SUITE SUCCESS

Custom Laminated Furniture

Designs in Custom Laminate and Wood
For The Home Or Office.

261-5230

CALL FOR APPOINTMENT TODAY,
32445 Schoolcraft • Livonia, Michigan 48150

ail" ■ •• ■ •• ■ gr).101Mhal

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Ralph Dallier, Vice President,
General Sales Manager at Contract In-
teriors, explains. "A basic package was
created to allow each suiteholder the
opportunity to custom design his own
suite and still stay within the perimeters
The Palace provided."
The packages were offered in a
variety of styles, including transitional,
traditional and contemporary. "We
established seven different color palet-
tes," says Dallier. "We started the
meetings with these color palettes in
order to get an idea of which way the
company was leaning. From there we
could customize the fabrics and the
wallcoverings to achieve a personaliz-
ed look."
Contract Interiors successfully
decorated 150 of the 180 of the suites.
Dallier notes that in addition to his com-
pany's objectives, each suiteholder
and its company had their own goals
which needed to be met. "People tried
to make this a reflection of their com-
pany," says Dallier. "If the company
wanted to show a more economical
perspective, we would do a more tradi-
tional look. If the company wanted to
show that they were very succcessful,
more upgrading was done with
marbles, customized cabinetry and
fabrics."
Entertaining at the Palace is fun and
easy, but it is also expensive. All food
and beverages consumed in the suites
must be purchased from The Palace.
In addition, all of the paper goods and
plastic glasses and silverware (no, even
at these prices there isn't china and
silver) must be provided by the Palace.
Most suiteholders keep their cabinets
stocked with liquor, soft drinks and
paper goods. Restocking is done
automatically under management
supervision. All of the food is provid-
ed by the Machus food organization,
and it is expensive. "It can run from the
hundreds to the thousands of dollars
per event," says one corporate
spokesperson. Dinners in the suite can
be planned and ordered ahead, or
suiteholders can pick up the phone
when they get there and order direct-
ly. A typical evening of hors d'oeuvres
and drinks runs $300 to $500, accor-
ding to Compuware's Norris. But for
many companies, that's just the cost
of doing business.
The Palace suites. As the late, great
Jackie Gleason would have said,
"How suite it is!" l I

