What Are FF&E and OS&E Solutions in the Hospitality Industry

When people go into hotels, restaurants, and bistros, they don’t put much thought into the effort it must have taken to decorate, furnish, and equip these areas.  Hours of work and planning go into the design, procurement, purchasing, storage, transportation, and installation of all the FF&E and OS&E you see in the hospitality industry.  There are so many hospitality terms and shortenings floating around that it’s easy to get things mixed up. FF&E and OS&E both outline essential items hotels need to function, but they differ greatly. In this blog, we will go over what the terms FF&E and OS&E mean and how they fit into the hospitality industry. 

FF&E Meaning

FF&E is an acronym commonly used by interior designers that stands for furniture, fixtures, and equipment. You may have even heard some people use the term FF&A as well, which stands for furniture, fixtures, and accessories.  It is a term mostly used to categorize movable, non-fixed furnishing products for the interior of a building. For retail, hospitality, restaurant, and logistics industries, FF&E refers to the additional assets that add value to the space. In the hospitality industry, this would mean furniture, furnishings, wall coverings, fixtures, and equipment that add value, but can easily be replaced if they break or go out of fashion. 

• In restaurants, some examples of FF&E items could include tables, chairs, booths, outdoor furniture, electronic equipment, and decorations. 
• In Hotels, examples of FF&E could cover everything from couches, beds, headboards, and coffee tables, to throw pillows, spa tables, curtains, outdoor furniture, patio umbrellas, office desks, accessories, and more. 

What is FF&E Procurement? The FF&E procurement process involves the sourcing, budgeting, purchasing, delivering, and installing of the furniture, fixtures, and equipment in hotels, luxury residences, and workplaces. 

OS&E Meaning

OS&E is short for Operating Supplies and Equipment. These items are also essential to the functioning of a restaurant or hotel, but they are classified differently.  The Operating Supplies & Equipment are the day-to-day items commonly used by hotel guests and staff, including bed linens, towels, personal care amenities, hangers, cutlery, crockery, glassware, irons, hairdryers, and cleaning supplies. The OS&E category also includes products and items such as office supplies, cookware, and staff uniforms. OS&E are typically off-the-shelf items that don’t need installation and get chosen from websites, catalogs, and brochures. OS&E represents a large range of items that a hotel would need to operate, and a lot of them are consumable, so they need monthly or bimonthly reordering. These consumable items include:

• Disposables like toilet paper, trash liners, and gloves
• Guest room amenities such as soaps, shampoos, sheets, towels, and hangers
• Cleaning supplies including brooms, mops, dustpans, wiping cloths, dusters, and chemicals
• Maintenance and repair supplies like light bulbs, batteries, paint, and parts for equipment repair. 

Full-service hotels that also include restaurants and bars will need OS&E to equip those areas as well, including the pots and pans, spatulas, squeeze bottles, food containers, cutting boards, and other items mentioned above. 

How Poggesi Falls Under FF&E and OS&E

There is no denying that the vast number of operating supplies and equipment needed for the many different departments within a hotel can, if not controlled, have a disastrous effect on one’s budget. The same goes for the FF&E.  This is why many hospitality businesses partner with FF&E and OS&E procurement experts to handle everything for them. These experts will have a wide range of supplier contacts for their sourcing process in order to make sure that their clients get the best products on the market. That is where Pogessi comes in.  Poggesi is a leading partnership between long-time hospitality FF&E and OS&E industry experts. With our state-of-the-art facilities, we manufacture products of the highest quality, style, and durability.  We specialize in premium Italian-crafted outdoor umbrellas, various gazebos, outdoor furniture, cushions for outdoor furniture, and luxury linen such as towels, robes, lounge chair covers, and bedding.  Get in touch with us today to find out more about what we have on offer.