A contract project fails in predictable places: the fire certificate arrives after the goods, the dye lot shifts between floors, and the seating lands on site three weeks before the floors are finished. None of these are design problems. They are programme problems, and they are solvable at the quotation stage.
What "contract" changes versus a normal order
Retail buyers order from a range and accept what ships. Contract buyers commit to a schedule of 40–200 lines against an opening date, with a fire standard, a designer's fabric reference and a budget the owner has already signed. Three things follow:
| Requirement | Retail order | Contract programme |
|---|---|---|
| Approval | Photo or catalogue sample | Physical mock-up room unit, signed off before production |
| Fire performance | Optional | Declared standard per item — EN 1021-1/-2, UK 1988, BS 5852 crib 5 |
| Fabric | Stock colourways | Contracted dye lot held for the whole programme, repeat-order reference kept |
| Inspection | Factory QC | AQL 2.5 third-party inspection before final payment, report to the buyer |
| Delivery | One shipment | Phased releases, cartons labelled by room or floor |
| Documentation | Invoice + packing list | Plus test reports, HS code per SKU, no-wood declaration, inspection report |
The sequence that avoids opening-date surprises
- FF&E schedule in, line-by-line pricing out. Send the schedule with quantities, dimensions and fabric references. You get every line priced at FOB China and FOB Vietnam, with the lines where the specification cannot meet the budget flagged rather than silently substituted.
- Value engineering, if needed. Where a line is over budget, the honest options are usually foam density, frame gauge, or fabric — in that order of impact. We show what each change costs and what it removes, and you decide.
- Mock-up room unit. One of each key item produced and shipped for physical sign-off: seat comfort, fabric under the actual lighting, fire label placement. 12–18 days including transit by air.
- Golden sample retained. The signed unit stays at the factory. Every subsequent run is checked against it, and it is the reference if a dispute ever arises.
- Production one lot. Fabric booked against the whole programme so the dye lot is single. Room quantities tracked in the packing plan from day one.
- AQL 2.5 inspection. Third-party, before final payment. Report shared with you whether it passes or fails — a failed report has saved more projects than a passed one.
- Phased release, room-labelled. Cartons marked per room type or floor, packing list per release, storage at cost between releases.
Where the money actually goes
On a typical 120-key hotel programme, seating and loose furniture is 20–30% of the FF&E budget — smaller than case goods and joinery, but the part guests touch constantly and the part that shows wear first. Two cost decisions dominate:
Foam density. 32 kg/m³ looks identical to 42 kg/m³ on day one and lasts about a third as long in a lobby. On a five-year replacement cycle the denser foam is cheaper, not more expensive.
Duty lane. Metal-frame upholstery (HS 9401 71) enters the EU at 0%; wood-frame seating (HS 9401 61/69) pays 6.5% and, from 30 December 2026, drags the whole item into EUDR documentation. On a €400,000 programme that difference is €26,000 — and a compliance file you don't have to build. See the duty table →
Send the FF&E schedule — get it priced line by line in 72 hours
Excel, PDF or a photo of the schedule all work. You get dual-origin pricing, the flags where specification and budget disagree, and a realistic production calendar counting back from your opening date.
Send the schedule → Test a single line →