Does parquet only have advantages compared to design flooring?

Originally, we had planned design flooring for the living areas of our new building. I work in an office where there is such design flooring, which I find visually appealing and very practical. Our painter wants to persuade us to choose parquet with the following arguments:
- Natural product
- Price of parquet is hardly higher than that of design flooring
- If there is a damaged spot, parquet can be repaired; design flooring cannot
- Maintenance effort is allegedly not higher

Now we are a bit confused. What is your opinion on this?

We also have vinyl in the workplace: highly durable - after 2 years and a lot of shoe wear, it still looks good. Design flooring is also easy to repair. However, in a new building I would not want vinyl as the main floor because of the synthetic material, but gladly as a flat renovation alternative. I find your list a bit one-sided. What about the haptics? Ultimately, what counts is what YOU want.

I am not familiar with [Designboden]. Regarding parquet, I can say that it is too delicate for us. It scratches easily. The proper care with a damp mop can also be time-consuming. Until now, I also thought that [Designboden] is cheaper. There are probably both products with a wide price range.

There are huge differences in price, quality, and all other characteristics both in parquet and in vinyl. Depending on the type, vinyl can also scratch quickly, whereas parquet can be very durable. You really can't generalize all of this.

I also find the presentation a bit one-sided.
Haptics is a matter of taste, but many tend to prefer natural wood. Design flooring sounds fancy, but in the end it is plastic.
The price comparison is misleading. I can definitely find a mid-range design floor that costs as much as cheap parquet. But like everywhere, there are large price and quality ranges. That's comparing apples to oranges. I think parquet is still more expensive than vinyl at a comparable quality level.

"Almost just as easy to maintain" is complete nonsense.
We chose fully glued design flooring in the new house, and I can basically treat it like tiles, even mop it wet; it has been very durable so far.
Parquet forgives much less. As far as I know, you can't mop it wet, it scratches more easily, and it has to be sanded down to keep it looking nice over the years.
We had parquet in our rental house living room, and after over 20 years and careless previous tenants, it was really so unsightly that I was ashamed of it. Scratches, dents, scuffs everywhere. Then one time the husband had a leaking aquarium and there was a large water stain – you can never get something like that out again unless you replace it.

Hello "Heidi1965". The arguments that were given to you are valid. But when choosing the flooring, one must not overlook the area for which the flooring is supposed to fulfill its duties (bathroom/toilet/kitchen and parquet??? Certainly not!!) and what personal ideas one has about aesthetics. Depending on the thickness of the wood wear layer, parquet can be the more durable option if one considers the regular renovation cycles (every 8 - 10 years in living areas) and the associated material removal (about 1mm to 1.5mm). If these renovations are not carried out and the parquet floor is not renovated over the decades, it will look just as shabby as a PVC floor that is never deeply cleaned. That amounts to about 40 years of use. A PVC covering will hardly be able to keep up. And a spilled aquarium certainly does not fall under the "normal residential" (and legally contractual) use of a floor. Therefore, it is not obliged to bear such damage entries without complaint. Staining is then a matter for the insurance. With PVC, such stains would not exist, but the risk of large-scale (bulge-shaped) detachment will not please any landlord (or builder), even if there are no "water stains" to complain about ... (jokingly intended) And on the topic of "scratches": Have untreated parquet wood installed (glued down!) that is sanded and oiled on site. So do not choose factory sealing if you want to keep such signs of wear minimal. Scratches also occur on elastic floor coverings – however (with the exception of linoleum) with no chance to remove them again! Oiled/waxed surfaces can be spot-sanded and re-oiled by hand yourself in case of scratches etc., without the treated area afterwards standing out prominently. Cleaning is done with a damp (not wet) cloth and a parquet-appropriate, fat-restoring additive (cleaning milk). Good luck and a good choice: KlaRa