Updated at 2:24 p.m., Monday, January 29, 2007
Hotel industry purchasing firm opens Hawai'i office
Advertiser Staff
Benjamin West, one of the hotel industry's largest purchasing firms, has opened offices in Honolulu and London.The new Hawai'i office is working with local hotel industry leaders, including ResortQuest and Starwood Hotels & Resorts, to assist with purchasing furniture, fixtures and equipment for their condominium inventory, as well as upcoming new construction projects, Colorado-based Benjamin West officials said in a news release.
"Hawai'i is unique in its isolation, which makes it more challenging to source quality goods and pricing," said Alan Benjamin, company president. "By using our sources and systems, coupled with efficient logistics, we have significantly reduced the time involved in the purchasing process and found that, on average, we have been able to provide hotels with savings well into the double digits compared to current practices."
Benjamin also said the new office creates an opportunity to expand into Asian markets.
"This office will allow us to better source materials and establish a beachhead to support the huge upsurge in new hotel construction taking place in China, India and other Far Eastern countries," he said. "We expect that over time we will push into the Far East with one or more offices."
