This article offers a practical way to examine this issue in a hotel. learn about Feathers Hospitality’s approach, explore the platform and contact the team to learn how Feathers Hospitality approaches these topics.
Adapt the examples to the property’s actual conditions, data and agreements. Confirm legal, financial, technical, safety or accessibility decisions with qualified professionals before changing procedures.
In brief
- Define the objective and assumptions before choosing a solution.
- Coordinate the responsible people and decision boundaries.
- Record results and review the process using property data.
Describe the outcome and boundaries
State the rooms and areas in scope, expected finish, performance requirements, retained items and exclusions. Include drawings, schedules, room counts and known variations between spaces. If the contractor cannot tell what a complete result means, quotations may price different projects even when the totals look comparable.
Identify what remains operational and what will be closed. Show access routes, lift capacity, storage, waste areas, working hours, guest-facing restrictions and permitted delivery windows. Hotels operate while contractors work; these constraints affect sequencing, labour and risk, so include them before the price is agreed.
Provide reliable site information
Share available surveys, existing drawings, equipment records, photos and known defects. Mark information that is incomplete or requires verification. Do not present an old drawing as an accurate record of hidden services. Arrange a site visit so bidders can ask questions and identify assumptions that affect their estimate.
Set a common question deadline and circulate answers to all bidders where a fair comparison is needed. Record site conditions that cannot be inspected before work, such as concealed damage. Agree how discovery work will be priced and approved instead of leaving the process to informal instruction.
Specify standards and acceptance
Describe materials, interfaces, protection, testing, cleaning, handover documents and inspection criteria. Refer to product performance only where it matters to the project and state the evidence required. Avoid naming a brand without a reason if an equivalent may meet the need; get technical advice before approving substitutions.
Set measurable acceptance for rooms and shared areas: functioning equipment, finish quality, snag process, safety records, manuals and warranty information. Identify who inspects and how unresolved defects affect release to guests. Technical and regulatory criteria should be set by the project’s qualified professionals.
Make cost assumptions visible
Ask for a breakdown by work package, room type, preliminaries, access, waste, temporary protection, testing and provisional sums. State tax treatment, price validity, escalation assumptions, payment milestones and options separately. This helps the hotel identify whether a low total excludes an essential part of the work.
Use a consistent cost structure across bids. RICS New Rules of Measurement provide a professional framework for construction and maintenance cost planning; the hotel should confirm suitable use with its quantity surveyor or cost professional, particularly for Portuguese procurement and contract conditions.
Plan sequencing and dependencies
Request a programme showing phases, crew size, lead times, deliveries, inspections and dependencies on hotel decisions. Mark rooms that must stay available and no-work dates. Confirm how the contractor will coordinate with maintenance, housekeeping, reception and any other suppliers operating in the same spaces.
Ask the contractor to price alternatives separately: room-by-room, floor-by-floor or different material choices. Compare both cost and disruption. A faster programme may require more labour or affect service; agree how delay, access failure or late owner decisions change the schedule.
Evaluate delivery, not just the bid
Review relevant experience, named supervision, subcontractor roles, insurance and safety arrangements with the project team. Ask how quality checks and defect correction are documented. Verify references and capacity for the proposed schedule rather than assuming a company’s portfolio proves availability for this project.
Use a clarification meeting to reconcile exclusions, allowances and variations before selecting a bid. Keep the agreed scope, pricing schedule and programme together as contract documents. Legal and procurement terms should be reviewed by qualified advisers familiar with the project and Portuguese rules.
Frequently asked questions
Why can contractor bids differ so much?
Bidders may price different assumptions, exclusions, access constraints, quantities or risk allowances. Clarify these before comparing totals.
Should the lowest bid win?
Not automatically. Compare a reconciled scope, programme, relevant capability, risk and whole-project cost with professional advice.