Spares, attic stock and replacement cycles for FF&E

At a glance

No standard sets spare quantities. Each quantity comes from the order, the owner’s brand standard or franchise agreement, and what the part would cost and take to re-make later.

Why spares are ordered with the run

A bespoke run is made as one batch. The cloth comes from one dye lot, the lacquer from one mix, the hides from one set, the veneer from one flitch and the hardware from one revision. A year or two on, that batch is gone, and a replacement is matched to a sample, not to the original. Cloth and finishes drift between batches: see metal finish sample approval and batch variation, and fabric and leather yardage, which says to order the whole quantity from one lot. Spares made with the run are the pieces most likely to match, which is why they are specified at order and not after opening.

Three things sit above any rule of thumb.

• The owner’s documents. A brand standard, franchise agreement or property improvement plan can set the spares, the replacement cycle or both. Ask for them before you size anything.
• Whether the supplier can re-make the piece. For each item, ask whether it can be re-made, for how long the drawings, patterns and finish records will be kept, and what it would need to match. The handover pack is where that record lives.
• The contract. Whether spares are priced as lines in the order, who owns them, where they are held and who insures them are contract matters: see warranty, guarantee and defects liability. Spares are not a warranty remedy.

The drawing shows why the kinds of spare differ. Soft goods are replaced as a new run, so the spares made with run 1 are only useful until then. Hardware, touch-up material and case goods spares keep their value across several soft goods runs.

Sizing spares when there is no standard

No standard or trade guide we found gives spare quantities. Supplier guides publish percentage ranges, but they cite no source and say themselves that the figures vary by project, so this sheet gives none. Size each line from the order instead.

1. Sort the parts by what happens to them. Some wear out (glides, castors, soft furnishings), some fail (runners, hinges, gas lifts, drivers), some are damaged (panels, glass, tops) and some are lost (keys, loose fixings).
2. Count what is installed of each type, from the FF&E schedule, not the number of rooms. Using one hardware reference across room types reduces the number of spare types.
3. Choose a basis for each line: a fixed count, a share of the installed number, or one for each room type. Write the basis in the schedule beside the quantity, so a reviewer can see why.
4. Weigh now against later. A spare costs money, storage and a record now. A missing one costs a re-make, a wait and perhaps a mismatch later. Handmade and short-run items tip the balance towards ordering with the run.
5. Phase them. On a phased handover, deliver each phase’s spares with its batch and label them by phase.

Then put the answer in a schedule. This is a template; the entries are placeholders.

Add a column for the re-order reference if your supplier gives one. The schedule belongs in the specification and in section 05 of the handover pack.

Replacement cycles: what the numbers are for

A replacement cycle is not set by a standard. It comes from an owner’s brand standard, a lender or an operator’s own plan, and every published figure we found answers a different question. This table says what each is for, so that none is quoted as a rule.

They disagree (10 years against 14 for case goods, 7 years against 3 to 7 for soft goods) because they answer different questions: a carbon model needs a default, a brand needs a rule for its estate, and a supplier needs a sales line. None is a measurement of how long your piece lasts.

What moves a real cycle is closer to home:

• The owner’s documents, including any brand standard, property improvement plan, management agreement or lender requirement. Where a brand sets a fixed cycle, it can apply regardless of condition.
• How hard the space is used. A corridor, a lobby and a guestroom wear at different rates, and so do a sun-facing window seat and an interior banquette.
• How the piece is built. Covers that can be removed, cushions that can be re-made and finishes that can be touched up stretch a cycle; see finishes on timber joinery for which finishes repair well.
• Care and maintenance, which the handover pack should make possible.

The FF&E reserve is the money an owner sets aside to pay for these replacements. Its rate is set by the lender, the brand or the management agreement. The one disclosure document extract we read allows the franchisor to require up to 5 per cent of gross revenue; a UK owner’s figure will be its own. For a designer, the useful step is to write the intended cycle into the brief and to specify so that soft goods can be replaced without replacing the case goods.

Labelling, storing and handing over

• Label each spare with the item code, finish code, batch or lot number, date made, supplier reference and the schedule line it serves.
• Pack and store to suit the material. Cloth and leather flat or rolled, dry and out of light; finishes in sealed, dated containers (their shelf life is for the finish maker to say); panels and glass in their own packing. For glass and other fragile parts, see packing, shipping and installing glass chandeliers.
• Check them on delivery against the schedule for count and condition, with a photograph, as you would for the main delivery.
• Record them in section 05 of the handover pack and in the asset register, with where they are kept. For lighting, the lighting handover sheet and LED drivers for decorative luminaires cover lamps and drivers.
• Decide who holds them. The owner’s engineering or housekeeping store is the usual place. If the supplier holds them, agree for how long, who insures them and how they are released. These are contract terms.

With the main order [Supplier] is to supply the spares in Schedule [number], made in the same run and from the same batch of [fabric, finish, hardware] as the installed work. Each is to be packed separately and labelled with item code, finish code, batch or lot number, date and supplier reference, and delivered [with the main delivery / to [store address]] by [date]. They are to be counted against the schedule on delivery and recorded in section 05 of the handover pack. Spares do not replace or reduce any warranty or guarantee given under [contract reference].

For each scheduled item [Supplier] is to state whether it can be re-made after handover, the reference, finish code and sample needed to match it, and how long it will keep the drawings, patterns and finish records: [ ] years. Any re-order lead time is information, not a commitment.

The owner's replacement cycle is [soft goods [ ] years; case goods [ ] years], set by [brand standard / property improvement plan / management agreement, reference]. [Designer] has specified [item] for an intended service life of [ ] years in [use]: a design assumption, not a warranty.

Standards and sources

• RICS: Whole life carbon assessment for the built environment, 2nd edition, Version 3 (August 2024): Table 20; read 6 Nov 2026.
• NPCR 026 Part B for Furniture, version 3.0 (EPD Norway, 8 Oct 2024): Table 2; read 6 Nov 2026.
• No standard applies: no standard found for spare quantities or replacement intervals.

Questions we are asked

How many spares should I order for a hotel FF&E package?

No standard sets it. Size each line from the schedule: the installed count of each part, which parts wear or fail first, and what a later re-make would cost and delay. Any percentage you see online is a rule of thumb from a supplier or consultant, and the ones we read cite no source. The owner’s brand standard or franchise agreement may also set quantities.

What is attic stock?

Extra finished items or materials from the same batch as the installed work, kept by the owner after handover to replace damaged or worn pieces later. The quantities, labelling and storage are agreed in the specification.

How often are hotel soft goods and case goods replaced?

It depends on the owner’s brand standard, the use and the build. The figures we found disagree because they have different purposes: a carbon standard uses 10 years for loose furniture and fittings, one franchisor’s document requires soft goods at least every 7 years and case goods every 14, and supplier guides give 3 to 7 and 10 to 14 years. Treat them as ranges, and ask the owner.

Why order spares with the main run and not later?

A later batch is unlikely to match. Dye lots, lacquer mixes, hide sets, veneer flitches and hardware revisions all change, and a replacement is then matched to a sample. Spares made with the run share its batch.

Are spares the same as a warranty?

No. Spares are extra stock you can use. A warranty or guarantee is a written promise, with its own terms, in the contract. Spares should not reduce or replace one.

Who should own and hold the spares?

The contract decides. In practice the owner usually holds them in its own store, labelled and listed in the handover pack. If the supplier holds them, agree for how long, who insures them and how they are released.

What is an FF&E reserve?

Money an owner sets aside regularly to replace furnishings over time, often as a percentage of revenue. Lenders, brands and management agreements set the rate and the cycle; this sheet gives no rate.