Hospitality Design | April 5, 2023 | Read full article on Hospitality Design

Ahead of next month’s tradeshow, a handful of the more than 125 panelists share their industry outlook

Words by: Kathryn Greene + Katie Kervin • Photos by David Burk, Dseribu Photography, Victor Elias, and Garrett Rowland

Jackie Wright
Founder + Principal
Pineapple Procurement

With more than 10 years in the industry, Jackie Wright founded Pineapple Procurement, now celebrating its fifth anniversary, to lend her keen eye for branding and design to FF&E and OS&E procurement projects for clients and brands including Marriott, IHG, Hilton, Viceroy, and independent owners, among others. Wright shares insights into current purchasing challenges and the secrets to great collaboration.

What’s your process when working with a designer or firm on a project?
Pineapple’s process is pretty simple: we do everything we can to support the designer’s mission. We bury ourselves in the details, ask lots of questions, and listen to their specific goals. From there, we hunt and gather all the information we’ll need for a successful partnership, present our findings, and accept feedback with open arms. We are always collecting and sharing information, tracking details, and using our skills to best support the designer or firm.

How does your background inform your approach to procurement?
Having always been resourceful, I can do a lot with a little. Being a strong leader and having a bullish mentality probably helps, too, but I’m an avid believer in the ‘where there’s a will, there’s a way’ mindset—and I love being the one that finds the way. Whether it’s a budget or schedule challenge, supporting the design mission for a project requires being resourceful and finding alternate routes to make things work. We’re obsessed with the quality of our work. Regardless of project size, we are attentive and go the extra mile. Our team has over 25 years of experience with a focus on boutique and soft brand hotels. Over the course of my career, I’ve worked in various industries, including hospitality, interior design, visual merchandising, project management, and buying/sourcing, which have all prepared me for the meticulous and detailed work that is so important to FF&E and OS&E procurement.

What are your current biggest challenges?
Procurement is an endless list of details, information gathering, and legwork. Our process is schedule-driven, straightforward, aboveboard, and thorough, therefore, we need realistic schedules to allow us to produce quality work. One of the biggest challenges right now is managing expectations around timelines. We combat this by establishing client goals and expectations and develop a strong strategic plan at the commencement of every project.

THE VOCO CHICAGO DOWNTOWN, DESIGNED BY GENSLER

What is one recent project that was a success?
We had an exceptionally positive experience working with the project team on the voco Chicago Downtown. It’s an IHG dual-brand hotel with 523 guestrooms designed by Gensler in Chicago. The dynamic collaboration between Pineapple Procurement and the client, general contractor, design, brand, installers, and every other contributor was an incredible experience that made all of us happy to go the extra mile.

What’s on the boards for Pineapple?
A few projects that we are excited about right now include an Autograph Collection Hotel in Washington State, an independent boutique hotel in Vail, a collection of independent properties in Key West, and a Tribute Portfolio hotel in Southern California.

Hear more from Jackie:
Business Sense: Ask the Purchasers
May 3rd, 1:30–2 p.m.
Location: HD Social Hub