Hotel furniture from Turkey for Italy: forniture alberghiere to the hotel fire rule

Italian hotel owners, developers and general contractors can source guestroom furniture, beds, wardrobes, upholstery and joinery from Turkey with no duty; the ro-ro ferry from the Sea of Marmara reaches Bari in about 45 hours (DFDS). In Italian the search is forniture alberghiere, which covers everything a hotel buys, from linen and trolleys to the rooms themselves; the furniture part is the arredamento hotel. Rovers takes that part: it reads the BOQ (computo metrico) and the drawings, prices every line with the Turkish partner factory that fits, issues shop drawings and samples for approval, follows production, inspects before packing, delivers to site and installs.

Duty and VAT

Other lines (metal frames, lighting, mattresses, textiles) have their own codes and are checked one by one on the quote.

The hotel fire rule, line by line

Italy’s fire rule for hotels is the Interior Ministry decree of 9 April 1994. Its point 6.2 sets the reaction-to-fire class of the materials installed. Classes are Italian national classes, and the materials must be homologated under the decree of 26 June 1984. For a new hotel with more than 25 beds (Title II), this is what point 6.2 means for the furniture package:

Three details decide the order. In an existing hotel the upholstered chairs drop out of letter e, but the mattresses stay in. When the rule came in, existing hotels had eight years to bring guestroom linings, curtains and mattresses up to point 19.2 (point 21.2 c). And a hotel with 25 beds or fewer falls under Title III, which asks for REI 30 structures and safe exit but does not call up point 6.2.

The 50% limit in lobbies and corridors is about linings. A Ministry clarification of 6 May 2004 confirms it doesn’t apply to the reception desk, the bar counter or furniture in general (as carried in the coordinated text of the decree). Some hotels are designed under the newer fire code (DM 3 August 2015) instead; the two are alternatives, not added together, so the fire engineer’s report says which one the building follows.

On the quote, each upholstered item and mattress carries the class it needs and the certificate that comes with it. Fabric, foam and interliner are specified together, so the certificate matches what is built.

Ro-ro to Trieste or Bari, or road

A hotel in the south is closest to Bari; one in the north or in Milan is closest to Trieste. Each trailer is loaded floor by floor or by room type, so it opens at the loading bay in fitting order.

Board emissions

We check each board’s test report against the EU formaldehyde limit before production: from 6 August 2026, furniture and wood-based articles placed on the EU market must not release more than 0.062 mg/m³ (Regulation (EU) 2023/1464).

Lead time and documents

Lead time is counted from approved shop drawings and samples. Each shipment travels with a commercial invoice and packing list (one line per item code, room type and floor), the A.TR, the CMR note, and the reaction-to-fire papers for each upholstered item, mattress and curtain line. The Italian importer’s EORI number goes on the customs declaration.

What to send us

Send the computo metrico or BOQ, the drawings, the number of beds, whether the building is new or an existing hotel, the fire engineer’s report if there is one, the site address and the date the rooms must be ready. A typical room plan and a room count are enough for a first priced schedule.