RSAS / Corporate and Hospitality
Art for Hotels, Workplaces and Design Projects
Original contemporary art to buy or to rent, chosen for the space, the brief and the budget.
Guests remember a hotel by how it made them feel. Clients judge a business by the room they are shown into. Art does more to shape those impressions than almost anything else in an interior, and it is often the last thing to be considered.
We help put that right. RSAS works with architects, interior designers, hotel groups, developers and businesses to select, supply and install original contemporary art, from a single statement piece in a reception to a coordinated scheme across every floor and guest room. Clients can buy the works outright, rent them for one, two or three years, or combine the two.
Who We Work With
Architects and interior designers
We join the design team as early as you wish, ideally at concept stage, so the art belongs to the scheme rather than being added at the end. We work to your specification and palette, present options in the format you prefer and keep to your FF&E schedule and programme. Trade terms are available to design practices.
Hotel groups and operators
Lobbies, restaurants, bars, suites and guest rooms. Signature works for the public spaces, alongside original and editioned works in volume for the rooms, chosen to tell the brand's story and often to reflect the locality. We plan around opening dates and refurbishment cycles.
Developers
Show apartments, marketing suites, residents' lounges and communal spaces, where the right art helps a property sell or let.
Workplaces
Head offices, client areas and professional practices that want their walls to say something about who they are.
Clubs and restaurants
Private members' clubs, restaurants and bars in search of character that guests remember.
What We Provide
Art strategy
A written curatorial concept tied to the brand, the architecture and the people who will use the space, with a budget plan to match.
Curated selection
Original paintings, works on paper, limited editions, photography and sculpture, with research behind every artist we propose.
Commissions
Site-specific works by artists we know well, managed from brief to installation, including contracts, approvals and stage payments.
Procurement at scale
Consistent framing and specification across multiple rooms, floors or sites.
Installation
Delivery, hanging systems and fixings suited to the building, with lighting advice. All work is carried out by specialist installers with appropriate insurance, risk assessments and method statements.
Documentation
A full inventory, condition records, wall labels and short artist notes for guests and staff.
Built for Working Spaces
A hotel corridor is a harder place for a painting than a private drawing room. Light, humidity, cleaning routines and a constant stream of guests all take their toll, and we specify every work with that in mind.
- Glazing with UV protection for works in bright or sunlit areas
- Security fixings in public and unsupervised spaces
- Media and materials chosen for their location, with extra care in spas, bathrooms and kitchens
- Placement clear of radiators, air vents and direct sunlight wherever the plan allows
- Framing that cleaning and housekeeping teams can live with
A Sense of Place
Guests notice when a building belongs to its surroundings. On request, we build schemes around artists from the region, the city or the street, and each of them is researched to exactly the same standard as any other artist we propose. Local never means lesser.
Buy or Rent
Many clients do both: they buy the signature pieces they want to keep and rent the rest, so the collection can change as the business does.
| Buying | Renting | |
|---|---|---|
| Ownership | The work becomes your property | The work remains the property of RSAS or the lending artist or gallery |
| Cost | The purchase price, paid on completion | 10% of the work's agreed sale price each year, paid quarterly in advance |
| Term | Permanent, unless you choose to sell | One, two or three years, renewable |
| Flexibility | Yours to move, rehang or sell as you wish | Exchangeable during the term, and returned or bought at the end |
| Insurance | Arranged by you | Insured by RSAS throughout the term |
| Buying later | Not applicable | All rental paid is credited in full against the price |
| Suited to | Permanent schemes and signature works | New openings, show homes, refurbishment phases and workplaces that like change |
Renting Art from RSAS
Renting puts original work on your walls without tying up capital, keeps the collection fresh, and leaves the door open to ownership: every payment counts towards buying the work if you decide to keep it. The terms are simple.
Term
One, two or three years, agreed at the outset and renewable at the end.
Rental fee
10% of the agreed sale price of each work per year, paid quarterly in advance plus VAT where applicable.
Example
A work with an agreed sale price of £20,000 rents for £2,000 a year, payable as £500 each quarter. If you buy it after two years, the £4,000 already paid comes off the price, leaving £16,000 to pay.
Exchanging works
Works can be exchanged during the term by arrangement, so the collection can move with a refurbishment, a new season or a change of brief.
Insurance
Every rented work is insured by RSAS for the full term.
Delivery and installation
Charged at cost.
Care and condition
Condition is recorded on installation and on collection. Works stay at the agreed address, in suitable conditions, and may not be moved without our consent.
Option to buy
Any rented work can be bought during the term, with all the rental already paid on that work credited in full against the price.
Buying and renting may be treated differently for accounting and tax purposes. We do not give tax advice, and your accountant should advise on the right approach for your business. Full terms are set out in our Rental Terms.
Rental Calculator
Enter the agreed sale price of a work to see what renting it would cost. All rental paid is credited in full if you later buy the work.
A guide only. The fees for each scheme are confirmed in the rental agreement.
How a Project Runs
- 01
Brief and site visit
We review drawings, renders, brand guidelines and the programme, and walk the space wherever possible.
- 02
Concept and budget
A written curatorial concept, an outline schedule of works and a budget, for buying, renting or both.
- 03
Selection
Shortlisted works presented with in-situ visuals, artist notes and pricing.
- 04
Approval and contract
The final schedule agreed, with purchase or rental terms in writing.
- 05
Framing and commissions
Framing, editions and commissioned works produced to the agreed specification.
- 06
Installation
Delivery and hanging, scheduled around your programme and the other trades on site.
- 07
Aftercare
Condition checks, exchanges of rented works, and new additions as the space evolves.
Budgets and Timescales
We plan the art budget alongside the rest of the FF&E schedule, area by area: public spaces, food and beverage, corridors and guest rooms. Renting part of the scheme spreads the cost over the term, and a mix of originals, works on paper and limited editions lets the budget go further without compromising the public spaces.
As a guide to timescales:
- Selection from available works: a few weeks from approved concept
- Framing and editions in volume: a few weeks
- Commissioned works: a few months, depending on scale and the artist's schedule
Tell us your opening or handover date at the first meeting, and we will plan backwards from it.
Working Through Design Practices
Many of our corporate projects come to us through an architect or interior designer, and we are comfortable working in whichever arrangement suits the practice. We can contract with the practice or directly with its client, for purchases and rentals alike. We keep your client relationship confidential, never approach your client independently, and are happy to present selections under the practice's name.
Selected Projects
Client
Type of client, for example: Boutique hotel, 40 rooms
Location
By appointment
Brief
One or two sentences on what the client wanted to achieve
Scope
Number of works; public areas and rooms covered
Buy and rent
For example: Signature works bought, guest room works rented on a three-year term
Result
One factual sentence, or a short quotation from the client, used with permission
Why RSAS
- Every artist researched, so the collection has substance and documented provenance
- Original contemporary work, much of it by artists early in their careers, not decorative stock
- One point of contact from concept to final hang
- Transparent pricing, with our fees shown separately from the price of the works