European Hotels defeat US Hotels in Silence…
Noise pollution is the No. 1 complaint among hotel guests world wide. European hotels have started addressing this problem, and there are already 140 European hotels with the silence label: Quiet Room®. Amazingly, not a single American hotel is in possession of this label. To make them more aware of the label and the underlying problems, the Quietroom Foundation has developed a customised online course. This will help American hotels live up to the expectations inferred by their stars and offer their guests the optimum comfort of… silence. In the way that for instance hotels at Paris Orly Airport have succeeded in making a difference by acquiring the label. People spending the night there are no longer bothered by the noise of an Airbus A-380 or a Boeing 747 flying overhead.
Silent periods are insufficient
Lucas Keizer, Chairman foundation Quiethotelroom comments: “I don’t understand it. Often, the US is way ahead when it comes to customer perception and friendliness. But they completely ignore hotel guests in one respect: noise pollution. Some American hotels have so-called ‘silent periods’, times of the day when they ask their guests to be more quiet. But that’s making noise your guests’ problem, instead of offering a solution. You can’t expect guests at an expensive hotel in the centre of New York to be satisfied with that.”
Keizer continues: “The Quietroom Foundation stimulates the world wide development of silent hotel rooms and has created the Quiet Room® label. But it turns out that most technical hotel staff lack the necessary knowledge about sound, about legal regulations and how to prevent noise. Which is a shame, because it is unbelievable what some hotel guests have to endure in return for really expensive room rates. I find that outrageous. When you pay top prices, you should get really silent rooms. But many hotels do nothing to prevent noise from outside such as police sirens or noisy youths, or interior noises such as air-con, flushing toilets or the sounds of amorous neighbours. In fact, the problem already starts with the construction and design of hotel rooms. Few designers know that there are special walls, windows, air-cons and even insulating floor coverings which have fantastic sound insulating qualities. They make it possible to substantially reduce the number of decibels.
The most frequently mentioned noise complaints in hotels:
- flushing toilets
- walking/contact sound of people in the room above
- voices in corridors
- night noises from adjacent rooms
- outside noises
- sounds of hotel bar/restaurant
- sound of air-con/ventilation
- closing doors
- sounds of rolling luggage and trolleys
- sound of adjacent elevator cooling installation
How to design a quiet hotel room: https://youtu.be/XlbvOjQb7mI
For more information, contact:
David Gribnau, public relations
M +31 (0)6 204 153 29
E david@gribnau.com