Wholesale Lounge Furniture for Hotels: A Room-by-Room Buying Checklist

Lobby lounge seating could receive fifty visitors a day with dripping umbrellas and wheeled luggage. The armchair in room 214 might be used twice a week. But many fit-outs will pay full price for one spec across the whole building and ruin lower-quality furniture in all the common areas seen by all guests.

Our checklist takes you room by room, detailing what each piece of furniture needs to withstand and what you should consider before ordering. It also covers universal considerations like warranty and delivery.

If you are furnishing a restaurant, café or bar, check out our guide to wholesale hospitality furniture purchases in Australia.

Before you start: four things to have on hand

Prepare them before meeting with any supplier.

• A room scheduling list: Note down the number of each room category and the furnishings needed for it. A 120-room facility having three categories will be comprised of three lists and not 120 individual considerations.

• Your occupancy and renovation plan: A year-round operating facility should have more durable furnishings than the seasonal facilities.

• Dimensions access: Measure interior dimensions, door size and the tightest corner of the corridor. The three-seater that will not fit into the level four corridor can be an expensive mistake.

• An approximate budget for each room category: This helps your supplier offer alternative solutions too.

Lobby and reception

The lobby is where the most usage takes place from all other seatings. People put their belongings on the arms and lean against the backs.

Cloth marked as having a certain level of abrasion resistance. Seek one that has a Martindale rub test number of 30,000 and above, especially for the highly used chairs, with 50,000 or above being ideal. Ask for the number in writing rather than the phrase "commercial grade".

A firm seat and sturdy arms. Seats that are about 45 cm to 48 cm high and strong arms will allow elderly visitors to stand. Deep, plush sofas tend to get lounged on and worn out quickly.

Strong frame. Find out what type of wood it is: kiln-dried hardwood, plywood, or engineered timber. Corner blocks that are screwed and glued will indicate strength.

Appropriate legs and glides for your flooring. Hard surfaces like stone and tiles wear cheap glides very quickly; make sure yours are replaceable.

Modular units. You get greater flexibility with modular units, as well as being able to replace only a problematic unit rather than having to replace the entire sectional lounge.

Colours that hide wear. Mid tones and textured materials do not show stains the way light colours or shimmery velvet does.

Same batch spares. Verify spares from the same batch by ordering additional modules/seats at the time of purchase.

For more information about frames, foams, and fabrics, visit our ultimate guide to lounge furniture wholesale.

Lobby bar and guest lounge

For the lobby bar, the priorities are the opposite of those at reception. People spend more time there and often have food and drinks with them, so preventing spills is more important than protecting the furniture from everyday wear and tear. 

Stain-proof or wipeable upholstery (see below).

Removable covers, or fabric housekeeping, can spot clean without leaving rings.

Slightly deeper and lower seating for lingering but high enough for reaching the table.

Coffee and side tables at the same height as the seating help prevent drinks from spilling over.

Ottomans and occasional seating to interrupt runs of lounging furniture.

Leather, PU or performance fabric?

Real leather is easy to clean and durable, yet it is expensive and can get scratches caused by the bag buckles.

Polyurethane leather is inexpensive and easy to clean; however, poor-quality polyurethane leather will crack and peel over time, particularly in areas exposed to sunlight or the air conditioners.

The performance fabric protects against staining and water. It is also softer and warmer than the leather. In a bar setting, it is usually the ideal material to use.

Guest rooms and suites

The guest room furniture is less frequently used as compared to the lobby furniture. However, since you have to furnish many rooms and small differences in prices make a big difference, it becomes an important consideration.

Occasional armchairs

The standard room requires only one chair that is comfortable and located either near the window or at the desk.

Check the chair size on the plan. If it obstructs the way to the bathroom, it is moved around by all guests and marks the wall.

Order the full quantity from one production run so every room matches.

Focus on easy cleaning ability. The fabric’s reaction to cleaning solutions and makeup is more important than the rub count.

Sofa beds

Sofa beds have earned their place in guest room family lounges, suites, but they receive more complaints than any other furniture item in the hotel lounge. The guest evaluates the sofa bed as a bed, and housekeeping operates it at each turnover cycle.

Mechanism test. Can you open and close it without lifting the whole sofa bed frame?

Mattress evaluation. Ask for the thickness and type of the mattress. A thin foam mattress with a bar at the centre creates negative evaluations.

Measure it open. Guests still need to walk around the bed and reach the bathroom and door. 

Spare parts test. Mechanism tends to fail before the sofa frame does. Can you replace just the mechanism or the mattress without replacing the whole sofa?

Try to sit on it like a sofa. Some mechanisms create a thin and firm seating experience.

Serviced apartments and long-stay rooms

The residents of serviced apartments stay in the lounge for days or weeks at a time, so comfort is much more important than in a normal room, and yet turnover remains commercial.

Full-size lounges and not slim-line items. The long-stay customers will feel cramped in the lounge immediately.

Stain resistance first. Meals are eaten in the lounge, so washable covers or extra sets per apartment cut down cleaning time.

Modular or chaise lounges for bigger apartments.

A sofa bed in one-bedroom apartments is sold for more than two guests.

Pool decks, rooftops and outdoor terraces

Outdoor lounges are exposed to sun, rain, chlorine and, at the coast, salt. UV is what breaks them down most quickly in most of Australia.

Frame Material: Powder-coated aluminium doesn’t rust and is lightweight. Synthetic (HDPE) wicker needs to be UV-stabilised, or it becomes brittle. Teak withstands the elements but requires constant oiling.

Hardware: At the coast, ask for stainless steel fasteners, preferably marine-grade 316, to prevent bolts from rusting and staining the frame.

Cushions: Quick-drying foam and solution-dyed acrylic fabrics dry faster and fade significantly less than regular outdoor fabrics.

Weight on rooftops: Light furniture gets blown around in strong winds; check if they can be secured.

Storage: Determine where the cushions will be stored in winter before ordering forty of them.

Our outdoor furniture buying guide covers all of this in depth.

Function and breakout spaces

The meeting rooms require movable furniture since they are frequently reconfigured by staff on a weekly basis.

Lightweight furniture that can easily be moved by two individuals.

Ottoman furniture and modular furniture that can serve various purposes, such as seating and partitioning.

The checks that apply to every room (before you sign the order)

Once you have made a list of the furniture needed for each room, take a little time to check the following points before placing your order.

Product details: Ask the supplier to share the fabric durability rating, foam density, frame material, and dimensions for each piece in writing. This will help you understand exactly what you are buying.

Fire safety: Ask if the supplier has any fire test reports for the fabric and foam. Before ordering, check with your certifier or fire safety consultant to make sure the furniture meets your building’s requirements.

Warranty for hotel use: This is an easy detail to overlook. Some furniture warranties cover home use only, which means you may not be able to claim repairs or replacements for hotel furniture. Always ask whether the warranty covers commercial hotel use, and get confirmation in writing.

Future orders: Think about what might happen if you add more rooms or need to replace damaged furniture in a couple of years. Will the same model still be available? If not, it may be worth ordering a few extra pieces now.

Delivery and installation: Find out who will carry the furniture to each room and clear away the packaging. It is also a good idea to confirm delivery dates and times early, as some suppliers deliver only during business hours.

Assembly: Putting legs or backs on furniture may seem like a small job, but doing it across 100 rooms can take a lot of time. Check whether the supplier will assemble everything or if your team will need to handle it.

How buying wholesale works for a hotel project

Buying furniture wholesale helps you save money by cutting out the retail markup. For hotels, though, the benefits go beyond price. You can get matching furniture from the same batch, keep spare pieces available, and depend on one supplier when you need replacements.

Vivin Imports is an Australian wholesale furniture importer, distributor and supplier, with distribution centres in Wetherill Park, NSW, Epping, VIC, and Auckland. When buying through an importer, hotels generally have two options:

• Buy from local stock. This is usually the quicker option, and you may be able to visit a showroom to see and try the furniture before buying. It works well for smaller hotels or refurbishments with tight deadlines.

• Order directly by container. This can be a good option when you need a large quantity of furniture, but it requires more planning and longer delivery times. It is often better suited to new hotels and large refurbishments with flexible timelines. Our guide on how to order furniture by container in Australia explains the process.

Many hotels choose a mix of both options. They order most of their guest-room furniture by container to meet their bulk requirements, then use locally available stock for the lobby and any items they need quickly.

Delivery and returns questions to ask any supplier

Before you place your order, make sure that you know when the delivery will be made, if large items are delivered using a two-person delivery service, and if one order is going to be split into several deliveries from various warehouses. Make sure that there aren't any extra charges for delivery to out-of-the-way places and provide your physical address, not a P.O. Box.

Upon receipt of the delivery, examine each box and each item for damage and report anything that is damaged immediately. Find out the company's return policy before placing an order since many companies do not accept change-of-mind returns. Lastly, find out how to file a warranty claim and whether pictures need to be included.

Frequently asked questions

What Martindale rub count do hotel lounges need?
Commercial use requires you to get at least 30,000 rubs, while at least 50,000 rubs are recommended for busy lobbies and bars.

Can residential lounges be used in a hotel?
Sometimes, when you’re not using that space often, such as in a guest room. The greater problem is the warranty because many residential warranties do not cover commercial usage.

How many spare pieces should we order?
One way to do this is by ordering about 5% extra on high-quantity products like guest room chairs, in addition to some extra modules for the lobby sectionals. The replacement units would be the same, even if the product line was no longer available.

How long does a hotel lounge order take to arrive?
It all depends on whether the items in question are available locally or if they are to be imported. Locally available products could take weeks to deliver, while containerised products could take several months to arrive.