A hot shower, comfy bed and a roof overhead is no longer enough. Today’s travellers are looking for accommodations that allow them to escape their daily lives and engage in “self-care” without leaving the comfort of their hotels. Major players in the hospitality industry have responded by making structural shifts in how they prioritize amenities, taking significant moves toward expanding fitness, wellness and recreational offerings to bring guests a variety of activities that cater to their needs and lifestyles.

With the goal of trying to keep people in the hotels as long as possible, major players are building entertainment and wellness facilities into the hospitality experience. By adding unique dining, wellness centres, spas, immersive fitness centres and unique recreational spaces both indoors and out, designers are looking to provide the ultimate vacation experience without guests needing to leave the premises.

For designers and guests, that experience starts from the ground up. While there are many design elements to consider with this new trend including lighting, furniture and equipment one of the most important considerations is deciding the best flooring option. Whether the development is indoor or outdoor, the right flooring can make all the difference in how well the new offerings are received by guests and withstand the test of time.

Fitness

The definition of fitness has evolved considerably over the last few decades. Today, fitness is a broad term encompassing traditional exercises such as running and lifting weights, as well as functional fitness and wellness activities including yoga, outdoor training and dance.

To accommodate all of these activities and the different groups of guests demanding them, hotel fitness facilities are expanding significantly to embody the appropriate room, amenities and resources for each activity. From building a studio for dance and HIIT classes or a sports field with outdoor turf, to ensuring facilities include total body resistance exercise equipment or an outdoor running trail, hotels are investing in the next generation of fitness accessories.

Safety and functionality are vital to guests looking for a quality workout experience. Resilient flooring made with performance rubber is an ideal choice for fitness centre ergonomics. It offers a slip-resistant and moisture-resistant surface, which improves performance and safety near weights, aerobic rooms, functional fitness areas, outdoor running trails, courts, multipurpose gyms and locker rooms.

Resilient flooring with composition rubber backing also provides a cushioned, ergonomically supportive foundation that protects guests from physical stress often caused by more traditional hard surfaces. The force reduction found in rubber flooring reduces the incidence of joint injuries from impact, creating comfort and support for guests engaging in a variety of activities from push-ups to deadlifts and everything in between.

Wellness

When it comes to hotel wellness facilities, today’s guests are seeking the ultimate in luxury and pampering. With this in mind, it’s imperative for wellness spaces to provide a calming environment not disrupted by loud or excessive noise so guests can fully immerse themselves in the services and escape the day-to-day bustle.

Whatever the service, pounding music, guest foot traffic, loud phone calls, slamming doors or other extraneous noise can all detract from a spa experience. To ensure sound levels are controlled in a wellness space, designers must incorporate effective acoustic design into their plans – starting with the most effective flooring material.

Absorptive materials such as acoustic ceiling panels and rubber-backed flooring can have a significant impact on sound reduction. New technology in resilient flooring enables wellness facilities to create a strong, durable foundation for a variety of self-care activities while helping to dissipate acoustic energy for improved acoustics both within the room and elsewhere in the hotel.

Furthermore, wellness facilities must maintain a high level of cleanliness to ensure an optimal experience for guests. Guests want to enjoy a freshly cleaned room that feels new, where they are free to interact with the amenities and equipment in the room without concern for a lingering health hazard hidden in the flooring fibers. Resilient flooring offers exceptional hygienic qualities with hard surfaces that combat allergens like mold and mildew – perfect for warm, dewy rooms that call for higher humidity to enhance the wellness experience. Bacteria and germs are easily wiped clean, along with other microscopic particles that have nowhere to burrow in the seamless surface. When a guest walks in to see a sparkling floor, they can rest easy knowing the room is fresh and there aren’t any potential health hazards propagating beneath their toes.

Recreation

Hotels no longer want to be a place to sleep in between day trips to vacation destinations – they want to be the destination. To keep guests and families excited about staying in a hotel and wanting to come back for more, many are creating their own unique recreational amenities such as paintball, interactive video games, elaborate playgrounds, outdoor fire pits and family-friendly dining experiences. All of these recreational offerings require the right flooring to keep guests happy and safe while enjoying all that the hotel has to offer.

It’s important for flooring to be hygienic and durable. Resilient flooring materials are excellent defenders against germs and allergens; they also make cleaning and maintenance easier for staff. They can be swept and cleaned quickly, even after several spills, allowing the kids to keep playing while parents take a break.

Get the Right Look

When designing the next generation amenities that will set a hotel apart from the competition, aesthetics is just as important as functionality and performance – starting with flooring surfaces. In fact, in a world where social media greatly influences consumer decisions, a hotel’s aesthetics may be on par with its customer service in impacting the decision making of desired audiences. Thus, many hospitality leaders are investing in superior materials for their flooring needs to ensure they are providing guests with a fresh experience that is on-trend and memorable.

Rubber-backed resilient flooring checks all of the boxes with a wide array of options that outperform traditional surfaces while enhancing the guest experience. The different selections for resilient flooring have greatly expanded over the years to keep pace with developing decor trends. Many of the resilient surfaces with rubber backing come in myriad colours and textures to ensure a one-of-a-kind experience for the eye and the foot. Designers can choose from traditional composition rubber flooring for weight rooms and fitness centres, as well as rubber-backed surfaces that mimic various materials such as wood or stone for wellness and recreational space. In addition, many designers are opting for more artistic patterns and colours that are customized for their specific project palettes – such as materials that glow under black lights for laser tag or outdoor flooring to create a zen spa for meditation.

Next Generation Hospitality

Hospitality design has evolved in recent years as hotel guests increasingly seek and demand more and better amenities to elevate their vacation experiences. To, ensure these new amenities attract guests, meet expectations and provide a meaningful ROI, it’s important for facility managers and designers to consider the total environment and to invest in high-quality foundational materials that offer maximum benefits across all types of uses.

 

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