If you're considering investing in hotel furniture in order to cater for the Christmas rush, there is an increasing sense of urgency about placing your order, if you are to have any hope of having your rooms furnished by mid-December.
But if you don't get there in time, perhaps because of other admin commitments during the run-up to Christmas, the New Year could provide the breathing space you need to look again at budgets and set aside the investment finance you need to refresh your hotel furniture for 2014.
A recent study by HOSPA, the Hospitality Professionals Association, found that there is a natural alignment between the beginning of the new calendar year, and the ideal time for many hotel managers to consider their budgets.
One interviewee explained to researchers: "Well the [annual] cycle works quite well for us because ... it all goes very quiet in January and the managers have got the time to spend on thinking carefully about their budgets in January; it is the quietest month of the year in terms of the hotels."
That makes it the ideal time to cope with the upheaval of replacing old hotel furniture with new - particularly if any particular pieces have reached the end of their natural life over the busy Christmas period.
However, the report concedes that the recent economic turbulence has many hoteliers looking to industry reports in order to identify medium-term trends in the hospitality sector, with budgets being set in accordance with their expectations of growth or otherwise.
"A recurring theme throughout all of the interviews was that of 'we did what we had to do'," the HOSPA study states - and for this sector, which contributes an estimated 3% of the UK's total gross domestic product, that makes the return to growth something of a chicken and egg situation.
Roughly 0.85% of the UK's entire GDP came from accommodation alone in 2012, highlighting the importance of investment in hotel furniture, in order to support the wider economy as it finds a firm footing once again.
It's something of a Catch 22 for hotel managers, who face the dilemma of investing now in order to achieve growth later - and for many, the thinking space provided by January could play a big role in determining their success throughout 2014.