Some estimating advice from me, for doing Hotel communication work:
-- average distance of your cable runs. Take your longest and shortest distances add them together and divide by 2. Multiplied by the number of drops, and you have how much wire you will need for the job.
-- number of drops equals number of keystones. These can range in price anywhere from about a $1.25 to $7, depending on the manufacturer and rating of the devices. Divide this number by 12, 24, or 48 to figure out how many patch panels and switches you need.
-- each drop also equals one box and mud ring, go multiple cables going to the same box obviously only need one box. 2-gang steel boxes are often used, unless the cable is Free Run, in which case plastic two by four boxes are used. Using adjustable plastic boxes is easier in the long run been trying to nail them on precisely to an often changing wall detail.
-- if you are running conduit, figure two fittings per box if in a riser fashion, one fitting per box for top and bottom floors. average length of conduit to stub out to a hallway runs about 20 ft if using a riser set up, 32' if stubbed out floor by floor.
-- an often-overlooked but fairly expensive portion of the job is fire stopping. putty pads run about $6 a box, tubes of fire stop 12 to $18. You may run through 3 to 6 cases of fire stop for a average size, 100-room, Hotel.
-- also often overlooked is the number of drill bits you are going to tear up on a job. a wood frame building of the above-mentioned size can easily eat $200 worth of drill bits, a concrete building, 500 to $1,500.
-- another frequently overlooked cost of the job is patch cords, coax cables from the wall plates to the TVs, and Oddities the pool phone, which will need a waterproof enclosure. if the phone companies demarc is not in your phone room, you will need a feeder for that.
-- owners will want tons of wireless access points and cameras. run all of the cable for them, even if they do not get installed... Running it after the fact, especially if you have inaccessible ceilings, is a giant pain and much more expensive for the owner
-- the telephones, phone system, cameras, and security system need to be hashed out with the owner. if they have custom placards on the phones, you have to factor in the cost of making those.
-- there are tons of other little things that usually are hashed out with the owner, like sound system, how its zoned, intercom systems and so on.
-- know your local building codes, an ADA requirements.
-- other low voltage, like thermostat wire to the PTAC units, do not make assumptions there either. some of those PTACs require 18/10.
-- labor prices will vary quite a bit depending on if the cables are all in conduit, wood or steel frame building.
-- if your guys are working out of town, will the hotel owner have another nearby hotel for your guys to stay at for free? lodging and per diem expenses, and mileage on vehicles can add up quite a bit.
These are just some of the things to look at doing just the low voltage portion of a small commercial project. Obviously the fire alarm system, main electrical, distribution, security wiring, Etc are all larger parts of the project. the stuff I mentioned can easily run $50,000 + on 100 room size Hotel.
