Noise complaints are one of the biggest issues for hotel management, and it has become a priority to reduce these sound problems in hopes of increasing guest satisfaction. Continue reading for tips on how to soundproof hotels geared towards professionals.
Common Methods for Hotel Soundproofing – Improve Hotel STC Ratings
People who regularly travel for business can spend more than half of their nights in a hotel. A recent study by The National Sleep Foundation polled 1,004 travelers, of which 74% said that a quiet room was the key to a good nights sleep. Corporate travelers need this peace and quiet to be focused and productive on their trip.
First: Hotel Soundproofing Case Studies
Also: See our Acoustic Consulting for Hospitality – You may need to pinpoint the problem before trying to solve it
Block Noise Through the Walls and Floors
Our Floor Blokker Acoustic Underlayment absorbs vibrations, stopping noise from traveling through the floor into other levels of the hotel. It is installed under any style of flooring and is designed to block both airborne noise and structure-borne noise. The use of it will help to block out the annoying noise of people dropping things, loudly walking around on the floor above you or listening to their TV too loudly.
Wall Blokker Soundproofing Membrane is an excellent product to cost-effectively reach STC 55 or 60 in your hotel partitions. Often categorized as a “sound membrane” or “vinyl membrane”, the Wall Blokker product is designed to ensure sound transmission class ratings at or above brand standards. Similarly to Floor Blokker, Wall Blokker is installed under a layer of drywall to reduce noise transfer between adjacent rooms.
Soundproofing Hotel Doors
A lot of noise can escape through cracks around doors, disrupting other hotel guests that are trying to sleep or get work done. Door seals are placed around the perimeter of the door, reducing sound transfer to other rooms. Door sweeps can also be placed underneath the door, closing the gap between the door and the floor. Both of these options reduce sound from leaking out of rooms into other unwanted spaces.
Along with the noise coming through hotel doors, the doors in hotels tend to cause noise also. Doors in hotels are usually pretty heavy and therefore slam very hard and loud, disturbing guests in nearby rooms. A fairly simple fix for this is adding some padding between the door frame and the door.
Absorb Noise Using Acoustic Panels
Absorption panels are ideal for the hotel lobby, hallways, or business center. Fabric-Wrapped Acoustic Panels have limitless design potential, as they can be wrapped in fabric to match any hotel decor. They absorb noise and decrease echo and reverberation, allowing for higher speech intelligibility.
In spaces where multiple people are speaking, acoustic panels help to absorb excess unwanted noise, making individual conversations more clear. Other acoustic treatment options include the stretched fabric wall system, designed for sound reduction on larger walls, or when additional absorption area is needed.
Install Soundproof Curtains
If your hotel is located near a busy highway, chances are traffic noise is making it’s way into the hotel rooms and disturbing guests. While this noise will disturb guests while they sleep, it can also disturb them while they work if they choose to do so in their hotel room.
Soundproof curtains from Residential Acoustics are custom made to fit most windows and can sometimes be installed on the existing track system for a hotel’s curtains. They are lined with mass loaded vinyl and have an STC rating of 26. During testing these curtains were able to block out 60%-90% of outside noise that came in through windows or into other spaces through doors.
Methods to Avoid Hotel Noise Complaints
With these tips, corporate travelers will be able to have both a productive working day and peaceful nights sleep, while hotels will be improving guest satisfaction.
- Block noise through the floors and walls
- Soundproof the hotel doors
- Use sound absorbing panels to absorb noise
- Install soundproofing curtains
If you’ve tried any of these methods in your hotel feel free to let is know how it worked for you.
Do you want to know how Commercial Acoustics can assist business hotels with soundproofing? Read this Hotel Acoustic Testing Case Study for more information.
