| Getting a good night's sleep is high on the | | | | increases noise to the adjoining room, |
| agenda of most people staying in hotels. | | | | ensuring that doors extend all the way to the |
| Whether on business or staying for leisure | | | | floor - if you can fit a hotel bill under it |
| making sure that we get a good night's rest | | | | you can also hear all the corridor noise and |
| for the next day ahead is essential. However, | | | | avoiding using wall mounted air conditioning |
| it appears that our expectations fall short | | | | units. |
| as a recent survey highlighted noise as the | | | | |
| biggest cause for complaint in American | | | | But the most effective way to cut noise is |
| hotels. | | | | undoubtedly to soundproof hotel rooms; this |
| | | | is the way forward if hotels are to encourage |
| According to the annual North American Hotel | | | | repeat visits. However, it is expensive to |
| Guest Satisfaction Survey conducted by J.D. | | | | install soundproofing in any hotel. In |
| Power and Associates, of the 47,364 | | | | Minneapolis, where one of the country's |
| travellers questioned external noises such as | | | | leading noise experts bases his acoustical |
| nearby construction and traffic, and internal | | | | consultancy, David Braslau argues that the |
| disturbances such as parties and noisy | | | | extra cost is worth it in the long run. He |
| neighbours easily heard through paper thin | | | | said: "Economics plays a big part. Generally, |
| walls topped the list of complaints. Even | | | | hotels are getting probably getting quieter |
| dissatisfaction about room cleanliness, a | | | | because people complain and there is a |
| perennial feature of the annual survey, | | | | growing awareness in the industry of the |
| palled into insignificance when measured | | | | problems that noise causes to their |
| against the noise nuisance. | | | | customers." |
| | | | |
| The American hotel industry is taking the | | | | However, hotels in Minneapolis and around the |
| issue very seriously, especially as people | | | | world will never completely eliminate noise |
| who experience excessive noise seldom return | | | | because most of it is made by people, such as |
| to stay again at that hotel. So, in order to | | | | rowdy guests returning to their rooms at 2 |
| cut noise hotels are introducing initiatives | | | | a.m., kids banging on doors for laughs, or |
| such as white-noise machines in guest rooms, | | | | the guy next door who insists on having the |
| limiters on TVs - so that the volume cannot | | | | TV on loudly throughout the night. |
| be turned up to booming levels. Other ways of | | | | |
| cutting noise being considered by hotels are: | | | | So, however much hotels can introduce new |
| making sure that windows are thick enough to | | | | initiatives to eliminate noise, guests have |
| cut out external traffic and plane noise, not | | | | their part to play in remembering to be |
| mounting TVs on wall brackets, as that | | | | considerate to their fellow guests. |