H&C News meets with suppliers regularly to keep up to date with the latest product and service innovations, aiming to get the inside track on what companies offer to the market and how it is delivered.
This week, we met with Jamie Welch, Sales Manager of HotelContractBeds at their offices in Bedford to gain a better understanding of the business. HotelContractBeds manufacture and supply beds and mattresses to a range of commercial clients including hotels, guest houses, halls of residence etc.
Today you’re an established commercial supplier, but where did it all begin?
HotelContractBeds started from a localised base, filling a gap in the market for low-quantity orders from small B&B and guest house owners seeking affordable contract beds and mattresses that adhered to commercial legislation. Since then, we have grown steadily over the past six years and expanded our manufacturing power to cover the whole of the UK – supplying bulk orders to larger hotel chains.
This has allowed us to greatly improve and expand upon the services we can offer our customers; we can now build our products in bespoke sizes, colours and fabrics according to the customer’s specific needs. We offer a huge variety of fabric options, and can also use fabric supplied by the customer (including branded materials).
This has led us to build relationships with a new sort of client – interior designers, who regularly seek unique and original upholstered beds when working on hotel interiors, but are normally bound by the strict regulations required by law on all commercial furniture.
What legislation applies to furniture used in commercial industries?
Any furniture used in commercial setting must meet strict UK and EU fire safety regulations. These include BS EN5971 (smouldering cigarette test), BS EN5972 (match test) and BS 6807 (flame retardant test) – these are most commonly referred to as either Crib 5 or Source 5 in the industry.
Failure to comply with these standards can lead to prosecution, and they apply to ALL commercial establishments – from the small family-run guest houses and B&BS, right up to the large, branded hotel chains.
We take these standards seriously at HotelContractBeds, constantly keeping up to date with the latest regulations. Just recently we enforced FIRA’s (The Furniture Industry Research Association) new ‘first standard’ into our manufacturing process. This new standard recognises that contract beds used in commercial settings are used more frequently than their domestic counterparts, and therefore need to be able to meet and withstand these different demands.
Adopting these new standards allows us to ensure that our beds and mattresses remain as high quality as possible.
How do hoteliers and small guest house owners begin the process of selecting a specific product or service?
Our website showcases our standard range of products, and orders can be placed online and delivered to our customers quickly this way, as we understand that some businesses may only require one bed or replacement mattress at a time.
For larger chains wishing to make bulk orders, or for those requesting our bespoke services, our friendly and experienced sales team are on hand to guide them through the entire process.
As we continue to grow, our aim is to become a ‘one stop shop’ for business, eliminating the need for multiple orders and deliveries from various different suppliers. If our customers seek additional products that are not listed on the website, we are able to manufacture or source them ourselves – making the entire process easier and more efficient.
Our staff have over 30 years’ experience in the furniture industry – and that’s not just sitting on the end of a phone! Some of our sales staff started right on the factory floor, meaning they provide a comprehensive and excellent customer service.
What other services do you offer?
As our authority has grown we have expanded our range of services, and proudly supplied the 2014 Commonwealth Games with furniture, fixtures and equipment for the Athletes Village.
We also recently introduced a new range of contract chair and sofa beds to our itinerary, working with a popular UK hotel chain to help increase their room capacity. Our range of sofas and sofa beds can be adjusted during the manufacturing process according to the customer’s size and colour requirements. Interior designers especially appreciate this reign of freedom over the colour and design of the product to either match pre-existing décor or to be upholstered from the same fabric they are using for other textiles in the room.
We will continue to grow and discover new ways to provide the hospitality industry with affordable and quality furniture.
H&C News Comment
We enjoyed meeting with Jamie and the team at HotelContractBeds, like many component parts of a hotel or any other hospitality and catering venue it is easy to take them for granted, after witnessing the passion behind this company to deliver an exceptional product don’t think we’ll be taking hotel beds for granted any longer. Thanks to Jamie and the team at HotelContractBeds for their time we enjoyed the visit.
For more information about HotelContractBeds products and services, contact our friendly sales team on 01234 834693 (Weekdays 9am – 5pm).
Email: sales@hotelcontractbeds.co.uk
Website: www.hotelcontractbeds.co.uk