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Frequently Asked Questions

Hospitality Interior Design FAQs

How far in advance should an interior designer be hired for a hotel renovation project?

The ideal lead-time depends on the type and complexity of the project.

Renovation of Focused-Service Hotels: We recommend engaging an interior designer 9–12 months before the renovation start date. This allows adequate time for design development, brand and owner approvals, FF&E budgeting and procurement, and manufacturing of longer-lead-time items.

Renovation of Full-Service Hotels and More Complex Projects: We recommend engaging an interior designer at least 12 months before the renovation start date. These projects often involve additional design milestones, presentations and renderings, more extensive brand and stakeholder approvals, and highly customized FF&E that requires additional time for shop drawings and manufacturing.

For a new-construction hotel project, an interior designer’s insights can be especially valuable to the hotel development team. AKDG would suggest engaging the interior designer for early coordination and insights needed to mitigate the risk of architectural re-design expenses while keeping the project on schedule. This is often 12-18 months before the projected hotel ground-breaking.

Specific guidance by segment is as follows:

Full-Service, Lifestyle, and Boutique Hotels: For new-construction lifestyle-branded or boutique hotels, the interior designer is often engaged earlier and during the architectural schematic design phase.

Focused-Service Hotels: For new-construction hotels that are closely aligned with brand prototype architecture, the interior designer is engaged slightly later, commonly during the design documention phase of the architectural services.

Hospitality interior design is the design of hotels, resorts, restaurants, bars, spas, clubs and other spaces built around the guest experience. It combines aesthetics with operations, durability, maintenance, safety and brand standards. Designers coordinate layouts, finishes, lighting, furniture, artwork and technical requirements so the environment supports both the guest journey and the staff who operate the property.

Hospitality interior design from concept to brand approval can take up to six months for a focused-service renovation, and considerably longer for a large or complex new construction hotel project. The schedule depends on design phases, owner and brand review requirements, permitting, construction coordination, procurement lead times and whether work must be phased around hotel operations. Custom furniture, decorative lighting and imported materials can add time, so hiring the interior designer well at least 12 months in advance of the PIP deadline for a soft goods renovation provides ample time to achieve project timeline goals.
Hospitality interior design covers guest-focused environments such as hotels, resorts, restaurants, bars, meeting and convention centers, cafés, lounges, spas, and private country clubs. Within a hotel, the scope may include guestrooms, corridors, lobbies, restaurants, meeting rooms, ballrooms, fitness areas and pool or amenity spaces. The discipline focuses on guest experience while also accounting for operations, durability, maintenance, brand standards and staff needs.
Yes. Restaurant and bar design is considered a core segment of hospitality interior design. Like hotel and resort design, it focuses on creating memorable guest experiences while balancing brand identity, atmosphere, circulation, lighting, materials and operational needs. Hospitality interior design can encompass restaurants and bars as standalone concepts or as part of hotels, resorts and other guest-service environments.
Hospitality interior design fees depend on the hotel’s square footage, room count, and the project scope and level of service. Firms may charge a fixed fee, hourly rate, per-square-foot fee, percentage of project cost or a hybrid. Pricing is also affected by renovation versus new construction, brand requirements, model-room requirements, guestroom and public-area scope, customization level, documentation, count of included site visits, project duration, procurement involvement and construction administration.
The cost to renovate a hotel depends on room count, renovation scope, property condition, market tier, location and brand requirements. A limited soft-goods refresh is very different from a renovation that includes bathrooms, corridors, public areas, restaurants, building systems or structural work. FF&E quality, custom products, labor conditions, permits, freight and phased construction also have a major effect on the total project budget.
Hotel renovation cost per room—or cost per key—depends heavily on the property tier, scope, PIP requirements and FF&E package, so a single average can be misrepresentative. Owners should calculate per-key cost from the actual design, construction, bathroom, FF&E, freight, installation and contingency scope for the specific property.
Hotels renovate on different cycles depending on property condition, brand standards, guest expectations, competitive pressure and planned Property Improvement Plans, or PIPs. Soft-goods refreshes may happen more frequently than full guestroom, bathroom or public-area renovations. Rather than using one fixed schedule for every hotel, owners typically evaluate wear, brand requirements, market positioning and capital planning to determine when each area needs work. The brands also use regular quality assurance audits to evaluate condition which is often referenced by hotel owners planning capital improvements.
Yes, a hotel can remain largely open during renovation by phasing work across floors, wings, room stacks or public areas. The phasing plan must account for life safety, code requirements, contractor access, dust and noise control, deliveries, brand standards and the guest experience. Some areas may still need temporary closure, and the operator should coordinate occupied-room inventory closely with the construction schedule.
A hotel renovation is typically shared across the owner or asset manager, brand, project manager, interior designer, general contractor, FF&E installer, and procurement team. The owner establishes goals and budget; the brand may set standards, PIP requirements; designers develop the project; the GC manages construction; procurement manages FF&E purchasing and delivery; and project management coordinates scope, schedule, decisions and communication among the parties.

Choosing a Hospitality Interior Design Partner: Questions Every Owner and Developer Should Ask

Why is hospitality-specific interior design experience important?

Hotels, resorts, restaurants, clubs, and other hospitality environments have requirements that differ significantly from residential and many other commercial projects. Designers must balance the guest experience with operational efficiency, durability, maintenance, life-safety requirements, accessibility requirements, brand standards, and the realities of high-use environments.

Hospitality experience also helps a design team anticipate issues involving guestrooms, food and beverage operations, back-of-house functions, FF&E, procurement, installation, and coordination with owners, operators, brands, architects, contractors, and other consultants.

Budget should be part of the design conversation from the beginning rather than addressed only after the design is complete. The designer should understand the owner’s overall objectives and available budget, then make selections and design decisions with those parameters in mind.

Ask prospective firms how they incorporate budget considerations during design development, coordinate with procurement and construction teams, and respond when pricing exceeds the established budget. Early communication can reduce redesign, substitutions, and schedule impacts later in the project.

Hospitality projects involve many stakeholders, making coordination an important part of the designer’s role. The interior designer typically works closely with ownership, architecture, mechanical/electrical/plumbing consultants, lighting designers, contractors, procurement teams, operators, and hotel brands.

Ask how the firm manages communication, document coordination, design reviews, approvals, and changes. A clearly defined coordination process can help identify conflicts earlier and keep decisions moving.

A successful hospitality project can extend over many months or even several years, so the working relationship matters. Beyond design talent, evaluate the firm’s communication, responsiveness, organization, transparency, and ability to collaborate with different stakeholders.

References from previous owners and developers can be particularly useful. Ask about the firm’s ability to meet deadlines, manage challenges, communicate changes, coordinate with the broader project team, and remain engaged through construction and installation.

AK Design Group combines professional design credentials with decades of hands-on hospitality experience. Our interior design team includes multiple NCIDQ-certified designers, including our Founder & Owner Andrea Gillespie, NCIDQ, who has been certified since 2005 and has led the design of hundreds of hospitality projects across more than 25 hotel brands.

Our leadership team brings experience well beyond interior design alone. Andrea previously worked with Hilton Worldwide’s Architecture & Construction department, developing design programs for hotel brands, while our Owner & Managing Principal David Gillespie brings more than 25 years of experience across hotel operations, hospitality investment and asset strategy, brand development, business intelligence, and FF&E procurement.

Across the firm, our team includes senior hospitality designers, technical and construction implementation specialists, and dedicated FF&E procurement professionals. This combination of design expertise, brand knowledge, operational experience, and procurement capability allows us to evaluate projects from both the creative and practical perspectives that matter to hotel owners and developers.

Yes. Having interior design and FF&E procurement coordinated through the same team can provide continuity from the initial design concept through purchasing, delivery, and installation.

Our design team develops the specifications and selections, while procurement manages activities such as vendor coordination, pricing, purchase orders, production tracking, freight, delivery, and installation coordination. This helps maintain the design intent while giving ownership greater visibility into the FF&E process.

Lead times and availability should be considered throughout the design process, not after selections have been finalized. The design and procurement teams can communicate with manufacturers and vendors regarding expected production schedules, availability, minimum quantities, and other purchasing considerations as selections are developed.

For items with particularly long lead times, early identification can help the project team make purchasing decisions sooner and reduce the risk of delays affecting installation or opening dates.

FF&E FAQs

What does FF&E mean?
FF&E means furniture, fixtures and equipment—the movable or replaceable items used to furnish and operate a property. In a hotel, that can include beds, casegoods, seating, decorative lighting, mirrors, artwork, televisions and window treatments. FF&E is generally distinguished from permanent building systems and structural components such as walls, plumbing, HVAC and elevators.
FF&E procurement is the end-to-end process of sourcing, budgeting, purchasing and coordinating the delivery of furniture, fixtures and equipment. It typically includes vendor pricing, bid comparisons, purchase orders, expediting, freight, receiving, warehousing, installation coordination, punch-list follow-up and closeout. The goal is to keep the specified design aligned with budget, quality requirements and the project schedule.
Hotel FF&E is the furniture, fixtures and equipment used to furnish guestrooms and public spaces. It typically includes mattresses and box springs, casegoods, seating, tables, decorative lighting, mirrors, artwork, televisions, appliances, and window treatments. These items are planned, specified, purchased and periodically replaced as part of a hotel’s design, renovation and capital-improvement program.
FF&E in interior design is the selection and specification of furniture, fixtures and equipment needed to complete a space. The work can include product selections, finish development, specification writing, FF&E schedules, quantities, budgeting, vendor coordination and installation requirements. On hospitality projects, the FF&E package may cover guestrooms, corridors, lobbies, restaurants, lounges and other guest-facing areas.
In interior design, FF&E stands for furniture, fixtures and equipment. Designers select and specify these items by product, dimensions, material, finish, quantity and location, then document them in schedules or specifications. Those design decisions connect directly to procurement, where vendors are priced, orders are placed, production is tracked and the approved items are coordinated through delivery and installation.
FF&E includes movable furniture, decorative fixtures and equipment used to furnish and operate a space, such as seating, tables, mattresses and box springs, casegoods, lighting, artwork, televisions and in-room appliances. Permanent building systems and structural elements are generally excluded.
Hotel FF&E includes the movable furnishings, fixtures and equipment used throughout guestrooms and public areas. Typical examples include mattresses and box springs, nightstands, dressers and other casegoods, desks, chairs, sofas, lobby seating, decorative lighting (both hard-wired and plugged), window treatments, mirrors, artwork and decorative accessories, as well as guestroom appliances and equipment such as in-room safes, microwaves, dishwashers and refrigerators. The responsibility matrix can vary significantly by owner, hotel brand, and project.
Flooring and wallcovering are generally classified as finishes rather than FF&E. However, on hospitality projects, these items are often purchased and coordinated by the FF&E procurement company as part of the overall procurement scope. AKDG can manage the purchasing, coordination and delivery of flooring, wallcovering and other specified finishes alongside the project’s FF&E.
FF&E installation typically includes requesting and receiving items at the project site, staging items, moving them into the correct rooms, unpackaging and assembling furniture, placing and leveling items, coordinating approved wall-mounted pieces and documenting damage or deficiencies. The installation team also supports punch-list corrections and closeout. Electrical, plumbing or permanently installed construction work may require separate licensed trades depending on the project.
Typical hotel FF&E expenses include furniture, casegoods, seating, tables, decorative lighting, mirrors, artwork, window treatments, televisions and similar durable items used in guestrooms and public areas. Guestroom appliances may include in-room safes, microwaves, dishwashers, refrigerators, cooktops, and disposals. Freight, warehousing, sales/use taxes, installation services, and procurement services fees are also common in FF&E project budgeting. Accounting classifications can vary by ownership policy, capitalization rules, brand requirements and the specific item.
FF&E covers longer-life furniture, fixtures and equipment, while OS&E covers operating supplies and equipment used in day-to-day hotel operations. FF&E examples include beds, desks, sofas, casegoods and decorative lighting. OS&E examples include linens, dishes, glassware, cookware, housekeeping tools, small appliances and guest supplies. Hotels often budget and procure the two categories separately even though both support operations.
FF&E covers movable or replaceable furniture, fixtures and equipment, while finishes are materials applied to floors, walls and other surfaces. FF&E examples include mattresses and box springs, casegoods, seating, decorative lighting and artwork. Finishes include flooring, wallcovering, tile and paint. Although finishes are classified separately from FF&E, they are often purchased and coordinated by the FF&E procurement company on hospitality projects, and AKDG can manage these items as part of the overall procurement scope.
An FF&E reserve is money set aside for the future replacement, refurbishment or renewal of a hotel’s furniture, fixtures and equipment. In hospitality, it is often required by the franchisor and is often set as a percentage of room revenue. The reserve helps ownership plan for recurring capital needs instead of funding every refresh as an unexpected expense. Reserve levels and timing vary by property, lender, brand, management agreement, age and condition, so the reserve is often tied to an asset-replacement plan rather than a single universal percentage.
FF&E is commonly included within a hotel or commercial property’s capital project budget, but its accounting treatment depends on the owner’s policies and the individual item. The final classification should follow the owner’s accounting guidance.
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