Value Engineering in Hospitality: The Art Of Balancing Aesthetics, Quality, and Budget

Let’s be honest, a hotel renovation rarely stays within budget. By the time construction delays and cost overruns are at play, stakeholders often get to the FF&E stage of a project and desperately need to find some savings.

When a project starts to run over budget, what are your options?

Value engineering is one way to get back on track.

A balancing act between aesthetics, quality, and budget, value engineering is often considered a "necessary evil". However, to stay within the budget, some changes must be made.

What is value engineering?

The purpose of value engineering is to keep projects within budget. Through this process, substitutions or design tweaks are made to reduce costs. Ultimately, the goal is to reduce costs without losing sight of a project's objectives.

When it comes to FF&E for hospitality, value engineering involves working with vendors, suppliers, and designers to modify designs or choose alternative pieces. It involves determining what elements are most important for a hotel and finding creative substitutes for those that are not.

Small changes can make a big difference in costs. The trick is to find the right ratio of saving without sacrificing quality, durability, and aesthetics.

5 Value Engineering Tips And Best Practices

To make sure we remain aligned with your objectives, communication is fundamental. Our team will always keep you in the loop. Before making any modifications, we’ll discuss what your options are, their pros and cons, and how these changes may affect your budget, design, and timeline.

1. The guest experience

Identify what your guests expect from a hotel experience. What do they consider to be a quality hotel stay? Where will they spend the most time?

First and last impressions are important, so we recommend investing in the common areas as they’re most frequented by guests. This includes the lobby and dining areas. An example of value engineering in this case would look like choosing less costly alternatives in other spaces to invest a little more in these high-traffic areas.

2. Think long-term

Choosing high-quality, durable FF&E for those high-traffic areas is necessary not only for aesthetic purposes but also for minimizing costly replacements and repairs. 

Besides cost savings, another element to consider is the durability, maintenance expenses, and warranties of your furnishings. Invest in pieces that will last and require less upkeep. Select materials that are easy to clean and don't need to be replaced often. In the long run, investing in well-made pieces pays off.

3. Materials, materials, materials

Materials play a major role in a design. Their cost, however, can sometimes be high. Fortunately, there are a lot of options to choose from. In the event a project starts to sway away from its budget, we can find more budget-friendly alternatives.

Fabrics, for instance, are a great place to start. Many of the contract-grade fabrics on the market are expensive. When many yards are required (think window treatments) that can really add up. Instead of our clients buying COM from pricey brands, Lang & Schwander offers a wide variety of contract-grade fabrics, running line and custom, resulting in significant savings.

4. Break down a project

FF&E projects don’t have to be done all in one go, they can be rolled out in phases over time. You can first focus on key areas, and then gradually move on to other ones. Other approaches are to address softgoods before casegoods, or to do a mixture of both new and existing pieces.

5. Flexibility is key

One of the most important tips is to be open-minded throughout the process. Never underestimate the power of creativity!

We believe there’s a solution for everything and we're here to help you find the best one. Hospitality FF&E projects are our specialty, so let us put our expertise and creativity to work for you. 

Find Out How We Can Help You With FF&E At Lang & Schwander, we’ve been furnishing hotel interiors in the US, Caribbean, and Latin America for over 17 years. For both branded hotels and independent hotels, we offer a full-service Interior Design studio, custom FF&E production and shipping services, and in-house installation services.

Contact us to schedule a call and discuss your project!