As the COVID-19 pandemic swept the globe over the past year, cities, states and even entire nations began shutting down, advising their citizens to stay home to prevent the spread of the virus. While quarantine created a boon for some businesses—including furniture—other sectors, like the hospitality industry, are still struggling to re-emerge. As hotels sat empty, restaurant dining rooms closed, and concerts and other events were canceled, a domino effect brought the impact of those closures to a variety of industries that supply hospitality venues.
So while the residential business has been robust for most furniture manufacturers and retailers, many who serve the hospitality/contract sector have experienced a significant dip in sales due to COVID.
“Once it was clear that COVID was serious, the hospitality business ground to a complete stop,” says Vincent Cantaert, founder and CEO, MamaGreen.
And though the distribution of the vaccine brings hope that the travel and hospitality industries will be able to rebound sooner, casual companies that do business with them have had to readjust in the meantime.
Pandemic Pivot
Cantaert says hospitality/contract sales accounted for half of MamaGreen’s business prior to the pandemic. Suddenly faced with half their profit source on hold, the company had to rethink its model.
“Instantly we decided to revise our marketing budget and allocate more funds towards social media targeting the residential market, as well as increasing our inventory level with more residential-style items,” Cantaert says.
MamaGreen doubled down on residential, increasing the number of new collections for 2021 and 2022. The company’s Indonesian factory has been able to maintain production, and their Richmond, Virginia, distribution facility has inventory available for residential clients.
Telescope Casual Furniture noticed a shift in its contract business this year, too, both in expected and unexpected ways.
“We forecasted our hospitality business to be down due to the pandemic, and specifically the hotel/vacation sector of our commercial sales has declined year over year,” says Matt Pisani, national sales manager, Telescope Casual.
But overall contract sales have grown to account for 33% of the company’s business, due in part to the need for social distancing.
“The necessity to be outside and socially distanced has put a huge emphasis on outdoor furniture in commercial spaces,” says Pisani. “Public areas, restaurants, country clubs, universities, etc., have increased their footprint outdoors out of necessity to handle the traffic.”
Sunset West saw their hospitality business change due to COVID, as well.
“The hotel portion of this segment was reduced,” says Wes Stewart, CEO, Sunset West. “I think people are optimistic that we will see a return sometime in late 2021, but it has been a bit quiet this past year. Where we have been strong is apartment/condo communities and neighborhood associations.”
Promising Return
While the hospitality industry has by no means rebounded from the disruption of the pandemic, distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine has brought hope for many in the sector that business will return, perhaps as early as later this year. That optimism has spurred renewed interest in contract furnishings.
“We have definitely seen an uptick in orders,” says Pisani. “The resort/vacation industry has not recovered and we anticipate that will take another year or so. Hopefully as vaccines continue to be distributed, we will see leisure travel increase and revenue return to the hospitality sectors most disrupted.
With the pent-up desire to travel after so many months spent at home, many in the casual industry anticipate those hospitality orders to continue to increase.
post-pandemic comeback.
“I know people are itching to travel and get out of the house,” says Stewart. “If the pandemic slows this summer and destinations see increased occupancy, then I believe the confidence of the property owners and managers will follow, along with the orders.
And once the vaccine is widely distributed and travel restrictions are lifted, many believe the contract business will not only return to its previous level, but possibly hit new highs.
“We clearly see an uptick in requests and orders since August,” says Cantaert. “We’re convinced that the hospitality sector will boom as never before, once the vaccine is sufficiently distributed.”
