| Design & Supply Co.: In the Details |
| Hospitality Solutions | |||
| Written by Kevin Braun | |||
| Wednesday, 01 July 2009 | |||
 This interior design company has a direct line to the hospitality industry, and it shows in the final product.
“People do what you inspect, not what you expect,” said Lee Stranburg, president. “If you don’t pay attention to every little detail and just assume it’s going to happen, it won’t—at least not the way you think it should. That’s why you’ll find someone from our office on site.”  Lee Stranburg, president Providing turnkey FFE services puts everything in Design & Supply’s hands and removes the worries from the client’s plate. “If you ask for full turnkey, you can literally come in and dust and make the beds, and you’re ready to open the door,” said Stranburg. Sold out rooms Design & Supply is part of the Desmond Group, which owns and operates the Desmond Great Valley Hotel and Conference Center in Malvern, Pa., and the Desmond Hotel in Albany, NY. That direct connection with the hospitality industry gives his company a unique perspective, said Stranburg. “We’re not just salespeople,” he stressed. “We really put ourselves in the shoes of the owner. By doing that, the owner gets a little more when he deals with us.” The company’s clients are, for the most part, east of the Mississippi River, said Stranburg. Most of the hotels are in the Northeast, but Georgia is a growing area. In late May and early June, Design & Supply was in the midst of a renovation at the Harbor View Hotel in Edgartown on Martha’s Vineyard Island. Stranburg was on site when 37 rooms were done and was planning to return as more were completed. “We were literally leaving the rooms as customers were checking in, and they were sold out for the weekend,” he said. Ask Stranburg what he considers a guest’s ideal reaction at one of the hotels with his company’s imprint, and he has a clear answer. “When they walk in the room, we want them to say, ‘Wow! This is more than I expected’ and then go tell their friends what a great experience they had.” Even though his company’s primary focus is on décor, Stranburg knows that cleanliness and treatment by the hotel staff are equally important to guests. “You can have the nicest hotel in the world, but if the staff hasn’t cleaned it properly, which is an expectation today, the hotel just shot itself in the foot,” he said. The company provides its hotel clients with Points to Ponder, an assessment of a variety of services. “It could be as simple as ‘Was the front desk clean when you checked in? Was the desk clerk friendly?’” said Stranburg. “We give them Points to Ponder because we don’t want to say, ‘This is what you ought to do,’ but rather ‘Here’s something you ought to think about. You make the call.’” Design & Supply, founded in 1976, has 10 employees. It has a designer on staff but also works with designers hired by its clients. “We welcome the opportunity for input,” said Stranburg. Design & Supply gives a unique look to each of its hotel clients either through start-up or renovations, he said. Stranburg’s background as a hotel general manager before Design & Supply helps him better understand the importance of the bottom line to his clients. “Hoteliers squeeze nickels and dimes in today’s world, so we’re very cost-conscious for them,” he explained. Being cost-conscious does not mean cutting corners, though. “You can go to the Internet and search for products until you’re blue in the face,” said Stranburg. “If you don’t know the vendors and the product lines, you can really get hung out to dry. We’re very cautious about that.” If he could write a script of how hotel clients would relate their experience with Design & Supply, this is how Stranburg would word it: “They did it on time. They did it correctly. And they did it exactly how they said they were going to.” Positive feedback Another key element to hotel renovations is to limit disruption to the guests. One look at a Web site that rates hotels shows how renovations, if not done properly and discreetly, can hurt—or even ruin—a guest’s experience. “We’re very cognizant of what time we can start and the noise levels, so we don’t alienate the guests,” said Stranburg, citing his company’s renovation project at the Nittany Lion Inn in State College, Pa., as a positive example. The general manager of the Jekyll Island Club Hotel in Georgia wrote the company a letter raving about the work Stranburg’s son, Adam, had done for the client. “Guest feedback has been very positive, and the finished product has motivated all of us to be even more proud of our hotel,” the GM’s letter said. Hospitality is the primary focus of Design & Supply’s business, but timeshare is gaining importance. Adding appliances and full kitchens into the furnishing mix makes things a little more complicated, said Stranburg. “Obviously, we look at durability for any of the products,” he said. “I think that’s one of our strong points. We have clients tell us they can’t believe our products have lasted this long, particularly carpeting and wall coverings.” The company also works with senior centers, which require a different approach to decor. The goal there is to make it homey, Stranburg said, to give the residents a sense of familiarity. Stranburg’s passion for his work is quite evident. “We enjoy what we do,” he said. “We have four salespeople out on the road, and they bring excitement to the client. The client is pleased with the product and the cost, and we’re pleased and excited to do it for them.” Kevin Braun is a freelance writer/editor in Atlanta. He can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or (770) 935-6832. |
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