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AHR - More than You May Realize American Hotel Register Company focuses on a lot more than procurement. That’s right, did you know they also focus on FF&E interior design services? Monday, June 04, 2012 Glenn Haussman

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If you thought you knew American Hotel Register Company, think again. You may already know the organization as a one- stop procurement solution, but did you know the company also focuses heavily on FF&E interior design services?

We didn’t either. It turns out American Hotel Register has had an interior design team for more than two decades, and recently the company integrated that group into its main organization so all customers can take full advantage of the services of this award-winning team.

“Our range has grown considerably,” says Deidre Schwartz, Director – FF&E Development with American Hotel Register Company/ FF&E Solutions. “The project design side is a bigger unknown to many people, but we have seven full-time interior designers – some even have LEED accreditation to provide environmentally friendly solutions.”

According to Schwartz, the company has depth of experience working on all sorts of projects, from economy segment and mid-market hotels to five-star luxury hotels.  “This is a core competency of our company, but, for the first time, we are actively working to address it in the media. In fact, over the last two years, we have focused pretty intently on getting the word out about our project and design business and integrating it with everything else we offer,” Schwartz says.

"In the past year, our FF&E Solutions team has been fully integrated with the rest of the company and we have begun telling the story of how American Hotel Register — as a one-stop shop — can actually help hoteliers with strategic capital planning issues. This is a good spot to be in because so many properties are in the midst of reinventing themselves to remain competitive in their market.

 “We are working closely with management companies to come up with better ways to execute their capital plans on an annual basis. Then we take that simplicity and meld it with the project side. There are so many checks and balances that need to be in place and this allows companies to give that chore away to us, and we will ensure projects run smoothly, on schedule and on budget,” said Schwartz.

They recently completed a massive renovation/conversion of a prototypical Holiday Inn Holidome-style property into a brand new Wyndham Garden hotel. To make sure that this project went smoothly, Schwartz’s team started meeting with the ownership and management group immediately after the deal closed to purchase the property.

Schwartz said this renovation/conversion project was a complete custom design and, as a result, her team worked closely with Wyndham to simplify the process for their customer. American Hotel Register has a solid relationship with Wyndham and worked with the brand’s design group to obtain approvals at which point they transitioned into the purchasing phase of the project.

“Our project managers purchased the furniture & finishes and we partnered with the general contractor, construction crews and installation teams in the field to make sure everything was executed as intended from a design standpoint. The project was a smash success and occupancy has been rising dramatically since completion," stated Schwartz.

American Hotel Register has also been working to simplify the ordering process for individual hotels that need a handful of replacement items rather than goods and materials for an entire property. 

For the hotelier trying to replace a headboard in a room or a few other key items, it can be a long and laborious process that can take a room out of service for an extended period of time. Schwartz commented, “It seems that these situations require the same time and energy as supplying product for 500 hotel rooms.”

American Hotel Register now has developed personalized websites for customers so they can quickly see all the brand-approved items for their property. That eliminates hours of research time, and now hoteliers can place an order in a flash.

For example, if a Courtyard by Marriott property owner needs two more lounge chairs for a king room, he or she or the purchasing representative can log onto American Hotel Register’s FF&E Design Center and their own personalized microsite will appear. The hotel owner is able to select the style he or she wants from the brand-approved list and complete the transaction quickly and easily.

“If a soccer team comes to stay and a lamp or night stand is broken, the owner can quickly order a product and get that room back in service. Issues like this have historically been a challenge for properties, but no longer. We have responded to our customers’ demands and are now marketing this service to all of our customers. In fact, at Hotel Interactive’s recently held HI Connect event, people were shocked to learn that American Hotel Register did all of these things. We have been working hard to get the word out and want everyone to know how fully focused we are, from project inception to its finish.” Schwartz adds, “We can be there at every step of the way to eliminate time, problems and stress from every job.”

American Hotel Register President & CEO Larry Morse concurs, “We are excited to bring our exceptional customer service to the next level with comprehensive project management solutions. Our experts handle all the details, so our customers don’t have to…that’s what the total solution is all about.”