give up control over quality? The short answer: It’s not just about cost. It’s about complexity, risk, and expertise.

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The Complexity of Customisation

FF&E isn’t like flipping through a supply catalogue, these are non-fungible goods. Every hotel project is bespoke, each item needs to be prototyped and custom-crafted for each property’s unique design needs. Take one hotel project we tackled: 42 different room configurations, requiring 16 unique bedhead designs and 8 distinct TV hoods. While the building was visually stunning, it was an installation nightmare. Managing that inventory spread was complex to say the least. Every item needed to fit perfectly, be fit for purpose and comply with building standards.

This customization breeds complexity at every stage: design, production, freight, and installation. Sure, mock-up rooms and prototypes help, but with so many moving parts, the potential for error is great. This exercise has an inherent negative risk, which partly explains the lack of appetite to go direct.

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Risk: The FF&E Contractor’s Burden

The mark-up you pay an FF&E contractor is for risk management. If they’re not reducing your risk, you’re not getting value for your premium. From design flaws to material defects, transit damage to installation issues, we’re accountable for it all. On large projects, some contractors aren’t paid until each room is installed and approved by an independent quality controller. Essentially, we fund and carry the financial risk until the finish line. That’s both risk and capital management.

A quick tale: I once met a builder who bought 300 bathroom pods directly from China. After a three-day QC blitz, he bragged about rejecting defective units. But the factory distracted him with ‘hospitality’, and after he left, they shipped the rejected pods anyway. The hotel was hit by a cost blowout and an open delay. Fly-in/fly-out inspections are no match for a trained team on the ground. We employ local staff who ‘live’ in the factories—I couldn’t sleep without them.

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Value Engineering - The Secret Sauce

Value engineering is the art of balancing design vision with budget reality. FF&E contractors "interpret" costly concepts into commercially viable alternatives, knowing where to spend and where to save. This expertise, honed through years of experience, especially in understanding what  Asia’s "same, same but different" really means. Our factory partnerships have over two decades meeting European build standards, proving that value engineering can deliver both savings and excellence. This investment in our factories makes the current “China decoupling trade debate” that much harder. While architects dread diluted designs and quality, this secret sauce expertise is the way to a perfect balance of quality and price. Hotel stakeholders should demand it.

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Technology: Revolutionising the Game

Enter Building Information Modeling (BIM), a tool that creates hotel digital twins. This has transformed how we plan and execute fit-outs. In that 42-room project, BIM fully automated the bill of quantities and cross-checked space planning with precision and quickly. BIM is a productivity and risk-reduction revolution.

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Why Not Direct? The Big Picture

Factories are eager to sell direct; some even have sales reps in Australia, and quasi-direct Asian FF&E firms are emerging. Yet, domestic FF&E contractors still dominate. Why? I’ve coached hotel owners to go direct and save money while controlling their product lifecycle. Some try, but most don’t—because the stakes are high, and the process is daunting.

Beyond manufacturing and logistics, FF&E is about IP. Knowing how to stay on top of design trends. Right now, open robe designs for small spaces, streamlined case goods blending stone and metal, and LED light boxes for ambient lighting. To execute these, FF&E contractors need expertise across joinery, fabrics, lighting, and lots more. Most businesses specialise in one product; we need deep expertise with them all, with a design team that ties it together.

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So, Go Direct?

Sure, going direct can cut costs and boost control, we encourage it, but only attempt if you fully understand the complexities and risks. Carmody Studio can guide you through those methodologies, give you tools to manage yourself or simply refine your current supply strategy.



 
 
 

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