Outside of the flowers, there are several things to consider when creating a floral budget for a hotel client:
Brand standards, seasonal pricing and inflation, maintenance requirements, and logistics.
Dig into The Hotel Florist’s Top 4 things to factor into your hotel floral budget.
1. Brand Standards
Most of the floral budget is determined by a hotel’s brand standards. Is the hotel minimalistic and modern or glamorous and lush?
Are they looking for botanicals, fresh florals, or dried ones?
Do they want a bold and colorful lobby installation or single stems scattered throughout the space?
Are they looking for orchids or something similar to a live jungle?
The answers to these questions will allow you to gauge the estimated floral budget and blow the client away by transforming the space with florals in a way that aligns with their brand standards.
2. Seasonal Pricing and Inflation
Seasonal pricing is something that is often overlooked when planning a floral budget.
Season pricing can affect something as simple as roses for in-room dining. One week, it’s budgeted at $1 a stem, but for 2-3 weeks in February, you’re paying $3 a stem, ultimately impacting your bottom line.
Inflation is important to consider because, in my experience, hotel contracts are 1 to 3 years in length.
On average, the floral industry experiences an inflation rate of 3-5%. One year, it was even as high as 15% – so always be sure to account for inflation when creating a multi-year floral budget.
3. Maintenance Requirements
Let’s say a hotel client prefers only clear glass cases. While this is beautiful, this will require someone to go in at least twice a week to make sure the water is clean and the vase is clean.
What guest wants to check in next to a vase full of murky water? Not this traveler!
If that’s you, you need to consider that your time = money, and if it’s a team member, you’ll need to consider the additional cost of labor for their time.
According to how much overall maintenance will be required, doing proper budgeting is key to keeping your numbers as accurate as possible and your business profitable!
4. Hotel Floral Budget Logistics
Not considering logistics is a common pitfall for florists in the early days of working with hotels.
One issue hotel florists can run into is hotel clients only allowing you to install in the early hours of the morning. If that’s the case, labor and logistics can quickly add up.
The cost of labor is time and a half for “out of work” hours, and receiving and storing flowers at that hour can be costly.
This is one way to eat up a lot of profit!
By knowing what to consider in our hotel floral budget and by asking the right questions, we position ourselves as the expert and get the answers we need to prepare a proposal that lands us the contract and is profitable for our business!
Save time and money in your floral business with The Hotel Florist™ Profit Method. In this program, you get access to my go-to Phone and Email Scripts, Pricing and Ordering Spreadsheets, as well as my exact Hotel Contract Template!
P.S. Not ready for the 12-month commitment (or the price tag)? The Hotel Florist™ Starter Kit is perfect for you.
