Choosing desirable furniture for your restaurant or hotel is an important step in creating a stylish and enticing ambiance for your guests, but it’s also critical that you pay attention to the details as you could end up regretting it in 18 months time!
Synthetic rattan furniture is becoming more and more popular in restaurants and resorts around the world and has no shortage of fans. However within it lurks a danger that many companies overlook. Synthetic is ideal as it offers a lightweight easy to maintain solution. To clean it, just wash it! No more maintenance required. Its structure is made from aluminum frames so an army of staff to move it is not required. So whats the problem?
Well the problem that is becoming more common is all about price. You see when you set out to purchase your synthetic you will more often than not be presented with two options. A cheap price that looks very enticing for that shiny new synthetic or the more expensive option. And the question asked is, why bother going for the expensive when the cheaper option looks just the same but 1/3 off.
And this is the mistake that many end up regretting. In synthetic furniture as we have seen many times. Cheap means CHEAP!
The Tale of Two Hotels
Take the following scenario. In the lush sands of Dubai, there were two hotels. Hotel A and Hotel B. Both decide to upgrade their furniture to this exciting new synthetic furniture everyone is talking about. Hotel A get several quotes and are faced with two options. A cheaper option and more expensive option. After a lengthy discussion a decision is made to opt for the cheaper option. They just can’t justify the 1/3 price difference with the more expensive synthetic.
Hotel B on the other hand, want long lasting and quality furniture in their resort and getting warranties for the synthetic, opt for the more expensive option.
18 months later, Hotel A is getting worrying signs with its synthetic furniture. The weave has started to break down and it’s all peeling off. And more worrying is the fact that it’s happening to all 150 sets!
PVC Vs PE
You see synthetic wicker is a man made material designed for outdoor use. There are two types.PVC and PE (polyethylene). The rule of thumb is stay away from PVC. After 18 months PVC in the hot gulf countries start to peel. PVC cannot handle the intense hot conditions of the gulf. The cheap price is just not worth it when you have to replace it all after 18 months.
This is something that good quality Synthetic Polyethylene can handle. PE is more expensive but will last much longer than PVC. Make sure that when you buy, it has a warranty. Good PE synthetic will have a 3 year warranty. Companies like Viro™ and Rehau™ are reputable companies and this is the synthetic Falaknaz the Warehouse use in all our synthetic rattan furniture.
So choosing the cheaper option in synthetic furniture really can be the biggest mistake you make. Know what you are buying!