April 26th, 2013 by TRT Blog

The Refinishing Touch begins each project with the avid determination to provide cost-effective, sustainable and environmentally-friendly furniture asset management solutions to all of our customers and the establishments in which we operate. Through the implementation of our refinishing, re-upholstery, and remanufacturing solutions, hotels are able to reduce budgets and eradication unnecessary landfill waste, while minimizing the impact projects have on guests and day-to-day workflow.

Recently, our team completed a project at The Westin Grand Central Hotel in New York, NY. Previously known as The New York Helmsley Hotel, the property became part of the Westin family of hotels in October of 2012 and subsequently underwent an expansive renovation project, focused on combining beauty and sustainability. Nestled in the heart of downtown Manhattan, the hotel is a popular stay for travelers, tourists, and locals alike.

When the hotel was faced with furniture in need of an update, Westin Grand Central turned to The Refinishing Touch. Our crew quickly moved in to assess the existing furniture assets, formulate an effective plan, and reinforce 445 sofas and 754 lounge chairs. The end-result was over 1,000 re-upholstered like-new assets.

And the Westin Grand Central didn’t stop there. The hotel has also recently commissioned The Refinishing Touch to re-upholster 65 additional furniture assets. And in addition to saving approximately 80 percent in refinishing and re-upholstery costs when compared to purchasing new furniture, the hotel has also remained worry-free about the environmental-health of its establishment throughout the entire project. The Refinishing Touch implements eco-friendly materials and low VOC lacquers across all of our furniture asset management projects, bringing a new level of sustainability to each of our customers.

For more information on The Refinishing Touch and its services, please visit our website or email us today for a free quote. To book a stay at the luxurious Westin Grand Central Hotel, make a reservation here.

environmentally friendly, furniture asset management, hospitality, hotel, New York, Operational Update, re-upholstery, refinishing, renovation, The Refinishing Touch, VOC lacquers, VOCs, Westin Grand Central

April 23rd, 2013 by TRT Blog

Guest author: Tien-Yueh Bosma Kubach

Tien-Yueh is the owner of BEST WESTERN PLUS The Inn at King of Prussia, and Governor of District 7 – Region 7 Best Western International.

Guest room before renovations

As the third generation in a family of hotel and restaurant owners, I’ve learned the keys to successful property management – and it all starts with guest satisfaction.

Over the past six years, BEST WESTERN PLUS The Inn at King of Prussia has transformed into a modern, inviting establishment that comfortably accommodates both business professionals and leisure travelers. We pride ourselves in promptly responding to and meeting guest requests – ranging from a large fitness center, free printing in the business center to the addition of ergonomic desk chairs in all of the guestrooms.

Recently, our business lodgers took to surveys, phone calls and in-person conversations to express the growing need for bigger, updated LCD televisions. With this in mind, we immediately looked into the latest technology, but we still had one major problem – what to do with the custom-made, well-built television armoires in each guestroom?

The solution was The Refinishing Touch’s fast, on-site furniture refinishing, re-upholstery and armoire conversion services. In just 30 days, the company’s experienced production crew restored headboards, nightstands, side chairs, benches, desks, micro fridge cabinets and armoires in 100 rooms throughout our establishment. The company was able to preserve our original, high-quality cherry armoires by trimming, resurfacing and re-staining each piece to make a sleeker, more modern television unit.

One of my favorite aspects of the company’s work is its ability to renovate on-site, reducing potential damage of maneuvering furniture through tight corners and corridors, and saving money on expensive moving and storage costs. The production team was very cooperative throughout the process, continually taking our feedback into account, and avoiding any late night or early morning operations. Both guests and employees were left undisturbed, and we were able to remain open for business during renovations – significantly improving short- and long-term ROI.

Armoire after renovations

Guest room after renovations

By investing in furniture asset management solutions instead of purchasing new, our property was able to save nearly 76 percent in total expenditure, and further our commitment to environmental responsibility by cutting projected greenhouse gas emissions (in tons) from 125.32 to a mere 1.24. Thanks to The Refinishing Touch, we were able to cater to our guests and maintain complete customer satisfaction, while remaining conscious of our budget and the environment.

I would recommend The Refinishing Touch’s services to my colleagues, and to other property managers who want to stay ahead of the competition and create a more modern ambience without breaking the bank. For a quick before and after video on the work completed at the King of Prussia property, click here.

And if you’re ever in the Philadelphia area, be sure to visit BEST WESTERN PLUS The Inn at King of Prussia to see the renovation work firsthand – we’re only 20 miles west of the bustling city and located directly across from the King of Prussia Mall, the second largest mall in the US. Please visit our website to book your stay today. We look forward to serving you!

armoire conversion, Best Western International, BEST WESTERN PLUS The Inn at King of Prussia, guest blog, hospitality, hotel, hotel renovations, Pennsylvania, refinishing, The Refinishing Touch, Tien-Yueh Bosma Kubach

March 29th, 2013 by TRT Blog

During every renovation project, The Refinishing Touch comes prepared to deliver its award-winning refinishing, re-upholstery and armoire conversion services to meet property managers’ requests, without disturbing employees or guests. Whether you value efficiency, sustainability, cost savings or all of the above, our experienced production team aims to provide our customers with top-tier results and service.

Last month, an armoire conversion project led us to a Best Western branch located in the Jacksonville Airport, right in the heart of Florida’s travel district. The property’s location is ideal for visitors looking to attend annual nearby events, including The Players Championship Golf Tournament, Daytona 500 and the University of Florida vs. University of Georgia football game. Offering luxurious amenities to travelers from all over the world, the hotel boasts rave reviews from customers citing the property’s overt friendliness and delivery of traveler satisfaction.

In order to continue meeting the needs of its lodgers, Best Western Jacksonville Airport called on The Refinishing Touch to modify existing television armoires into dressers, an effort that avoids the need to buy brand new assets and reduces the amount of waste sent to our nation’s landfills.

The 21 original television armoires were converted into three-drawer dressers, ideal for showcasing flat screen televisions. By using The Refinishing Touch’s furniture asset management services, Best Western Jacksonville Airport was able to significantly save on renovation costs and demonstrate environmental responsibility by reducing its carbon footprint.

For more information regarding the benefits of our environmentally-friendly, cost-effective furniture refinishing, re-upholstery and armoire modification services, please visit our website. To learn more about what The Refinishing Touch can do at your own establishment, please request a free quote today.

If you’re interested in seeing our work first-hand while enjoying the Floridian sun, book a stay at Best Western Jacksonville Airport here.

Armoires, Daytona 500, Florida, furniture asset management, green, hospitality, Jacksonville, refinishing, remanufaturing, reupholstery, Sustainability, The Best Western, The Best Western Jacksonville Airport, The Players Championship Golf Tournament, The Refinishing Touch, University of Florida, University of Georgia

February 15th, 2013 by TRT Blog

Here at The Refinishing Touch, our production crews are always looking for new and innovative ways to reuse quality existing furniture assets for the benefit of our clients. And with our project scope ranging from furniture refinishing, bringing pieces back to like-new condition and removing any signs of wear and tear, to re-upholstering assets, updating and modernizing headboards, chairs and other types of seating, our goal is to continually make our services better and more efficient.

One of our most recent renovation projects brought us to the Best Western Fort Walton Beach Hotel, in the sunshine state of Florida. The beautiful beachfront property features over 100 guestrooms, with a mini-refrigerator tucked away in a corner of each room. With summer tourism season fast approaching, the property called on The Refinishing Touch to remanufacture existing armoires, and transform the pieces into new side tables and top-of-the-line refrigerator cabinets – a project that would create zero landfill waste.

We started off with a bulky three-drawer television armoire, which we then cut into two separate pieces – one piece consisting of a three-drawer base, and the other a wooden frame to be fit for a fridge. From there, The Refinishing Touch refinished the wooden furniture assets, and added a stone solid surface to the base’s top, creating a sleek new dresser for the guestrooms. Then, the top portion of the former television armoire was restored into a new refrigerator cabinet, beautifully framing existing mini-fridges for each room.

The project prevented any wood from making its way into landfills, and demonstrated the environmentally-friendly and cost-saving potential furniture re-purposing offers. The Best Western Fort Walton Beach Hotel was able to simultaneously save on budget costs, time, carbon emissions and landfill waste by investing in our award-winning furniture asset management solutions – providing benefits to hotel management and guests alike.

For more information on how to re-purpose existing furniture at your own establishment, please email us today for a free quote. To book a stay and see our work firsthand, visit Best Western Fort Walton Beach Hotel’s website here.

armoire conversion, armoire modification, Best Western, Best Western Fort Walton Beach, furniture asset management, hospitality, hotel furniture, refinishing, Sustainability, The Refinishing Touch

January 29th, 2013 by TRT Blog

The Refinishing Touch’s award-winning re-upholstery services not only provide a quick, cost-efficient and environmentally-safe method of repurposing existing furniture, but our top-of-the-line fabrics, sourced through our Touch Textiles division, also provide a sense of style and durability.

The Touch Textiles entity provides elegant and practical upholstery solutions for the hospitality, government and higher education industries. By selecting from our Touch Textiles fabric line and implementing our on-site re-upholstery services, clients can significantly reduce down time while avoiding expensive shipping costs, attic stock and excess fabric orders – allowing project managers to recover more of their original furniture investment.

Today, we are proud to introduce a new addition to the Touch Textiles division – the state-of-the-art, eco-friendly recycled leather material, Embrace™. Embrace recycled leather gives our clients the same benefits and aesthetics of traditional leather, at a fraction of the cost. The material is available in high-quality colors and hand-rubbed layered tones. Not only does Embrace meet ISO and ASTM standards, it is also stain- and scratch-resistance making cleaning simple and time-efficient – a highly sought-after feature among the sectors we work with.

Candlewood Suites in Killeen, Texas, is the site of our first re-upholstery project utilizing the recycled leather material. With the renovations currently underway, The Refinishing Touch production crew is re-upholstering various lounge, dining and desk chairs with sustainable and cost-efficient Embrace leather.

For more information on Embrace recycled leather, please browse the company’s whitepaper or read our press release here. To inquire on how to implement Touch Textiles and The Refinishing Touch’s re-upholstery services at your own establishment, please email sales@therefinishingtouch.com for a free quote. The entire selection of coverings offered by The Refinishing Touch can be found in our nationwide company fabric division, Touch Textiles.

Embrace is a registered trademark of Culp, Inc.

ASTM, Candlewood Suites, cost efficiency, Embrace recycled leather, fabrics, furniture asset management, ISO, Killeen, re-upholstery, Sustainability, Texas, The Refinishing Touch, Touch Textiles

October 23rd, 2012 by TRT Blog

Here at The Refinishing Touch, every project we complete is important, but not all are of the same breadth and scope. While some projects take months to complete and encompass entire hotels, others focus on revitalizing everyday furniture pieces that, without refinishing and remanufacturing, would otherwise end up in landfills.

One such project was at the Sofitel Philadelphia – a four-star hotel in the middle of the historic city. The Refinishing Touch teams were brought in to refinish and re-upholster 42 of the hotel’s restaurant chairs and 34 of the restaurant tables, some of the most used furniture assets in the entire establishment. By refinishing and reupholstering existing furniture instead of buying new, the Sofitel Philadelphia saved approximately 80 percent on their originally projected budget and around 90 percent in carbon emissions.

The Sofitel Philadelphia is a luxury hotel in the downtown, French Quarter of Philadelphia, and is managed by the French hotel group, Accor. Accor has influence in over 90 countries and owns or operates over 4,400 hotels around the world. Sofitel is Accor’s top luxury brand and its Philadelphia site is described as a mix of French and American style, and regarded for its upscale accommodations, dining and overall environment. The Sofitel Philadelphia’s location is convenient for travelers, whether visiting for business or leisure, for its close proximity to the city’s primary convention center and most visited historical sites. To learn more about the Sofitel Philadelphia or to book a trip, visit their website here.

To learn more about The Refinishing Touch’s furniture asset management services, including refinishing, re-upholstery, remanufacturing, and armoire modification, visit our homepage or sign up for our insightful quarterly newsletter, InTouch. For a free quote or to inquire about starting a project at your organization, send us an email: sales@therefinishingtouch.com.

Accor Hotels, budget, carbon emissions, chairs, dining, environment, free quote, furniture asset management, hospitality, InTouch newsletter, lodging, Operational Update, refinishing, remanufacturing, restaurant, reupholstery, Sofitel Philadelphia, Sustainability, The Refinishing Touch, traveling

September 7th, 2012 by TRT Blog

As everyone in the country knows, our nation is in full election swing – including one of the properties we are currently working on, the Marriott Charlotte City Center. Known for its central Charlotte, North Carolina downtown location and the current $10 million renovation project it is going through, the hotel is also hosting 300 Florida delegates attending the Democratic National Convention this week.

In order to prepare for the big event, which will bring 6,000 total delegates to 56 hotels, the Marriott brought in The Refinishing Touch team to reupholster 842 banquet chairs with our customized fabric line, Touch Textiles in August and will complete the projects upon the close of the Convention. Through our furniture asset management services, we are able to save the Marriott Charlotte City Center approximately 80 percent on budget and 90 percent on carbon emissions when compared to buying new.

In addition to reupholstering banquet chairs during its wide-spread renovations, the Marriott Charlotte City Center has also overhauled its Internet services, updated its TV to LCDs, and brought in all new Marriott Revive beds. The hotel is also prized for its fine dining, proximity to local attractions and large meeting spaces, including a 20,000 square foot meeting space.

For more information on this project, please continue to check our blog for the latest updates, as we will provide a complete overview of the project upon its completion. To learn more about The Refinishing Touch’s furniture asset management services, visit our website at www.therefinishingtouch.com.

To find out more about the Marriott Charlotte City Center’s renovation project, or to book your next stay, visit their homepage here.

carbon emissions, Charlotte, delegates, Democratic National Convention, Florida, furniture asset management, Marriott, Marriott Charlotte City Center, North Carolina, reupholster, Sustainability, Touch Textiles

July 31st, 2012 by TRT Blog

As the summer continues drawing to a close, The Refinishing Touch has kept busy during the past few months.  The team recently made their mark in hot and sunny Palm Beach Gardens, FL, by beginning a three phase project at The PGA National Resort & Spa, scheduled to be completed towards the end of the year.

Since 2007, The PGA National Resort & Spa has been a designated Florida Green Lodge by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, meeting luxurious standards while remaining environmentally-friendly.  The Floridian resort invests in numerous green initiatives, including energy efficient appliances, water conservation systems, along with recycling of paper, cardboard, oil and batteries.

With sustainability and brand standards in mind, The Refinishing Touch completed phase one of the 379-room renovation project earlier this month.  The team will undergo phase two in August, as we plan on reupholstering 144 king-sized and 190 double-sized bed headboards.  Along with the reupholstering, we will also refinish 325 dressers and 470 nightstands, all requiring a color change, glass installation and hardware replacement.

Our furniture asset management services will decrease the project’s carbon footprint by over 400 tons, an enormous drop for such a large-scale project.  Instead of the estimated CO₂ impact of 474.9628 tons to replace the existing furniture with all new pieces, The Refinishing Touch will help keep the PGA Resort & Spa’s carbon footprint at a minimum – with an estimated final calculation of only 4.6996 tons.

The next time you find yourself in the Palm Beach Gardens area, be sure to book a stay at the PGA National Resort & Spa to experience luxury, comfort and sustainability – the definition of a championship experience.

This headboard is part of the first round of projects completed at The PGA Resort & Spa. The renovations were divided into three phases.

Example of completed room set to be unveiled in Fall 2012

armoire modification, carbon emissions, carbon footprint, furniture asset management, hospitality, Operational Update, refinishing, renovations, reupholstery, Sustainability, The PGA Resort & Spa, The Refinishing Touch, Travel

June 19th, 2012 by TRT Blog

Thirty-five years, 420 months, roughly 12,775 days and countless hours—anyway we chalk it up, we here at The Refinishing Touch are thrilled to announce our most recent milestone of three and half decades in business.

While many things have changed throughout the years, the purpose throughout our journey has remained the same. Everyone at The Refinishing Touch believes in our goal to create a more sustainable future, which, as we’ve come to learn, is a task that takes time, effort, and support from others. But through this unwavering goal and 35 years of hard work, we could not be more proud of the on-site environmentally safe and sustainable furniture asset management services we offer to a wide array of companies and organizations around the world.

Not only are we excited over reaching the 35-year mark, but we are also humbled by the opportunities we’ve been given to serve the hospitality, education, and government industries throughout the years. Every partnership The Refinishing Touch creates contributes to a smaller carbon footprint and a more informed country.

We’d like to take a moment to thank our clients for helping us reach such a milestone. In the hospitality industry, this includes hotel chains such as the Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott, IGH, Wyndham, and more. The government has also capitalized in furniture asset management services, with projects completed in the U.S. Superior Court, U.S. Army, Air Force, Marine Corps and Navy bases worldwide, including the White House and Executive Office of the President. In the education sector, we have worked with numerous universities and colleges across the nation.

Today, The Refinishing Touch has more than 20,000 customers and we estimate that we have saved more than three million tons of carbon dioxide and nine million trees. For us, that is what it all comes down to as we reach 35 years in the business – a more sustainable tomorrow.

Click here to read the entire press release on The Refinishing Touch’s 35 year anniversary milestone.

35 years, anniversary, education, furniture asset management, furniture refinishing, Government, hospitality, Sustainability, The Refinishing Touch

April 25th, 2012 by TRT Blog

In last month’s Operational Update blog, we shared one of our recently completed projects, which took place at the DoubleTree Hilton in Anaheim, California.

During our time at the DoubleTree we refinished the hotel’s desks, dressers, nightstands and headboards, updating the furniture pieces with fresh color, hardware and upholstery.

As the DoubleTree Anaheim is a ‘full-hotel’ projects with us refinishing each of the DoubleTree’s 95 rooms, we thought we would bring you a few ‘before and after’ pictures so you can get a true sense for how refinishing and reupholstery can transform old furniture into modern, stylish, full functional pieces. By refinishing furniture instead of implementing the tradition ‘rip-and-replace’ processes, the DoubleTree Anaheim prevented countless pieces of furniture from unnecessarily entering into landfills and saved over 90 percent in carbon emissions as compared to buying new.

Are you curious as to how refinishing can help save the environment and improve your organization’s bottom line, as it did at the DoubleTree Anaheim? Visit our homepage at therefinishingtouch.comto learn more or to request a free quote.

Before & after visuals:

Before                                        After

Before                                                  After

Before                                                  After

Before                                                  After

Anaheim, California, DoubleTree Hilton, Orange County, refinish, rip and replace, Sustainability