Hotels

WITH MANY HOTELS OFFERING GUARANTEES of a good night’s sleep, the control of sound is of paramount importance even in budget hotels. However, each of the major hotel chains takes a different approach to how they specify acoustic performance, so there are real dangers for the design team. For example, one hotel chain may require airborne sound insulation to be assessed against STCs, while another may assess against D_nT,w +C_tr.

As well as a variety of on-site performance parameters, each hotel chain sets differing performance criteria and it is not sufficient to assume that a higher-rated hotel will automatically require higher levels of sound insulation between rooms. The good night guarantee for budget hotels can mean that they set higher standards than more prestigious hotel chains.

This chapter provides examples of good practice across the hotel industry. The performance standards that are included have been gleaned from a variety of hotel design projects, taking the most onerous standards to define best practices and outline key areas to watch out for when involved in the design of any hotel.

14.2.1 Performance specifications

Acoustic performance levels in hotels are dictated by a number of key factors. With regards to sound insulation between rooms, the most strict criteria would be required:

  if a hotel is likely to be used regularly by guests who need to sleep during the day, e.g., hotels near an airport which are to be used by flight crews

  if the hotel chain wishes to offer a money-back guarantee for guests who do not get an uninterrupted night’s sleep.

The most strict controls on ambient noise levels are more likely to be required:

Specific guidance levels for ambient noise control, acceptable mechanical noise levels, maximum permissible reverberation times, and airborne and impact insulation requirements are detailed in Appendix B.

14.2.2 Maximum permissible noise levels from external sources

It is often expected that maximum permissible noise levels are applied in hotel design to avoid disturbance from infrequent high-noise events such as may be common in an urban location (delivery noise, people shouting in the street). Suitable levels are detailed in Table 14.1. Particular care should be taken when applying a maximum noise criterion and discussions with the client should be sought at the design stage. This is because it can often be impractical or extremely costly to achieve the control of sudden or very loud noise events.

The following guidance should be applied when considering the use of control standards on maximum noise levels or L_Amax:

  Function rooms – L_Amax for function rooms are generally only applicable if there is an expectation that the function room is to be used for lectures, conferences, or other events where public speaking is anticipated.

  Guest bedrooms – The L_Amax criteria for guest bedrooms is commonly only applied during the nighttime period.

  Frequency of high-noise events – when assessing L_Amax it is anticipated that it should apply to regular occurrences (e.g., events that would occur more than 10 times during the night (11:00PM–7:00AM). Therefore unless the hotel is next to a fire or police station, then sirens from emergency service vehicles should be discounted.

  High-noise environments – In very high noise environments, such as city center locations or next to airports, the application of the L_Amax criterion can become impractical to achieve, particularly when dealing with the conversions of existing buildings. In such instances, the L_Amax criterion should be relaxed; a –10 dB reduction in the standard performance level is a good rule of thumb.

14.2.3 Noise limits for heavy rain

Noise from heavy rainfall can also be a cause of disturbance within hotel developments. It is likely that such an issue would only be of concern for rooms on the top floor of a hotel or where the hotel is only a single story in height. Here the application of the NR or NC parameter is suitable, and the required performance levels are detailed in Table 14.1.

Table 14.1  Control levels for various noise sources – hotel

Table 14.2  Sound insulation performance requirements, hotel guest bedroom to hotel guest bedroom, depending on separating construction type

14.2.4 Control of noise from lifts/elevators

Lift/elevator noise can be of concern particularly where there are limited opportunities to separate lifts/elevator and lifts/elevator lobbies from guest bedrooms. Suitable performance levels for hotels are detailed in Table 14.1.

14.2.5 Sound insulation between guest bedrooms within a hotel

The primary area of concern in any hotel is the partitions that separate one guest bedroom from another. Performance standards for airborne sound control, given in Table 14.2, depend on performance.

Performance levels for impact sound are detailed in Table B.1.

Note: Achieving “good” insulation levels is not in itself an absolute guarantee that guests will not be disturbed by noise. It is a performance level that ensures that most people would not be disturbed by noise from a neighboring room and reduces the risk to the hotel operator.