Hotel FF&E Budget Estimator Tools Compared

Written by Martin Bretécher

Quick answer

Yes, several tools exist, and none does everything. The closest reference for hotel renovation costs is the Nehmer and HVS Design 2026 Hotel Cost Estimating Guide, released on 19 May 2026. Fohlio and Order.co sell platforms to specify and buy, and Mastt and Order.co offer free budget templates. Figurz, which publishes this page, is an independent FF&E/OS&E budget estimator for hotel projects: it does not sell furniture, and no supplier pays to be in its database.

Disclosure: Figurz publishes this page and is one of the tools compared.

The tools side by side

Five options, compared on what each one is, how you get it and where it stops. Dates are the publication or last-update dates of the pages used; product pages show the date I consulted them.

  • Nehmer and HVS Design Hotel Cost Estimating Guide (2026 edition, 19 May 2026): a reference guide to capital expenditure construction and FF&E costs for hotel renovations, in six tiers, with unit costs contributed by five firms. Described as a complimentary download on the HVS page, which also labels it a "Paid Publication"; the Nehmer page asks for a form and states no price. Geography not stated. It stops at renovations, and it is a guide to download, not an online calculator.

  • Fohlio (page consulted 9 Nov 2026): specification, procurement and budget software, with budgets built from prototypes (cost per key, per product, per area). Demo or sales contact, no public price on the page. It needs your own specification to start, and the page mentions no independent cost database.

  • Order.co Hotel Budgeting Template (blog published 15 Oct 2024, updated 22 Dec 2025): a free template from a procurement platform, available after a form. Its contents are not visible without the form, and the platform is built around purchasing.

  • Mastt Hotel Construction Budget Template (published 24 Jun 2025, updated 26 Mar 2026): a free Word, Excel and PowerPoint template to track budgets, contracts, changes and payments, FF&E included, tied to Mastt's paid platform. It is a tracking structure, and the page gives no cost benchmarks.

  • Figurz estimator (21 Oct 2026): an independent FF&E/OS&E budget estimator for hotel projects. The free version gives, for France, the total FF&E/OS&E budget and the total duration; for other countries, FF&E for guestrooms and for common areas, one amount for OS&E, back-of-house and logistics, and the installation duration. It is an estimate, not a quote, limited to hotels, and most precise for France.

Tool by tool

Nehmer and HVS Design Hotel Cost Estimating Guide

The 2026 edition is the 18th, released on 19 May 2026. It covers Economy, Extended Stay, Midscale, Upscale, Upper Upscale and Luxury, and splits costs by guestrooms, bathrooms, corridors, public spaces, food and beverage, function spaces, amenities, infrastructure and common additives. Unit costs are contributed by five firms. What it does well: unit costs contributed by industry firms, a long track record and a download described as complimentary, although the HVS page also carries a "Paid Publication" label. Where it stops: it addresses renovations, and the release says nothing about geography or currency, so a European project should check how far the figures travel.

Fohlio

Fohlio connects specification, procurement and budget tracking in one platform. Its hospitality page lists capital budget development with cost per key through prototypes, cost per product and cost per area, and says it is trusted by Marriott, Accor and Best Western. What it does well: it keeps the budget attached to the actual specification and the purchases that follow. Where it stops: the budget is built from the products and prototypes your team enters, so you need a specification before you have a number, and the page does not mention an independent cost database.

Order.co

Order.co is a procurement platform for hotels that also offers a free Hotel Budgeting Template. Its own article, published on 15 October 2024 and updated on 22 December 2025, describes a template as a simpler method than budgeting software. What it does well: a free starting grid and a platform for the purchasing stage. Where it stops: the template sits behind a form, so I could not check whether it includes cost benchmarks, and the company's model is built around purchasing.

Mastt

Mastt, a capital project management platform, offers a free Hotel Construction Budget Template in Word, Excel and PowerPoint, published on 24 June 2025 and updated on 26 March 2026. It tracks budget allocation, contracts, change orders, estimate at completion, variances and payments, with FF&E as one category. What it does well: investor-ready tracking across construction, consultants and FF&E. Where it stops: it is a structure to fill in, and the page gives no cost ranges.

Figurz

Figurz is an FF&E/OS&E budget estimator for hotel projects, free to use since its launch in 2024. In seconds, the free version gives, for France, the total FF&E/OS&E budget and the total duration. For other countries, it breaks the budget down into FF&E for guestrooms, FF&E for common areas and one amount for OS&E, back-of-house and logistics, and it gives the installation duration. What it does well: an independent first number before any commitment. Where it stops: for France, the free version stops at the total; it is an estimate, not a quote; it is limited to hotels; it is not a project management tool or a procurement agent; and its precision is highest for France and still improving elsewhere. Outside France, the free version reads differently by role: an architect looks at the common-area FF&E and the guestrooms, a client at the whole budget, and an operator mostly at back-of-house and OS&E. Lot-by-lot estimates are in the paid version.

How to choose

The right tool depends on the question you are asking, and on whether the decision has already been made.

  • Investor or developer: you need a first number before committing capital. An estimator gives it in seconds. For a renovation, the HVS guide shows unit costs by tier.

  • Architect or designer: you need your specification to match the budget early. Fohlio carries the specification forward; an estimator tells you at the start whether it fits.

  • Hotel operator: you need to frame the budget before commitments. Compare an independent estimate with your brand standards, then use a platform to track.

  • Supplier: you need to know whether a lot is worth an answer. A trade lot estimate (lighting, seating, furniture, soft furnishings), available in the paid version of Figurz, helps you decide before replying to a tender.

  • After the decision: you need to track spend and purchases. That calls for a platform or a template (Fohlio, Order.co, Mastt), not an estimator.

How we build our benchmarks

Figurz's reference figures rest on three sources. First, the FF&E/OS&E projects both founders have followed throughout their careers. Second, detailed budgets sent to us by partners (architects, investors and consultants, including from other countries) and the studies carried out on our own projects. Third, the free Figurz app, launched in 2024: 1,448 free estimates have been run, and 1,059 came with a usable budget.

In exchange for their result, users tell us the budget they had in mind. These are planned budgets, not final accounts. We keep those that are consistent with the reality we observe, and we learn from the others: an architect who only gives the budget they were entrusted, a budget missing OS&E, back-of-house or logistics, a gap of half a star up or down. Comparing them with the coherent ones is how we update our figures. When a budget differs from ours, we go through it with whoever gave it to us. Often the explanation is simple and comes down to scope limits and who is responsible for what. The questionnaire also asks for details that do not change the free result. Cross-referenced with the budgets, they let us measure the financial impact of certain parameters. The data is anonymised and aggregated, and is not uploaded to an AI model for analysis. No supplier pays to be part of our database.

Outside our own project history, we adjust for each country using public data on local labour costs, and by checking whether the country manufactures furniture or imports it, and from where. FF&E, OS&E, built-in joinery and logistics are not affected in the same way. Our figures are most precise for France. For other countries, precision is not yet the same everywhere: it improves with every free estimate and every confirmed budget.

As a first check, we ran the calculator live with professionals who were finishing a project, with everything already bought, in France, Italy and Estonia. Before clicking "calculate", we asked for their final budget, and the parameters (number of keys, room mix, positioning) were entered together with them. The gap was generally under 3%. These are the first cases: too few to draw conclusions, and we do not present them as proof.

Our commitment is to give the best estimate from the information and budgets we hold today, and to update it as our database grows. The figures are indicative ranges, not quotes.

These figures are indicative

Every number on this page comes from a source named below or from Figurz's own published guide, and none is a quote. A real budget depends on brand standards, room mix, scope limits, the country and the date of the order. Use an estimate to frame a decision, then confirm it with specifications and supplier quotes.

FAQ

Is there an independent hotel FF&E budget estimator?

Independence depends on who publishes the tool and what they sell. The HVS guide comes from architecture, interior design and project management firms. Fohlio and Order.co sell software and procurement, and Mastt sells project management software. Figurz sells estimates and consulting, and states that no supplier pays to be in its database. Read each publisher's business model before trusting a number.

How much does FF&E cost per key for a hotel?

There is no single figure. Figurz's benchmark guide (24 June 2026) gives indicative ranges per key, in euros, by category: Budget (2-3 stars) 8,000-17,000; Midscale (3-4 stars) 13,000-38,000; Upscale (4-5 stars) 20,000-75,000; Luxury (5 stars and above) 55,000-150,000 and more. They frame a project and are not quotes. For renovation unit costs, the HVS guide gives its own figures by tier. Ranges differ from one tool to another because each covers a different scope: what is included (FF&E, OS&E, back-of-house, logistics, built-in joinery) and who is responsible for what. A figure without its scope limits means little, which is why Figurz publishes scope limits alongside its estimates.

What share of the budget goes to FF&E and OS&E?

Figurz publishes 10-20% of the total investment budget for FF&E and OS&E together, not of the construction budget alone. Order.co's article (published 15 October 2024, updated 22 December 2025) cites about 9% for FF&E alone, relative to a hotel's construction budget, quoting a third-party site. The perimeters differ, so the two figures do not contradict each other.

Can an estimate replace a quote or a consultant?

No. An estimate frames a decision before commitments are made. A quote prices a specific specification, and a consultant or owner's representative checks that the specification, the scope limits and the schedule match the budget.

What should a reliable estimate include?

At minimum: FF&E and OS&E shown separately, common areas and back-of-house, logistics and installation, the scope limits (who buys what), a contingency, and the country. A single number per room that does not say what it includes is hard to use.

Sources

Last verified on 9 November 2026. Tell us if something is out of date.

Martin Bretécher
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