REPORT FROM THE U.S.—The alarm clock buzzed the hotel guest out of bed. She jumped into the shower, anxious about a morning meeting with a new client. Still tired as she began drying her hair, she looked at the clock and realized it was only 3 a.m.—three hours before she needed to start her day. The alarm she heard was from the room next door.
AmericInn’s SoundGuard construction includes concrete blocks filled with sound-deadening foam, heavy drywall, insulated windows and solid doors with threshold gaskets to mute corridor noise.
“The advantage room to room compared to other types of construction could be 25-percent quieter,” Angeloni said. “If you have a hockey team running down the hall on the second floor, the sound advantage between floors might be 300 percent.”
Whether it’s a snoring neighbor, a loud TV or construction, hotel owners have their work cut out for them when it comes to noise reduction. AmericInn even turns potential conversion franchisees away if their hotels aren’t built to reduce noise.
“We get calls from hotels, and the first question is, ‘What kind of construction are you?’” Angeloni said. “If they say wood, we have to say no to them. We began working with an acoustical scientist, and he tells us one of the nice things about masonry construction is if you follow the directions, you’ll end up with the sound specs in the plan. With wood, you could end up with louder sound than what the sound specs are.”
Other than construction, another consideration for a quieter hotel is the sound capability of TVs.
“It’s a problem for everyone, but it’s less of a problem for us,” Angeloni said.
If a property chooses a 37-inch TV, the brand doesn’t allow it to be wall mounted because it creates sound vibrations between rooms. Instead, the hotel must stand the TV on a credenza.
Noisy by design
Sometimes noise is part of what makes a hotel’s atmosphere. The Church Lounge in the Tribeca Grand Hotel in New York is in an eight-story atrium, with the majority of guestrooms overlooking it. It’s known as one of the most happening scenes in town; however, the owner didn’t forget guests actually want to sleep.
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It was important to control the sound that easily could carry up through the guest floors, said general manager Pablo Migoya. The lounge was built with sound-absorbing panels, and plush carpet was installed. Also, each guestroom has a sound-masking system, similar to a white-noise machine, that guests can control. While it’s important to create an exciting environment in the lounge, that should stop there, Migoya said.
Lahnie Johnson said many people don’t understand sound has two methods of transmission: through the ear and mechanical systems, including drywall. Johnson is president of Acoustiblok, which manufactures a pliable noise-isolating material an eighth of an inch thick that can be installed in walls, ceilings and floors.
“Both areas should be looked at,” Johnson said. “If there’s a vibration sound, we can look at it. Sometimes Acoustiblok isn’t the only thing to use. Construction techniques are very important, like the way plumbing is installed. Just a few tips and very little money can make a huge difference.”
Acoustiblok has supplied luxury hotels, including Ritz-Carlton properties and Trump Tower in Chicago, but less upscale hotels also see the need to combat noise.
Jay Modhwadiya, owner of the Hampton Inn in Kingston, New York, had Acoustiblok installed when the hotel was built in 2007. The hotel is near heavily traveled railroad tracks, so Modhwadiya looked for ways to combat track noise and train whistles. In addition to Acoustiblok, he chose triple-pane windows.
“It’s well worth the investment,” he said. “It helps with guest satisfaction.”
Repeat business at the hotel is phenomenal—40 percent of weekday business is repeat, said general manager Denise Laneuville.
Even though surveys continue to point to noise as a top guest complaint, many hotels haven’t addressed the issue.
“Out of all the money hotels spend on better service, spas and food, the problem is still noise,” Johnson said. “It’s not that expensive to address, but usually there’s a rush to get hotels built as quickly and cheaply as possible. In the end, it costs them in unhappy customers.”
Hotels could even capitalize on soundproofing measures by offering rooms in a quiet zone and charging a $10 premium, Johnson said.
Angeloni suspects the noise problem hasn’t reached the point of hurting big hotel brands yet, but he believes they’re starting to pay attention.
“If it were easy to do, they would probably say, ‘Why not?” he said. “If you already have 1,400 hotels in wood construction, you could start building the newer hotels in masonry construction. But what would you do about the other 1,400? If this noise differentiation takes off, it will have an impact on them.”