Hotel Acoustics

No. Noise from the room next door, the corridor, the floor above or the plumbing travels through the construction, which makes it a sound insulation problem. Panels absorb sound inside a room and change nothing about what passes through a wall or floor. NOVA Acoustics carries out UKAS-accredited sound insulation testing to identify the actual path, which is the right first step where guest room complaints are involved.

The lobby first, because it is usually the largest, hardest and highest space in the building and it is where every guest forms a first impression. Then the restaurant, bar and function rooms, where reverberation directly affects whether people can hold a conversation. Corridors benefit too, though door closers and seals do as much work there as absorption.

Yes, and they are stricter in corridors than in rooms. Under Approved Document B, wall and ceiling linings in circulation spaces and escape routes must achieve national Class 0, or Euroclass B, against Class 1 or Euroclass C for rooms. A panel that is acceptable in a function room may not be permitted in the corridor outside it, so confirm against the building’s fire strategy before ordering.

Yes, and it is usually the highest-value space in the hotel to treat. Large volume with hard finishes produces long reverberation, which is why check-in is often hard to hear. Treatment goes to the ceiling and upper walls as rafts, baffles or panels, above eye level, so the material palette at guest level is untouched. Atria should be modelled rather than estimated.

Usually, with a reversible approach. Where cornices, panelling or a decorated ceiling are protected, treatment moves to freestanding and demountable elements: panels behind existing joinery, baffles hung from structure rather than fixed to decorated surfaces, and heavy textiles. Listed building consent conversations generally turn on reversibility rather than appearance.

With the right specification. Panels near pools, steam rooms and wet treatment areas need moisture-appropriate cores and facings, and standard fabric-wrapped products are not suitable. Relaxation rooms and dry circulation areas around a spa are more straightforward. Confirm the environment at specification stage rather than assuming a standard product will suit.

A function room of around 20 by 12 metres with a 4 metre ceiling typically needs about 100 m² of Class A absorption to come from roughly 2.1 seconds down to 1.0. Hard floors are usually non-negotiable for dancing, so the absorption goes to the ceiling and upper walls. Folding partitions are a common weak point and are an insulation issue rather than an absorption one.

Most hotel schemes are phased so the building keeps trading. Function rooms and meeting rooms are done between bookings, restaurants overnight, and corridors floor by floor. Panel systems are mechanically fixed or bonded, with no wet trades and minimal dust. Lobby and atrium work needs access equipment and is normally scheduled for low-occupancy periods.

Yes, and the mechanism is worth understanding. Once background noise passes roughly 57 dB(A), guests raise their voices in response, which lifts the background again and the room escalates through the evening. Absorption breaks that loop rather than simply making the room quieter, which is why treated rooms feel calmer at the same occupancy.

It depends entirely on what the reviews say. If guests are complaining about hearing the room next door, panels will not move the score and the money belongs in testing and construction. If they are describing a chaotic lobby, a restaurant where nobody could talk, or a function room where the speeches were inaudible, absorption addresses it directly and at comparatively low cost.