Hospitality specification fails in predictable ways: a fabric approved on hand alone, a flammability requirement discovered after the order, a re-order in a visibly different batch, and a housekeeping team cleaning a textile in a way nobody documented. All four are avoidable at the enquiry stage.
1. Define the position before the product
Write down, per area: is it covered or open? How many hours of direct sun? Is there chlorine, salt spray or sun cream? Who cleans it, how often, with what? A supplier cannot classify a textile for you without those four answers, and any supplier who says otherwise is guessing.
2. Ask for the use class and its exclusions
A class that has no stated exclusion is a marketing tier, not a classification. Ask explicitly what the fabric is not approved for. With ours: N4 marine is decorative and expressly excludes safety-critical awnings, covers and structural marine applications.
3. Raise flammability at enquiry, not at order
EN 1021-1/2, market-specific upholstery requirements and IMO marine fire requirements are separate developments. They affect cost, hand, appearance and lead time, and they normally require a distinct SKU. Discovering the requirement after design approval is the single most expensive mistake in the process.
4. Control colour across batches
- Approve a physical strike-off, not a screen render.
- Record the approved colour reference and keep a retained sample on site.
- Order the whole project quantity in one production run where possible.
- Where a re-order is unavoidable, ask for it to be matched to the retained sample and expect a stated tolerance rather than an exact match.
5. Specify width deliberately
NEFFERTINI retail and contract fabrics have a finished width of 150 cm. Plan seams and pattern alignment for banquettes, cabana curtains and long bench cushions around that width. Confirm the usable width and repeat with the technical team before approving the cutting plan.
6. Write the care plan into the handover
Housekeeping will clean the textile with whatever is on the trolley unless told otherwise. A one-page care plan — routine cleaning, stain protocol, what must never be used, storage between seasons — protects both the specification and the warranty position.
7. Agree the sampling and approval sequence
- Trade sample book for the initial shortlist.
- Project-specific samples in the shortlisted colourways.
- Technical review against the position map from step one.
- Physical strike-off approval for any custom colour.
- Written quotation with lead time, minimum order and tolerance.
- Retained sample kept by both parties for the life of the installation.
8. Ask what evidence sits behind every claim
For each performance statement, request the standard, the report number and date, the result, and the conditions under which it is valid — colour, base, recipe, care cycle and use class. If a supplier can produce that for every claim, the specification is defensible. If they cannot, the risk transfers quietly to you.