Obviously price is a major consideration when buying furnishings for your hotel room. But do you consider cost?

Price and cost are not the same thing. If a chair has a low price tag but needs to be replaced more often, or turns guests off your hotel experience to the point where they look elsewhere the next time they book a place, then it’s costing you more than what you paid for it.

Replacement rate is one way high costs are masked as low prices. Yes, a $100 chair is “cheaper” than a $150 chair. But if you have to replace the $100 chair twice annually, while the $150 chair lasts the whole year, the lower-priced chair is actually costing you more - you’re spending $200 to provide that chair for a year instead of $150.

A false economy?

It’s what your grandmother probably called a “false economy” - buying cheaper now but having to pay more in the long run.

And yes, guests notice. “Using low quality furniture can really damage your profits,” online industry journal Shoes For Crews notes. “Their appearance will decline faster and they are more likely to break more often.”

Again, it’s the replacement principle: “Having to buy replacement furniture will eat into your profits, especially if you have to buy on a regular basis.”

How to avoid low-price but high-cost room furnishings?

“Do your research and buy furniture that is designed for the right purpose,” Shoes For Crews recommends. In your case, that’s furniture created specifically for hotel use. Or at the very least, designed for commercial use.

There really is no substitute for purpose-built items.

Buy a lot of quality items at once, if at all possible. “When buying from some suppliers, you can sometimes negotiate a cheaper deal if you buy in bulk,” Shoes says. Frequently suppliers are happy to help you out on price to establish a steady relationship, even if they don’t explicitly offer such terms. It never hurts to ask.