Jump to:
- – Sign 1: No Updates in at Least Five Years
- – Sign 2: Dirty, Worn-Out Carpets
- – Sign 3: Dingy Smells
- – Sign 4: Leaking Faucets
- – Sign 5: Inefficient Lighting and Appliances
- – Sign 6: Signs of Mold
- – Sign 7: Poor Quality HVAC Systems
- – Sign 8: Damaged, Outdated Furniture
- – Sign 9: Cracks in the Walls, Tiles, or Floors
- – Sign 10: Bad Reviews
When guests check in to your hotel, you want them to feel at home and comfortable in their surroundings. As a hotel owner, you want to put your best foot forward and present the best for your guests. When a hotel has deteriorating walls, floors, or furniture, guests will take note, and business is likely to decrease. Wear and tear are inevitable, but it’s imperative for hotel owners to keep up with necessary repairs and design trends to keep customers satisfied. Here are the top 10 signs that it’s time for a hotel renovation.
1. No Updates in at Least Five Years
Perhaps you feel like your hotel is well-maintained and in good shape. But if your last completed renovation or minor update was more than five years ago, it may be time to look around and think about making some changes to boost your guest experience and ratings.
Typically, soft hotel renovations occur every 5-7 years and may include new drapes, bedspreads, furniture, and rugs. After about 11-14 years, you’ll want to look at the items that can get dinged up over time and need to be refreshed, such as bedding, carpet in corridors and public spaces, guest room fixtures, and millwork. And let’s not forget about the everchanging advancement of technology, such as TVs, remote working areas, and wifi connectivity. Lastly, your guest bathrooms have the most extended renovation lifecycle, which can be as long as every 16+ years. Renovating a hotel bathroom is very entailed and ranges in complexity, especially if there will be a conversion from tub-showers combinations to shower-only installations. These renovations require a more detailed plumbing installation plan and present an opportune time to replace bathroom tile.
Simply updating your hotel corridors with new carpet, finishes, and art can greatly impact how your guest perceives their room upon entry.
The hospitality industry is competitive. When there is no rule about how often your hotel needs a renovation, many successful hotels continually update their property to keep up with new design trends and technology to ensure everything is in excellent condition for their guests. Hotel flags can also require PIPs (property improvement plans) as their brand design standards evolve and change.
If your guests feel like they’re walking into a time warp when they step in the door, even if everything is clean and in good condition, the outdated look may be a serious turnoff.
2. Dirty, Worn-Out Carpets
Nobody wants to stay in a hotel room that has dirty, stained, or damaged carpeting. It looks dingy and tacky, and it is unsanitary. The same goes for carpeting in hallways, lobbies, and other areas of the hotel. All flooring should be clean and in good condition for guests, but over time, the flooring gets worn out, collects various stains, and starts to look dingy. These are all signs that hotel renovations are needed soon.
3. Dingy Smells
Bad smells are never a good sign on any property. However, stale or dingy smells in a hotel are serious turn-offs to guests and can be a sign of old, unclean rooms and a sense of neglect about the property’s condition. Air fresheners and added scents simply cannot cover up the unpleasant odors. While it may not seem like a big issue to fix, it can be a huge factor in the overall quality of a guest’s experience in your hotel.
4. Leaking Faucets
Rooms with leaky faucets are annoying to guests, and they’re also wasteful to your water bill. Inefficient plumbing should be repaired sooner rather than later. This also includes toilets that don’t flush properly and showers with poor water pressure.
A clean, working bathroom is a big part of a hotel room’s overall comfort, so it should be in excellent condition. Installing new faucet aerators, low-flow showerheads, and dual-flush toilets can all save you money in the long run, too.
5. Inefficient Lighting and Appliances
Like leaky or inefficient plumbing, inefficient lighting, electrical systems, and appliances also seriously drain your utility bills. Investing in LED lightbulbs, quality Energy Star-rated appliances, and updating your electrical system and other fixtures can give your guests a better experience overall and help you save money in the long term.
Additionally, take a look at your lighting fixtures throughout your hotel. Guests don’t want to walk into a dark hotel or not have enough lighting options in their rooms. Provide multiple lamps and lighting fixtures, in updated styles, in guest rooms for maximum flexibility.
6. Signs of Mold
This is one sign that should not be ignored. Mold typically appears in bathrooms where there is excess moisture. Still, it can also grow in carpeting, on walls, near air conditioners, or anywhere there has been water damage or excessive humidity. HR Construction Group found and managed mold at the Crystal City Marriott.
Mold is not only unsightly, but it is also a health hazard for hotel employees and guests. If you have mold anywhere in your hotel, it’s time to clean it up and replace damaged fixtures and materials.
7. Poor Quality HVAC Systems
A good, functioning HVAC system is an integral part of overall guest comfort. If your hotel feels too hot in the summer and too cold in the winter, you’re bound to have unhappy guests. Newer updated systems can keep hotel rooms comfortable year-round. Additionally, since they are more efficient, they also can save you money on utility bills.
To ensure even better efficiency for your HVAC system, you should also take a look at doors and windows. Creaky, rusty, hard-to-use doors and windows are a pain for guests, and they may be leaking in too much heat or cold air from outside, making your HVAC system work even harder.
8. Damaged, Outdated Furniture
The furniture in your hotel rooms should be clean, in good condition, and in updated styles for ultimate guest comfort. Any damaged furniture or fixtures should be replaced as soon as possible because it can also be a safety hazard in addition to being unsightly.
This extends beyond the furniture in guest rooms and includes:
– Lobbies
– Conference rooms
– Party rooms
– Business centers
– Breakfast rooms
– Restaurants
– Pools
– Fitness centers
9. Cracks in the Walls, Tiles, or Floors
Cracks or chips in the walls and flooring can really make a place look unkempt and run down. Not only that, these cracks and chips are generally not easy to fix on their own and will only become worse over time. Chips and cracks in tiles and other flooring materials can easily become a tripping hazard and liability for guest injuries.
10. Bad Reviews
One of the top tell-tale signs that your hotel needs renovations is a constant stream of poor reviews. Maybe all of the other signs have crept up on you more slowly, and you haven’t noticed how many components need to be replaced and renovated — but your guests do notice, especially a leaky faucet or cold shower.
Check the comments on your website, social media, and third-party review sites. If the reviews are not positive, it’s a good indication that other guests feel this way and just haven’t commented. Your guests are your most important asset, and these negative reviews can detract more business and negatively impact your bottom line.
Renovating a Hotel With HR Construction Group
As a hotel owner, you want your hotel to look its best and create an experience that keeps people coming back. A newly renovated hotel is more likely to have more satisfied guests and earn more revenue. It’s a good idea to look around your property with an objective eye and use this guide as a checklist of what to watch out for.
If you find that your hotel has any of these warning signs, it’s probably time for some updates, and HR Construction Group is happy to help! Contact our team of experts today for honest advice and professional hotel renovation services you can trust.
