This article considers reported opinions of construction arbitration practitioners in international arbitration surveys and the results of an empirical study conducted by the author on the personnel of arbitral institutions in Hong Kong, together with his comments, in order to explore how choices of arbitrators can be made in the best interests of both parties. It is an edited version of a Past Chairman’s Nuts and Bolts Series lecture on arbitration given to the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (East Asia Branch) on 30 December 2021.