How would one bid a hotel

A

AC\DC

Senior Member
Location
Florence,Oregon,Lane
Occupation
EC
Looking to bid a 86 room hotel—- how would you bid them. I assume first 1-5 rooms are a learning curve then the rest is sped up- do you drop labor rates by a % past a certain amount of rooms—-
I am ussaly in the middle on prices—- I don’t like playing that change order game so I don’t want to underbid it and hope there change orders—— any advise would be appreciated
 
AC\DC said:
Looking to bid a 86 room hotel—- how would you bid them. I assume first 1-5 rooms are a learning curve then the rest is sped up- do you drop labor rates by a % past a certain amount of rooms—-
I am ussaly in the middle on prices—- I don’t like playing that change order game so I don’t want to underbid it and hope there change orders—— any advise would be appreciated
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I would recommend you don't overthink it. If you are planning on reducing your "labor" for repetition, are you also going to increase it for every 20 feet further you are from your staging area? A different labor rate for each floor? A different rate for conduit in the wall vs. conduit in the ceiling? You get the point. If it is your first hotel, I would use standard labor rates. There WILL be things that bite you n the butt. I have a fair amount of experience building hotels/motels, a couple things I know happen. back to back boxes in fire walls, improperly engineered fire alarm in ADA rooms, hallway ceilings have VERY little space usually about 1- 1.5 feet. Failure to stack electrical rooms, especially between the first floor and the rest. Construction method make a big difference. I have done, hollow core, wood framing, post tension, Had one with 2 1/2" studs and double sheetrock on every wall.
 
Thanks for that info—— really want the job but don’t want to go bust—- not for the faint of heart—- my new j-man good at repetition not service work so hoping to get this for him.
Currently review plans—— it’s also not a new build but a renovation of a building—- so even more unknowns—-
 
QUESTION? for the GC pre qualifications he wants financial history-- one of them is list recent contracts- I have not done anything over 30k.
On a large project like this am I just waisting my time filling it out cause unless I do 100k+ jobs he will just throw it in the trash.
 
a little bit of research. It seems like if my bonds high enough and I have a line of credit. my finances should be fine. I’m just worried about them saying I’m not qualified for this large of a project even though it was just a bunch of tiny homes stacked on each other.
 
AC\DC said:
a little bit of research. It seems like if my bonds high enough and I have a line of credit. my finances should be fine. I’m just worried about them saying I’m not qualified for this large of a project even though it was just a bunch of tiny homes stacked on each other.
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Just aske them. I suggest you figure out (seat of the pants) how many men it will take to accomplish the work in the time frame they have, and your plan to provide that number of men. If you are in the ballpark of where they figure, then they would likely accept your number.
 
AC\DC said:
Ya you’re right. Rough estimate I an at 2400hr that’s probably going to go up from that. That’s a lot for three guys. In the year I got 5 “times” I got to be on site
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Its also about time, though. Without even know the project, I would assume at least 3 men on a floor with 2-3 floors going at the same time, plus supervision and a 2 man crew doing switchgear, site, roof mechanical etc. at the peak. That is 11 men for a couple months. That 2000 hours in two months right there, unless it is a minor remodel, I am going to guess 2400 hours is closer to 1/2 what you need. or even less. I would bet you will be closer to 8000 hours.
 
Strathead said:
Its also about time, though. Without even know the project, I would assume at least 3 men on a floor with 2-3 floors going at the same time, plus supervision and a 2 man crew doing switchgear, site, roof mechanical etc. at the peak. That is 11 men for a couple months. That 2000 hours in two months right there, unless it is a minor remodel, I am going to guess 2400 hours is closer to 1/2 what you need. or even less. I would bet you will be closer to 8000 hours.
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Thank you for the input—— still debating—- I can hire 2 more apprentices and hire the j-man from tradsmen international( non union hall)

Still reading through the paperwork—-
Do they generally pay out in sections wondering how much I got to cough up before a check comes——- this weekend I am going to work on the estimate I’ll let you know what I come up with-
 
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AC\DC said:
Thank you for the input—— still debating—- I can hire 2 more apprentices and hire the j-man from tradsmen international( non union hall)

Still reading through the paperwork—-
Do they generally pay out in sections wondering how much I got to cough up before a check comes——- this weekend I am going to work on the estimate I’ll let you know what I come up with-
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Typical is submit bill on the 20th-25th of the month estimated to the end of the month. payment 2nd or 3rd week of the next month. 10% retainage held, you should ask the GC when they will reduce the retainage, generally to 5% until they receive final payment from the owner. Nothing is sure though some contractors are fast payers, some are not. You should ask the contractor what their policy is and then ask a round to other subs and find out if they are slow payers. Anyway from the above that is about 45 days from your first day of possible outlay to getting a check.
 
If your new to this type of building beware.

All unit mistakes will be multiplied if not caught, if you have any Sheetrock issues on a normal house your going to have double those issues on one of those.

Floor by floor start at bottom so you can get a system on the ground level and not do 40 flights of stairs starting up top and forgetting something. Also make sure you have a good plan to install the feeders, coordinate before any hvac or plumbers even get there drill out.

Edit to add adjustable boxes on all shared walls and kitchens, seen them change there mind to many times to even try to use a nail on
 
AC\DC said:
Thanks for that info—— really want the job but don’t want to go bust—- not for the faint of heart—- my new j-man good at repetition not service work so hoping to get this for him.
Currently review plans—— it’s also not a new build but a renovation of a building—- so even more unknowns—-
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is the hotel a chain? Want a great tip?
Go check out another one... and it helps to pretend you've done them before.
Put on a tool belt and find a maid to open the electric room...
Hard ceilings, pull points and outside lighting can bite ya.. same with elevator and fire alarm outlets...
 
rambojoe said:
is the hotel a chain? Want a great tip?
Go check out another one... and it helps to pretend you've done them before.
Put on a tool belt and find a maid to open the electric room...
Hard ceilings, pull points and outside lighting can bite ya.. same with elevator and fire alarm outlets...
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I love your tool belt idea you could get in some cool spots doing that
 
AC\DC said:
I love your tool belt idea you could get in some cool spots doing that
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Right?
Seriousely, i think i did that for a d. of motor vehicle emmission place many years ago... i asked the r.f.i's but couldnt get answers, on alot of things.
So i checked one out.
I think i looked at a hampton suite for some wierd fixtures o/s too..
It all worked...
 
AC\DC said:
Thank you for the input—— still debating—- I can hire 2 more apprentices and hire the j-man from tradsmen international( non union hall)

Still reading through the paperwork—-
Do they generally pay out in sections wondering how much I got to cough up before a check comes——- this weekend I am going to work on the estimate I’ll let you know what I come up with-
Click to expand...
Be careful of tradesman international some guys are great some are at a temp agency for a reason. I have a friend who worked through them for a few years in the Seattle area and some liked it but most did it because of necessity and couldn't find a place for long term. He finally got out and into a steady shop.
 
ya I worked with them for a year or two. I’ll know in a week if they will make it or not.
There two that do steady work for a company in Eugene but travel when needed. So if a local shop keeps calling them back that’s a good sign
 
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