
Are you in the hotel business? Are you planning to purchase building materials and furniture for a new hotel construction or renovation project?
If yes, then you’ve come to the right place to find useful information that will guide you in the purchasing process.
I. Where to Buy Building Materials and Furniture for Hotels and Apartments?
1. Local Markets
When thinking of where to buy building materials and furniture for hotels and apartments, you’ll first look at what’s available locally, either in your city or town or in your country.
A retailer or wholesaler in your locality would most likely have some items available for your hotel building project. You can buy from a local seller if you don’t need a lot of items if you need your materials right away, and would not mind choosing from the limited styles available in the local marketplace.
2. International Market: China?
Do you have a big project, like a business hotel or a luxury hotel where you have a long list of items to purchase, and you need a lot of customized items? Then you would be searching for suppliers from a larger geographic area. And that may include looking at the international market, specifically Chinese sellers.
China is well-known for being a manufacturing powerhouse. It’s where all kinds of products are made, and where countries all over the world buy both raw materials and finished products. Whatever style, specification, and material you’re looking for, Chinese manufacturers can make it for you.

II. Why Choose to Purchase Building Materials and Furniture from China?
1. Guaranteed Quality
How do you know that China manufactures quality products? When big international brands, probably across all industries, have established manufacturing bases in China. These global brands need to protect their brand and their business. And so they maintain strict quality standards for products that are made in China.
2. Lower Cost
Mainly because of their large population as well as the advanced manufacturing technologies in place, China’s labor and manufacturing costs are much lower compared to other countries. Also, for any given industry, there are many manufacturers to choose from. Competition drives prices down.

3. Shorter Lead Time
Chinese manufacturers’ quick turnaround times are impressive. Businesses that have been operating for a few years or more are generally dependable. That’s because they know their business well and have well-established production processes in place. They can tell you definitely when your products will be ready for shipment.
4. Global Reach Service
Most countries all over the world have existing trade relations with China. Wherever your hotel business may be located, it’s likely that you can import building materials and furniture from China.
III. Preparations before Purchasing Construction Materials and Furniture
Before deciding what building materials and furniture to buy for hotel, you need to consider the following factors:
1. Know about Hotel Room Design
In designing a hotel, you should spend a lot of time focusing on room design. Guests will want to know details like location and facilities. But if they see that the hotel rooms are nothing but extraordinary, they will look somewhere else. Hotel guests expect rooms to be always inviting, comfortable, and of course, appealing.
① Decide on a design scheme and color palette
The design scheme is the overall design concept that will be applied to the entire hotel property.
A beachfront hotel would be a tourist magnet, while a hotel in a central business district would likely serve the business and government sector. Each hotel will carry a unique design scheme that fits its location as well as the market segment that it is targeting to serve.

The design scheme will then include a color palette for the hotel. The beachfront hotel can get away with bright, tropical colors while a business hotel is expected to have solid, subdued colors.
② Consider the space planning
In space planning, interior designers will look at each room’s function to plan for the space needed for the activities that will take place in that room, and for the facilities that will be placed.
Different types of guest rooms will have different space configurations. Is it a single, twin, or family room? Interior room, corner room, room with a balcony? A big conference room will not have the same space requirements as a banquet hall or a lounge area.
③ Lighting
Light up a room using light fixtures and spotlights. Hotel rooms have light switches at the bedside and a nightstand on the side tables. Floor lamps can be added. There are also lights in bathrooms, overhead lights in the vanity area, and the shower room. Dimmers provide mood lighting.

④Use multipurpose furniture
In smaller hotel rooms, using multipurpose furniture would be a great space saver. A sofa bed instead of a bed and a sofa opens up space in a small room.
⑤ Don’t mix different styles
Would you consider using different styles together in a hotel room? That wouldn’t be a good idea. The simpler the design, the more relaxed and comfortable the guest will be. Simple designs make the space visually light for hotel guests.
2. Make a List of Hotel Building Materials and Furniture
Now that you’ve decided on a design scheme and color palette, it’s now time to list down all building materials and furniture that you need for your hotel project.
Hotel Furniture:
Bed
Bedside Table
Sofa
Coffee Table
Dining table
Dining chair
TV Cabinet
Luggage Rack
Desk
Hotel Chairs
Wardrobe
Outdoor Furniture
Kitchen:
Sanitary Wares:
Electric Appliance:
Television
Fridge
Hair Dryer
Kettle
Coffee Maker
Electric Iron
Microwave
Aircon
Doors and Windows:
Hotel Room Lighting:
Flooring:
Soft Decoration:
Related Article: How to Buy Kitchen Cabinets and Wardrobe for the Best Price?
Related Article: How to Import Bathroom Fittings from China?
Related Article: How to Import Stone and Marble from China?
3. Plan an Approximate Budget
What does it cost to build or renovate a hotel?
The HVS U.S. Hotel Development Cost Survey provides average development costs in each defined lodging product category. Note that development costs for hotels depend on many factors that are unique to each project and location.
HVS created this summary format for hotel development budgets, with corresponding cost categories:
Image source: https://www.hvs.com/article/8597-HVS-US-Hotel-Development-Cost-Survey-201819
For hotel renovations, The 2019 Hotel Cost Estimating Guide is an excellent resource by JN+A and HVS Design to help provide approximate costs for your renovation project.
IV. How to Choose Hotel Building Materials Supplier and Manufacturer?
It’s easy to get overwhelmed by the big number of manufacturers of building materials and furniture that you’ll find online or offline. The process of choosing companies to supply your requirements will get easier when you follow a set of criteria to guide you.
First and foremost, what’s most important is to determine if your prospective supplier can meet your requirements in terms of production quantity, quality, and turnaround time.
1. Service
Look for a supplier that’s capable of producing a wide variety of building materials and furniture available. Bonus points go for the supplier that has extensive experience in the hotel industry because it means that this company has a deeper understanding of your business needs.
Ask for international companies that they’ve done business with so you can check their claims. If you find it challenging to do this, there are sourcing agents who can do this for you.
2. Flexibility
① Customizable product supplies
Find a supplier that gives you lots of options for customizing the building materials and especially the furniture that you need.
While the cost of sourcing customized furniture may be high, it will be worth the cost to have furniture that perfectly fits your vision of an ideal hotel for your target market. This is particularly important when you’re serving the luxury market who would frown upon ordinary-looking, off-the-shelf furniture.

Let your designers work closely with your suppliers to choose the design, size, shape, color, and materials of the furniture. With customized service, you can have your ideal furniture by changing details of off-the-rack pieces or creating a brand new design. Ask for suggestions from potential suppliers or manufacturers to get a perfect furniture solution. These ideas can help you save time and reduce sourcing costs.
② Products selection at different prices
Some suppliers may provide a discounted price for samples, while others may send them for free. There’s also pricing based on different quantities to get a clear picture of the costs and discounts once an order pushes through.
3. Efficiency
① On-time production
You want to do business with manufacturers with a proven track record for on-time production. Delays in hotel project construction are costly, having a direct impact on revenue projections.

② Delivery time
Time is a critical factor in business. Know beforehand how long delivery times will take.
For door to door shipments, ocean freight shipping time is, on average, 30 to 40 days for wholesale building materials from the other side of the world, depending on the port of destination.
Traders should note that sea freight shipping requires more time for preparing documents for both importer and exporter. Customs delays, port congestion, and poor weather conditions may add to shipping delays.
V. Find the Best Hospitality Solutions
1. What is the Best Hospitality Solutions
① Choose from Building Materials Wholesale Market
You’ll find many options in China for your hotel needs. There are wholesale markets for building materials and furniture in Foshan and Guangzhou cities in Guangdong province. You only have to go to these wholesale markets to find everything that you need for building your hotel project.

China Ceramic City
Covering an area of 53,000 square meters, China Ceramic City in Foshan is a massive trading center that has more than 140 Chinese and foreign brands of building materials. If you’re on the lookout for ceramic tiles, sanitary wares, tap & fitting, mosaic, and other customized products, this is the place to go. The products on display here are straight out of factories.

Casa Sanitary Ware Market
The Casa Ceramics and Sanitary Wares Mall is the biggest, most comprehensive sanitary wares market in China. Located in Foshan, it is a one-stop-shop for quality building materials in China. Here you’ll find architectural ceramics, hardware, sanitary ceramics, sanitary ware, leisure sanitary ware, hardware, water accessories, as well as daily-use, arts and crafts ceramics. Most of the products here are for the middle to high-level market.

Louvre Furniture Mall
Louvre International Furniture Exhibition Center or Louvre Furniture Mall in Foshan is the most famous furniture mall in China. Covering an area of 380,000 square meters, it houses 2,000 top Chinese brands, and over 100 top European brands for furniture and furnishings. Product categories that can be found here are home furniture, office furniture, new Chinese style furniture, children’s furniture, home accessories, etc.
② Attend hotel industry trade shows in China
Traveling to China to attend hotel industry expos or trade shows is a great way to meet with several manufacturers, suppliers, traders within a short period. You’ll get to see the latest products and services, as well as meet potential suppliers.
When going to these exhibitions, remember to bring product prototypes with you, if you can, or some samples of products similar to what you want to have produced in China.
- China Hospitality Expo
The China Hospitality Expo or CHE, held at the Shenzhen C&E Center in Guangzhou, is a major sourcing and networking event that connects suppliers with hoteliers and distributors in the hospitality industry.
If you’re an international trader, you know that the China Import and Export Fair or Canton Fair is the largest supplier trade show in the world. It’s where thousands of vendors and hundreds of thousands of buyers attend. The trade fair is held in Guangzhou, China twice a year, at the China Import and Export Complex. The event is a 3-phase affair where phases are implemented as a category of products to be featured for a certain period. For your hotel building or renovation project, the category to look for is Building and Decorative Materials.

- Hotelex (June 2020)- Shanghai
Hotelex Shanghai is organized by Shanghai UBM Sinoexpo International Exhibition Co. Ltd. It is a 4-day international trade fair for the hospitality industry, where visitors can find information about the latest developments, trends, products and services.
③ Best solution: One-stop Hospitality Building Materials Provider
Building or renovating a hotel where you need to purchase different building materials and furniture is a complex project consisting of many processes. It could take a long time to complete just the purchasing process, especially when multiple suppliers and service providers are involved.
The best solution is to hire a single supplier, a one-stop hospitality solutions provider that will take care of the entire procurement process from design to installation of building materials and furniture. A trustworthy solutions provider works to give you the best value, to find the most cost-effective and efficient ways of meeting your project needs.
- Design the hotel (exterior & interior)
Your hospitality solutions provider will provide designs for the exterior and interior of the hotel building. It will manage the entire design process from concept development to execution to evaluation.
In creating the hotel aesthetic, the designer looks at the hotel not just as a place of accommodation, but one that’s a venue for shared experiences of individuals united by their passion for life.

The solutions provider will manage the problems of designing a hotel while considering the hotel guests’ need for personal space and also taking into account the space requirements for furniture and equipment.
- Wide product coverage
Your solutions provider can supply you with a wide range of quality building materials and furniture to provide maximum value and create your desired result while minimizing costs.
- Quick and efficient shipment and delivery
In providing an efficient logistics solution for your needed products, your supplier should be able to provide options for a quick, efficient, and high-quality delivery service. With its logistics expertise, your supplier will ensure that your building materials and furniture will arrive at its destination safely and on time.
- Optimized installation support
Your service provider should offer expert advice and comprehensive installation support to ensure you get the most out of the materials that were purchased.
2. Why Choose the One-stop Hospitality Solutions
① Reduce stress and time
In getting all building materials and furniture needs from one source, hotel owners and developers can streamline logistics to save time, thereby lowering project costs and reducing the stress of project stakeholders.
② Professional team
One-stop solutions providers employ dedicated professionals and specialists who are experts in the hospitality industry. They will monitor the hotel project from beginning to end to ensure its successful completion.
③ Short reaction time
Being industry experts, the hospitality solutions providers have a complete understanding of the business. Thus they can analyze a given situation and make fast decisions to keep the project moving forward.
3. Where to Find the One-stop Hotel Products Supplie
① Google search
A simple Google search for one-stop hotel product suppliers in China will yield many hits. Online business directories like Alibaba, Global Sources, and Made In China are good sources of information about hotel suppliers in China.
② Forum– Quora/ Houzz
Online forums are also good sources of information. In Quora, users ask specific questions that are then answered by people knowledgeable on the topic. When you ask about building materials and furniture from China, the person who will reply will likely have previous experience in importing from China. Or that person is connected to a manufacturing company in China, or someone who is a middleman connecting international buyers to sellers in China.

Houzz is an online marketing platform offering products to design and decorate the home. General contractors, home builders, interior designers, landscape architects, and kitchen and bath remodelers use the site for marketing their services as well.

③ Visit Foshan
If you want to take a trip to China to find suppliers there, you can go straight to Foshan. Foshan is the wonderful city and great market to go for construction materials.
George Buildings is located in Foshan, known as one-stop builidng materials solution provider. You can visit the office and factory of George Buildings, and I bet you will be amazed by its product price and product range. George Buildings is the ultimate source for all your building material needs for your hotel construction or renovation projects.
Related Article: Importing Building Material from China -George Buildings
VI. Purchasing Process

1. Deliver Floor Plans & Review Customers’ Needs
Have your hotel building floor plans indicate precise measurements to ensure that materials to be purchased will fit the allotted space. From the floor plans, your supplier will determine what you need.

2. Provide Free Design & Recommend Solutions
Your suppliers’ design team will create a preliminary design that fits your budget and space, and recommend solutions that fit the hotel’s overall vision, as well as the needs of the hotel’s target market.

3. Confirm List Products & Make Quotations
When the hotel management approves the final hotel design, it’s time to draw up a master list of products to purchase. The list will be sent to the supplier who will then prepare a price quotation for the hotel owners or management to consider.

4. Confirm the Final 3D Design
After making adjustments on the preliminary design, the designer will provide the final 3D design rendering with recommended materials, as well as comprehensive design detailing.

5. Choose Building Materials
In choosing building materials, it’s essential to consider quality, value for money, design, and product lifespan. Choosing the right construction materials at the start minimizes possible disruptions in the project, and ensures top-quality results.

6. Complete Orders & Arrange Production
After choosing the building materials and furniture, it’s time for your supplier to complete the orders and arrange the production. Make sure that contracts are drawn with all the complete details and specifications indicated to avoid production delays.

7. Do Quality Control & Arrange Delivery
Quality control inspections must be done when you’re ordering a large volume of products from China. After satisfactory quality control inspections, your solutions provider can then arrange for delivery using their logistics expertise.
VII. Top 3 Challenges in Hospitality Procurement and How to Overcome
1. Exceed Budget
Exceeding the budget is a common problem in hospitality procurement. This happens when project managers who don’t have access to real-time budgets that include recently approved (but still unpaid and not yet purchased) orders, will make purchases that blow the budget because they assume that there’s still some money left in the budget to spare.

When budgets are exceeded, it’s more likely that there is a communication problem somewhere, where project managers do not see the real-time budget. This can be addressed by using procurement and purchasing software where your team can see the real-time budget.
2. Delayed Delivery Time
Timing is essential to maximize the shipment of your wholesale building materials. Take note of the schedule of packaging, loading, transit, and any other steps in importing cargo from China. Make sure the critical steps in the importation process do not fall on holidays. Also, choose a fast ship for shorter lead times. Check the number of stopovers in the ship’s schedule and avoid ships with many stops.
Have your sourcing agent get the latest freight rate quotes for your chosen mode of shipment, then determine the best pricing.

3. Untimely Feedback and Communication
Communication problems cause delays in processes and may lead to poor decisions. Not giving useful feedback is a type of communication problem that can cause delays. There must be a strategy to ensure smooth communication among decision-makers in the company, and between hotel decision-makers and external parties, including suppliers.
Problems in communication are common in any international type of trading. To solve the language problem, find building materials suppliers with staff who can communicate well in English. You can also hire an interpreter who can bridge the gap in the communication process.
Now I’d Like to Hear From You
There you have it: our comprehensive guide to purchasing building or construction materials for new hotel construction or renovation project.
Now I’d like to hear what you have to say:
Are you confused about the complex and difficult hotel project? Do you feel annoyed and dizzy when looking for suppliers?
If so, what is your biggest trouble?
Let me know by leaving a comment below right now.
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