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From humble beginnings in New Haven, Connecticut, Universal Hotel Liquidators has grown into a multi-state business that helps hotels in Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, South Carolina, Wisconsin, and Florida liquidate old furniture, fixtures, carpeting and other items. The company then sells the furniture, most of which has seen light use and is in excellent condition, to returning students who’re looking to stock their dorm rooms, as well as residents who’re hunting for high-quality bargain-priced items.

Since many hotels undergo renovation every 5 or 6 years, hotel liquidation is a lively business with great expansion potential, as shown by the 2008 liquidation of the former Sheraton Yankee Trader hotel. Located in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, the 459-room Yankee Trader underwent extensive renovation and later opened as the Westin Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort. In order to liquidate 459 rooms’ worth of furniture, electronics, carpets and other items, the hotel owners called on Universal Hotel Liquidators.

The items were removed by UHL’s professional team of liquidators, and a sale was held in June 2008 for Ft. Lauderdale’s residents in the hotel’s garage. UHL owner David White called it the “biggest garage sale in Florida history,” and it got extensive coverage in local media. Segments on the sale appeared on many local TV news stations, including Local 10 News, NBC6, South Lauderdale CBS4, and others. NBC called it the world’s largest beachfront garage sale, which wasn’t hard to believe, looking at the footage of the great hotel garage filled every conceivable appointment and furnishing – from beds, nightstands and lamps to irons, TV’s and trash cans, not to mention 10 miles of carpeting.

The sale was a success, and showed the ability of Universal Hotel Liquidators to undertake massive liquidation projects so far from their main location in Connecticut. The hotel reopened the following February and continues to be a Ft. Lauderdale landmark, with even better furnishings and more modern appliances.

Over the years, Universal Hotel Liquidators has grown into a multi-state business that helps hotels undergoing renovation sell off their former furnishings all across the East Coast, from Florida to Massachusetts.

However, the enterprise started almost by accident. Founder David White used to deal in furniture, when one day he received a phone call from a hotel that was undergoing renovation, inquiring whether he knew of a good place to sell off the old furnishings from remodeled areas. White thought that these might be in demand in his hometown of New Haven, CT, due to its large student population, and started advertising hotel furniture at discount rates to students and town residents.

His bet paid off, and soon, his business was getting coverage in the media – segments covering Universal Hotel Liquidators aired on the local News Channel 8 as early as 2002; by then, the business already had a professional crew and transportation available, so in addition to helping hotels sell off their old furniture, UHL could also remove and ship it to storage, eliminating the need for third-party movers. The entire process would only take a couple of days, allowing hotel management to remodel and re-furnish their rooms as quickly as possible, and thus minimize downtime.

By filling in a business niche that was previously untapped, Universal Hotel Liquidators has shown the power of a simple and practical idea that’s implemented well.

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