Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts is a famous hospitality brand with 100 properties across 46 countries for business and luxury travelers. Four Seasons does not own any of its properties, it operates them on behalf of real estate owners and developers. They offer high-end hotel stays and quality customer service including restaurants, pools, Spa, business facilities around the globe.

Each Four Seasons accommodations is designed differently with its own style and decor but all of them are the same in the quality and level of the service they offer.

The Four Seasons Bogotá hotel

One of the Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts destinations is The Four Seasons Bogotá hotel. From December 2017 it becomes famous also for NEMO, a new restaurant born in collaboration with Chief Harry Sasson who brings the new quality to the hotel offer. For the F&B spaces, The Four Seasons Bogotá hotel features the collections Trenza, Ronda and Smile designed by Lievore Altherr Molina, produced by Andreu World.

All Furniture items fit perfectly in the interior: in design, colour and finishes. The collection of barstools and stackable chairs Smile are with elegant beech wood frame. Apart from the attractive form, they are very durable, suitable for this purpose. They are a good combination with the iconic shape of the Ronda armchair which combines vintage elegance with contemporary freshness and sophistication. The stackable armchair Trenza is used for the outside spaces. It is with webbing on seat and backrest and steel sled base with EPL-5 outdoor treatment.

The design professionals add an appropriate look and feel for the hotel and this design solution contribute that F&B spaces are attractive and unique. What is more important, these furniture items were used for the furnishing of this high-level Hotel because they fulfilled all Project and Four Season’s standards.

What are the conditions and what is the procedure that furniture should fulfil to become part of the furnishing of the hotel?

What is FF&E

FF&E is the abbreviation for “Furniture, Fixtures & Equipment”, meaning moveable items necessary for the furnishing of the hotel.

Usually, FF&E specifications cover furniture and furnishings for certain areas of the Hotel: guest rooms (all types), public and guest-accessible areas (F&B; elevators, restrooms, hallways areas; conference areas; some administrative areas...). Hotel Operator provides approval for all technical and interior design matters related to the furniture, fixtures and equipment (FF&E) for the Hotel.

Every hotel Operator has his own standards including FF&E standards. Their role is to provide requirements and guidelines for preparation of the FF&E specifications which are base for defining a budget for the Project and will be an integral part of tendering documentation.

FF&E preparation process

FF&E is part of the design documentation under the responsibility of Interior Designer(s). Preparation of the FF&E is a complex and interactive process which started in the early phases of the design process with a lot of coordination between the different consultants from the Project team.

During the Schematic Design, the Interior Designer prepare a preliminary indicative FF&E, a preliminary indicative schedule of proposed finishes, quantities of proposed furnishings and provide further help, to the Client’s Cost Consultant for the refinement of the estimated budget for the Project.

In the Design Development phase of work, Interior Designer develop the design, coordinate it fully with other members of the Project team and confirm the costs of the project with the Client’s Cost Consultant.

In this phase, Consultant prepare Preliminary co-ordinated general arrangement plans indicating and setting out floor and ceiling layouts, finishes, positions of low-level electrics and the layout of the FF&E for the spaces under the Contract and provide FF+E specifications including quantities.

FF+E selection should be in line to the approved budget.

The final FF&E Documentation and Specification

On receipt of final drawings from other members of the design team, the Interior Designer prepare the Consultant’s own final design documentation. This information is in enough detail to describe the works from which the Client can tender the interior works and the appointed Contractor(s) can produce full working drawings/shop drawings (as appropriate) for construction and manufacture.

The final documentation includes:

• Co-ordinated general arrangement plans indicate floor finishes, ceiling and lighting layouts, positions of low-level electrics and the layout of the FF&E. The final furnishing plans will accurately identify the location and placement of all FF+E.
• Typical elevations
• Typical details (profiles of ceilings, mouldings and hard finishes as appropriate; typical profiles and details of door types, fixed cabinet work and other joinery (millwork) items..)
• Material selection and finishes schedule for hard finishes, paintwork and joinery
• Selection and specification of sanitary-ware
• Selection of decorative ironmongery
• The decorative Light fixture schedule
• Door hardware schedule coordinated with Door Hardware Consultant, Security Consultant and Architect
• Accessories schedule
• Other if necessary depending on the Project

The FF&E schemes will contain specifications, illustrations/samples of each item of furniture, decorations, decorative light fittings, fabrics trimmings, carpets and rugs etc.

It will be useful if Specifications also include detailed fabrication line drawings of all custom designed items, weave-down fabric samples and finish samples, images of standard items, quantities, recommended suppliers, fireproofing and budget prices for all items. Each item will be coded and cross-referenced to the FF&E layout plans.

The Consultant will provide a matrix per area showing the quantities of each piece of furniture, lighting and accessories.

The form of the Final Documentation and Specification is defined in Hotel Operator FF&E Standards.

In the further phases of Project realization, Interior Designer coordinate and approve shop drawings, finish and product samples of the interior fit out and FF&E submitted by the selected contractor(s) and suppliers. Later on, his obligation will be to inspect the works, and after inspecting the finished works provide the schedule of defects and omissions to be corrected.

The FF&E standards may vary a little bit depending on Hotel Operator, but this is a procedure for furniture and furnishing items to find its place in the high-level Hotel.