Complete Introduction to Securing Restaurant and Hotel Floral Design Revenue
Have you ever considered diversifying and expanding your revenue sources by reaching out to the hospitality sector with your floral services?
Maybe you’ve considered offering hotel floral arrangements or florals for restaurants in your area.
If you’re a wedding florist, with the ups and downs of event seasonality and the unsteady income it can cause, providing floral décor to restaurants or hotels can be an appealing solution.
Still, it requires some thought before diving in. In this guide we’ll cover:
How to parter with hospitality clients
What to consider in your proposals
Common challenges for restaurant and hotel floral arrangements
Flowers and foliages that work well in hospitality floral design work
How to Become a True Partner to Your Hospitality Clients
Hotels or restaurant managers are looking for a florist who can consistently show up every week and provide striking installations or florals that will complement their space and vision.
They trust you entirely with the know-how of what will remain fresh, what is in season, and what will look best in their space.
While defining a design direction should be discussed in your first meeting with their manager, the number one priority of hotel or restaurant management is that the arrangements are on-brand and enhance the space—and that you are easily reachable in case of a problem.
Excellent, timely service is vital with hospitality professionals; they’re always available to serve others, they expect a similar level of professionalism from their vendors. The pace is always quick in the hospitality industry, with guests in public spaces viewing your work at all times of the day or night, so time is of the essence when you need to respond to an issue.
Also, be ready to commit to a one to three-year relationship with a restaurant or hotel when working on contract details.
What to Consider When Writing Your Proposal
Understand the Location and Philosophy of the Property
Meeting with the hotel or restaurant general manager and touring the space is a must before writing your proposal. Walk the space as a guest would and identify potential locations for décor, getting a feel for the style of the property.
Ideally, walk the space ahead of your meeting with the manager, so you are prepared when meeting them. Research the company you will be presenting to and its history and philosophy.
During your meeting, discuss the vision for the décor. Be sure you consider the property's location for inspiration along with architecture, type of cuisine offered, and brand positioning.
Your décor must provide a sense of place as guests walk in and complement the experience offered. What might fit in a luxury hotel lobby might not work in an Italian restaurant. Some properties have a design guide for their décor that they will be happy to share in your initial discussions—this is seen frequently with hotels that belong to larger hotel groups.
Discuss Budget
It’s important to understand the extent of the expense the property is willing to spend on floral décor during your initial meeting and make sure expectations are realistic based on budget.
Committing to regular fresh floral décor is a large expense, so many restaurants (or hotels) do not have fresh flowers. While some properties will require multiple refreshes within one installation week—sometimes daily, due to the extent of the design or the type of vase used—some simplified arrangements will do fine with a water change and vase cleanse by the property manager and staff.
Here is something to discuss and should be accounted for in your proposal: If several visits a week are required from you or your staff, you should charge accordingly. If a manager is going to handle a water change and vase cleanse (this would be at smaller properties, mainly restaurants), it should be noted in the contract, along with a recommended frequency.
Don't Forget Holidays
Bringing this up in your initial meeting is also a good idea so that expectations for holiday décor can be clear (and so you can budget accordingly).
If the property wants to make a huge décor statement during a particular holiday but wants costs to stay consistent each month, maybe some of the weeks' decor prior or after can be adjusted with plants or foliage.
In addition, you should keep the seasonality of costs in mind when budgeting for a specific style that might be needed year-round. For example, while roses might be affordable in July, the price will increase dramatically around Valentine's Day.
Statement arrangements versus floral accents
Identify the locations for a possible large, striking display when you do your walkthrough and discuss the optional locations for smaller accents.
Maybe a lesser traffic area of the property might benefit from a semi-permanent décor element such as plants or potted orchids versus something fresh that’s changed weekly.
Check Out the "Back of the House"
Look for loading docks, service entrances, water sources, trash disposal locations, and potential design areas where you or your team could work behind the scenes without disturbing the property's staff or operations.
Inquire about parking: Is parking available to vendors? If not, what street parking options are available? Anything that will make load-in and load-out challenging or will create an additional cost should be considered for an additional charge in your proposal.
Similarly, there might be opportunities to create a design or installation more easily with set-up time spent outside of regular hours of operations or in a location that is not used and could double up as a staging and design area.
Challenges for Flowers Displayed in Restaurants or Hotels
As wedding and event floral designers, often our work is being displayed for one event—and at the end, the florals are removed, disposed, or donated.
Floral décor that is displayed in restaurants or hotels must withstand the test of time, with décor staying in place for as long as a week (and always look good that whole time!).
Additionally, contact with people and temperature fluctuations are common, making fragile flowers a no-no for restaurants and hotels. Working with flowers, plants, or foliages that are hardier is best.
Whenever possible, placing small arrangements in cooler areas overnight might be helpful to extend their life (some restaurants' table arrangements can easily be placed on a cart and rolled into a cart wine cellar or kitchen cooler). Visits to make sure everything looks good a couple of days after the initial install (perhaps providing a water change, vase cleanse, or refresh if needed) are great, but if you plan on providing this service, it needs to be budgeted for.
Flowers and Foliages That Work Well for Hotel and Restaurant Floral Design
Make sure to use flowers or foliage that can stand up to restaurant or hotel stresses. Flowers that do well include blooms such as:
Roses
Calla lilies
carnations
Hydrangeas
Orchids
Lilies
Amaryllis
Magnolia or Camellia foliage
Tulips
Rhododendrons
Flowering branches
Dried flowers
Allium
Eremurus
Thistle
Gladiolas
Anthurium
Succulents
Ferns
Tropical palm leaves
Make sure you also discuss scent options with the property you’re working with. Usually, restaurants prefer flowers that do not have an aroma—that way, floral scents do not compete with the food being served.
On the other end, floral scents in a hotel lobby could be a wonderful enhancement to the arrival experience of the guests. Design with the guest in mind: Think of pathways guests and staff will take so that your installation is not intrusive.
Becoming a Hotel or Restaurant Florist
Being a hotel or restaurant florist is a great opportunity to showcase your work to potential new clients.
And if you’re currently an event or wedding floral designer, offering hotel or restaurant work can open up new revenue streams.
Hospitality floral design work can provide a steady income source and the option to schedule your large installation on a weekday—which does not compete with wedding weekend work.
You also become a recommended florist for the property's private events or promotional events, which could bring another string of income.
While being a restaurant or hotel florist has some constraints and presents unique challenges, there is room for creativity, bringing beauty to a space for a moment in time and working with passionate people, like yourself!
