Hospitality Furniture Sourcing: What to Lock Before You Request Quotes
Quantities and room types, specification and finishes, destination market requirements, and the dates they have to fit — what to fix before a hospitality furniture package goes out for pricing.
A hospitality furniture package is priced against what you send, not against what you have in mind. When an FF&E contractor asks several suppliers in China to price the same guestroom or public-area package and the quotations come back in different shapes — different board, different fabric, different packing, lines missing on one and added on another — the cause is usually upstream of the suppliers. Something was still open when the request went out, and each supplier closed it differently.
This article sets out the four things worth locking before you request quotes for a hospitality furniture package — quantities and room types, the specification and finish for each item, where the project is and what its market requires, and the dates the package has to fit — with what we need to receive for each one and what happens when it is still open. It is written for FF&E contractors and project teams buying for hotels, resorts, serviced apartments, and the restaurants, lobbies and lounges inside them. For the sequence an order follows once a quotation is accepted, see from FF&E schedule to container. For how responsibility is split when you already have the supplier, see working with a supplier you nominate. For the scope of the sourcing role itself, see what a commercial furniture sourcing partner does for an FF&E contractor.
Why the quotation is only as precise as the request behind it
A quotation from us shows, per line: item, specification, materials, fabric and finish, dimensions, unit price, quantity, packing and lead time — priced like-for-like against your specification, with any substitution flagged. Every one of those cells traces back to something that was decided before the request went out, which is why our FAQ puts it plainly: the more precise your list, the more precise our match.
We do not publish a catalogue or a price list, because we are not a supplier with a range to sell. We quote against your specification. That makes the request the one document that controls whether the numbers you receive can be compared — with each other, and with the budget the project was set against.
Four things carry most of that weight. Each section below gives what to lock, what to send us, and what happens on the project when it is left open.
1 · Quantities, room by room, and the room types behind them
What to lock. An FF&E schedule or product list, room by room, with quantities — plus drawings for any custom pieces. For a hotel that normally means quantities worked out per room type rather than per hotel: king, twin, suite, accessible, and any long-stay or serviced units, each with its own count of beds, headboards, casegoods, seating and mirrors. Public areas are listed separately, because they are different products from different production lines: lobby and lounge seating, restaurant and bar furniture, meeting and function rooms. Guestroom furniture and public-area furniture are rarely quoted well in the same block of a schedule.
Why quantities decide more than the unit price. Our minimum order is a full container. Product groups of the same project can share containers, and we consolidate goods from several factories into full containers; we do not ship loose cargo. Quantities are therefore what tells us whether a package ships as one consignment or several, which product groups can travel together, and how packing should be specified — and packing is one of the columns on the quotation.
If it is left open. A list that says “guestroom armchair” without saying how many rooms of each type carry one leaves every supplier to assume a number, and the totals stop being comparable. Phasing does the same thing: if the first floors handed over are a different mix from the rest, say which rooms or floors are in the first phase when you send the schedule, so that the quotation is split the way the project will actually be bought.
2 · The specification for each item, and who chooses fabric and finish
What to lock. The specification, or a reference photo or link, for each item: dimensions, materials, fabric and finish. Then your fabric and finish selections — or a clear instruction that you want them proposed.
Selections reach a quotation by one of three routes, and the only wrong answer is leaving it unstated:
- You specify them. The schedule names the fabric, the finish and the grade, and we price that.
- You ask us to propose them. We put forward fabrics and finishes against your design intent and budget, and you approve before production.
- You supply the fabric yourself (COM). Tell us at the request stage, because a package priced with customer’s own material is priced differently from one where the fabric comes from the factory.
Custom or not is part of the specification. Anything made to your drawings needs those drawings with the request. For custom products the factory later prepares shop drawings and a detailed material list, which go back and forth with you until you sign off drawings, fabrics and finishes before production — and what is signed off is what the goods are inspected against before they ship. Locking the specification early is what keeps that stage short.
If it is left open. Suppliers fill gaps with whatever is cheapest to assume: a lighter board, a thinner frame, a different foam density, a fabric a grade below what the design intended. The prices then differ because the products differ, not because the suppliers do. It also matters that hospitality packages are not made on one line — seating, casegoods, upholstery, metal frames and fixed joinery come from different factories — so an under-specified line item is quoted by whichever line the supplier happens to run.
3 · Where the project is, and what that market requires
What to lock. The country and, where it matters, the state or territory. Two separate things follow from it.
Compliance, checked before we quote. Our main markets are North America and Australia, where contract furniture is specified against local standards, so the first step in choosing a factory is confirming that it holds the test reports or certifications for the specific product — not for a similar product, and not for the factory in general. Two examples of what a destination can require: upholstered furniture sold in California has to meet the flammability requirements of California Technical Bulletin 117-2013, a smoulder-resistance standard covering cover fabrics, barrier materials, resilient filling materials and decking materials, and carry the required label; hardwood plywood, MDF and particleboard, and finished goods containing them, going to the United States have to be TSCA Title VI compliant and labelled. These are examples, not a complete list — what applies to your project is decided by your specifier or certifier. Our compliance page sets out what to ask any furniture supplier for, including the report for the specific model, the testing laboratory and date, and the standard and edition the product was tested to.
Commercial terms that depend on destination. Price terms are EXW as standard, C&F on request, and DDP for certain markets such as the United States. Customs clearance and inland transport at the destination are handled by you unless we quote DDP. Sea freight is quoted to you before shipment rather than buried in the goods price, so the quotation you compare is a goods quotation.
If it is left open. You can end up holding a competitive price for a product that cannot be specified into the building, or comparing a total quoted ex-works against a total quoted to your door. Both are discovered late, and late is expensive on a hospitality programme.
Ready to send the schedule?
Send your FF&E schedule or product list room by room with quantities, the specification or a reference for each item, your fabric and finish selections or a request for proposals, and where the project is. We price it line by line.
4 · The dates, and the sequence they have to fit
What to state. Your required delivery window and what drives it — the handover or opening date, which areas or floors come first, and whether the package is custom or non-custom. Dates are the one item on this list you state rather than fix: every date on a quotation or proforma invoice is an estimate, and we do not treat estimates as commitments.
The sequence those dates sit in. Once a quotation is accepted, an order runs: samples couriered for approval before production if you want them; a proforma invoice with full product details, deposit, warranty period, Incoterm and estimated dates; the deposit; for custom products, shop drawings, material lists and finish samples, several rounds until you sign off; production; one inspection by our own QC team when bulk production is finished and before shipment, with a report containing photos and video; the balance, including sea freight, before shipment is arranged; container loading and a detailed loading report; then the sea leg.
Why it belongs in the request. The approval rounds sit between the deposit and production, not after production. Every extra round of drawings or finish revisions comes out of the window you have before handover. That is the practical argument for locking the first two items on this list: they are the part of the programme you control. The full step-by-step is set out in from FF&E schedule to container.
If it is left open. You receive a plan that cannot be checked against your programme, and phasing decisions get made after the deposit — the most expensive point at which to make them.
The request itself: what to send us
Four items, and two optional additions that usually save a round of e-mail:
- An FF&E schedule or product list, room by room, with quantities — plus drawings for any custom pieces.
- The specification, or a reference photo or link, for each item: dimensions, materials, fabric and finish.
- Your fabric and finish selections, or a request for us to propose them; and tell us if fabric is supplied by you (COM).
- Where your project is, so we check the standards your market requires.
- Optional: a current quotation for a few items. Send it and we price the same specification line by line, so you are comparing like with like. Many clients start with one category. We share examples of previous quotations to show the price range; further sourcing work requires an upfront sourcing fee, fully credited toward your first order.
- Optional: which product groups you already have suppliers for. Those can run under our second model, where you nominate the supplier and we manage the order, while the rest is sourced. A single schedule can mix the two, and it helps to know which is which before anything is priced.
The four in one view
What each item decides, and what goes wrong when it is still open:
- Quantities and room types decide consolidation, packing and how the quotation is split. Open: totals that cannot be compared, and phasing decided after the deposit.
- Specification, fabric and finish decide what is actually being priced, and what the goods are later inspected against. Open: price differences that are really product differences.
- Destination market decides which test reports the factory has to hold and which price term applies. Open: a product that cannot be specified into the building, or totals on different Incoterms.
- Dates decide how much room the approval rounds have. Open: a programme that cannot be checked against the handover date.
One line does not change with any of them: the minimum order is a full container, and product groups of the same project can share containers.
The FBM Furniture role before a quotation is issued
FBM Furniture is the furniture sourcing line of FBM Sourcing Limited. We manage the complete furniture package for overseas commercial projects — hotels, offices, aged-care and healthcare facilities, apartments and student accommodation — from sourcing to after-sales. We are a sourcing agent, working on your side. We do not manufacture, run a showroom or sell a range, which is why there is no catalogue and no price list to send you: we price your schedule instead.
Before a quotation is issued, the work on our side is the mirror image of the four items above: reading your schedule line by line, matching each product group to the factory that runs that production line, confirming that the factory holds the test reports your market requires, and coming back on anything in the specification that is ambiguous rather than quietly assuming it. All quotations, invoices and shipping documents are issued by FBM Sourcing, and sea freight is quoted to you before shipment. FBM Sourcing has been sourcing since 2014, with 1,000+ containers shipped to 20+ countries. Our FAQ answers the questions clients ask before they order, and How We Work sets out the commercial terms.
Frequently asked questions
What do you need from us to quote a hospitality furniture package?
Four things: an FF&E schedule or product list, room by room, with quantities, plus drawings for any custom pieces; the specification or a reference photo or link for each item, covering dimensions, materials, fabric and finish; your fabric and finish selections, or a request for us to propose them, telling us if fabric is supplied by you (COM); and where your project is, so we check the standards your market requires. The more precise your list, the more precise our match.
Do we need drawings for every item?
No. Drawings are needed for custom pieces — anything made to your design. For non-custom items a reference photo or link plus dimensions, materials, fabric and finish is enough to quote. For custom products the factory prepares shop drawings and a detailed material list after the order, and those go back and forth with you until you sign off drawings, fabrics and finishes before production.
We have not chosen fabrics and finishes yet. Can you still quote?
Yes, as long as you tell us which route you want. Either you specify the fabric and finish, or you ask us to propose them against your design intent and approve before production, or you supply the fabric yourself (COM) and tell us at the request stage. What does not work is leaving it unstated: a quotation built on an unnamed fabric cannot be compared with one built on a named fabric.
Why do you ask where the project is before quoting?
Two reasons. Contract furniture in our main markets, North America and Australia, is specified against local standards, and the first step in choosing a factory is confirming it holds the test report or certificate for the specific product — confirmed before we quote. The destination also sets the price term: EXW as standard, C&F on request, and DDP for certain markets such as the United States, with customs clearance and inland transport at the destination handled by you unless we quote DDP.
Can we ask you to price only part of the schedule?
Yes. Many clients start with one category. We share examples of previous quotations to show the price range; further sourcing work requires an upfront sourcing fee, fully credited toward your first order. The minimum order is still a full container, and product groups of the same project can share containers.
More from FBM Furniture
Ready to send the schedule?
Send your FF&E schedule or product list room by room with quantities, the specification or a reference for each item, your fabric and finish selections or a request for proposals, and where the project is. We price it line by line.