Hotels under construction: how to sell furniture and equipment to hotel projects

To sell furniture and equipment to a hotel under construction, you need to identify the project during its design phase, well before opening, and convince both those who specify (interior designer, brand) and those who buy (owner, purchasing agent, fit-out contractor). The opportunity is unprecedented: 15,976 projects and 2,433,948 rooms were in the global pipeline at the end of the second quarter of 2026, according to Lodging Econometrics (Hospitality Net, 20 August 2026). With a benchmark of $27,785 of furniture and decorative fit-out per room, estimated in 2022 for European 4- and 5-star hotels (TOPHOTELNEWS, 22 February 2022), a 200-room hotel represents around $5.6 million.

How many hotels are under construction worldwide in 2026?

Lodging Econometrics classifies each project by stage, which makes it possible to measure the real opportunity and not just announcements. At the end of June 2026, the global pipeline broke down as follows (Hospitality Net, 20 August 2026):

• under construction: 6,174 projects and 1,043,290 rooms;
• scheduled to start construction within 12 months: 3,743 projects and 530,326 rooms;
• early planning: 6,059 projects and 860,332 rooms.

The flow is continuous. In the second quarter of 2026 alone, 974 new projects (138,743 rooms) were announced and 602 projects (83,232 rooms) broke ground. After 2,438 openings in 2025, the firm forecasts 2,742 in 2026 and 2,590 in 2027. Renovations and rebrandings, which also renew furniture, account for a further 3,760 projects and 521,849 rooms (Hospitality Net, 20 August 2026).

Where are hotel projects concentrated?

The two African sources do not measure the same scope and cannot be added together.

In the Middle East, 46% of the pipeline is under construction (330 projects and 82,353 rooms), and the region expects 83 openings in 2026 and 91 in 2027 (Lodging Econometrics, 13 August 2026). In Africa, Egypt expects 33 openings in 2026, and nearly 80% of the rooms in the pipeline in Ethiopia and Kenya are already under construction (W Hospitality Group, 10 March 2026).

The Gulf figures date from the end of June 2026 and should be read with caution. In the third quarter of 2026, construction contracts awarded in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries fell by 44.7% year on year (GDN Online / Kamco, 7 October 2026), and the IMF forecasts a 3.3% contraction of the Saudi economy in 2026 (The National, 13 October 2026). Before investing sales time, confirm that the site is active and that the opening date is holding.

What does a 200-room project represent for a supplier?

Two families of purchases can be distinguished. FF&E (furniture, fixtures and equipment) covers furniture, lighting and durable equipment, such as beds or sofas. OS&E (operating supplies and equipment) covers regularly replaced operating supplies: linen, tableware, guest amenities (TOPHOTELPROJECTS, 3 September 2026).

The public cost-per-room benchmark used here dates from 2022. At the time, TOPHOTELPROJECTS estimated the FF&E demand of European 4- and 5-star hotels in the pipeline at $8.14 billion, or $27,785 per room for 292,880 rooms. Its scope covers loose furniture, decorative lighting, curtains, accessories, artwork and rugs (TOPHOTELNEWS, 22 February 2022).

Applied to a 200-room hotel, this benchmark gives around $5.6 million (200 × $27,785). Three caveats apply:

• it is an extrapolation from a 2022 European upscale average, not a quotation;
• the scope excludes OS&E, commercial kitchens and fixed joinery;
• the amount is split across many packages, and a manufacturer of lighting or textiles targets only a fraction of it.

The order of magnitude is nonetheless enough to justify a targeted prospecting effort on a few well-qualified projects rather than a broad mailing.

Who decides on and who pays for the furniture?

A hotel project brings together several players, and the sale is rarely won with just one of them:

• the owner or developer finances the hotel and signs or delegates the orders;
• the brand (the operator), when it manages or franchises the hotel, imposes its brand standards and approves choices;
• the interior designer specifies the models, finishes and materials;
• the purchasing agent, appointed by the owner, consults suppliers, compares bids and places orders;
• the fit-out contractor produces and installs the joinery, and sometimes the furniture as well.

Industry consultants cite interior designers, general contractors, procurement teams, suppliers, installers, purchasing agents and hospitality consultants among the players to be coordinated (Hospitality Net, 12 December 2024). FF&E is handled mainly by architects, designers and furniture suppliers, OS&E by procurement and operations teams (TOPHOTELPROJECTS, 3 September 2026). For a manufacturer, the objective is therefore twofold: to be specified by the interior designer and listed by the purchasing agent.

At what stage of the project should you make contact?

FF&E comes into play early, from the design stage, then during construction and pre-opening; OS&E becomes central during pre-opening (TOPHOTELPROJECTS, 3 September 2026). Producing the mock-up rooms alone takes 4 to 6 months and must precede the large orders (eHotelier, 16 January 2025). One professional guide places the selection of purchasing partners 12 to 18 months before the deadline, order confirmation 9 to 12 months before and delivery one month before opening (Almo Pro AV, 27 March 2023).

Which sources should be used to identify projects?

The most useful sources publish their summaries free of charge, while project-by-project detail is usually part of paid offerings:

• Lodging Econometrics quarterly reports, by region and by stage;
• W Hospitality Group's annual report on chain hotels in Africa, published in March;
• the TOPHOTELPROJECTS project database;
• signing announcements from hotel groups and the local press: 974 new projects were announced worldwide in the second quarter of 2026 alone (Hospitality Net, 20 August 2026).

An announcement is only a signal. Before any approach, a useful project file answers six questions: who the owner is, which brand, what stage, what opening date, which interior designer, which purchasing agent. And it states the date it was last checked.