Rug specifications that survive a procurement review
Hotel procurement writes a spec against a brand standard, a fire regulation, and a chemical compliance list — then has to defend it to design, operations, and legal. PiHue is built for that reality: brand-Pantone pre-flight with ΔE scores, ISO 105-B02 light-fastness on request, project-specific fire testing routed through Intertek / SGS, per-property dye-lot assignment, and audit-ready OEKO-TEX + SMETA documentation on every shipment.
Pre-flight your corporate palette before the RFP
Pull your brand's corporate Pantone list. Open the Pantone matcher. For each colour, paste the TCX/TPG code and see the five nearest PiHue wool codes and five nearest viscose/silk codes with CIE76 ΔE scores.
If 80% of your corporate palette resolves at ΔE < 5, the rug programme is a straightforward specification. If 30% comes back at ΔE > 10, flag before issuing the RFP — wool/silk cannot hit those specific colours and the spec needs an exception, a different fibre, or a lab-dip waiver. The library distribution is public: 61% of 2,400 codes (1,462) lab-dip to within industry-acceptable Pantone match; 15% (360) sit at ΔE > 10 and get flagged honestly.
Light-fastness on the specific recipe, not a generic claim
Hotel rugs face sunlit lobbies, atrium skylights, suite windows. Dye performance under UV isn't uniform across the colour wheel:
- Reds and pinks are the hardest to lock for high UV exposure. For sunny rooms we recommend ISO 105-B02 light-fastness testing on the specific recipe at lab-dip stage.
- Blues and greens are generally more stable; indigo-family blues particularly so.
- Blacks and very dark colours occasionally bronze (develop a brownish cast) under heavy UV; we flag this on dark hand-knotted hospitality briefs.
Fire testing — project-specific, named labs
We do not claim blanket IMO or ASTM compliance on all production. For cruise or US commercial projects that require it:
- IMO FTP Code fire testing — routed through Intertek or SGS, project-specific
- ASTM E648 Class I / Class II (critical radiant flux) — same route for US hospitality
- BS 5287 / BS 4790 for UK projects
Test cost and lead time quoted per project. We do not inflate the base rug price with a universal fire-testing surcharge — you pay for what the spec actually requires.
Chemical compliance for occupancy standards
- OEKO-TEX Standard 100 — certified through Hohenstein Germany (BASE class)
- Chem-ST restricted-substances panel — run monthly at Eurofins Product Testing India, Gurgaon (31 parameter groups; pH results 5.69–6.74 against the 4.0–7.5 limit)
- REACH compliance documented per shipment to EU destinations
- California Prop 65 / CARB / AgBB — on request for applicable regions
Full chemical-testing page has the exact labs, panel composition, and a sample report.
Per-property dye-lot assignment for multi-site rollouts
A corridor runner refreshed six months after the opening should come from the same (or an exactly re-matched) dye lot as the original installation. For multi-property orders we assign dye lots per property and log the assignment on your order file — so when property six re-orders two years later, we know which lot to match against. This is the detail that separates a commercial rug supplier from a specification partner.
What a hotel procurement spec should carry
The five-star hotel rug specification journal entry walks through a real procurement sheet line by line. Core fields:
- Fibre per room (wool, wool-and-silk, viscose, flatweave fibre)
- Construction and density per room type (20–180 KPSI hand-knotted, 1,200–2,800 GSM hand-tufted)
- Three tolerances in writing: ±5% GSM, ±3% size, skew ≤ 1 inch
- Lab-dip approval under D65 daylight simulator AND in-room lighting
- Chemical testing (OEKO-TEX + project-specific panel)
- Fire testing per jurisdiction
- Documentation pack per shipment
Common questions from hospitality procurement
Can you match our corporate Pantone across 40 properties for five years?
Yes. Locked dye recipes + per-shipment dye-lot documentation + per-property lot assignment means year-five reorders match the original installation. Lab-dip the first run; production matches against that reference.
What's the lead time for a large hotel order?
Lab dip ~10 days per colourway, strike-off ~15 days after approval, production 30–90 days per piece depending on construction. For 300+ piece orders we run concurrent looms — total project timeline depends on construction mix and quantity; detailed scheduling at quotation.
Can you support a site visit from our procurement team?
Yes. Bhadohi is a two-hour drive from Varanasi (nearest airport, direct flights from Delhi and Mumbai). We host full factory walks — dyeing, weaving, washing, finishing, QC — on request.
Do you work with specifier firms and FF&E consultants?
Yes. We deliver to buyer-of-record specifications and support sample programmes for FF&E packages. Private-label packaging for consultant-branded deliveries available.
Pre-flight your corporate palette
Open the Pantone matcher, paste your brand-standard Pantone codes, see which resolve to achievable wool/silk dyes before the RFP goes out. Or book a factory review for a live project.