Hotel Acoustics: Room-to-Room Noise and Part E
A hotel is one of the only places guests pay to sleep in a stranger's building, so every sound that shouldn't be there gets noticed. A door closing two rooms down, a neighbour's television through the wall, banquet-hall chatter bleeding into a lobby meant to feel calm. None of it seems dramatic in the moment, but it's exactly the kind of thing that ends up in a review the next morning, and reviews are how most guests choose their next hotel.
Room-to-room privacy: specified against Approved Document E
We specify guest room separation against Approved Document E's sound insulation targets, the same standard governing residential separating walls and floors, so a door closing next door or a TV through the wall stops being the detail a guest remembers about their stay. This matters most on renovation and conversion projects, where existing wall and floor build-ups often fall well short of what a modern guest expects, even in a well-regarded, established property.
Public areas and guest rooms, treated as one project
Lobbies, bars and banqueting halls are some of the highest-noise spaces in any hotel, and we treat them alongside guest room corridors as part of the same project, rather than solving one and leaving the other. A beautifully quiet room upstairs doesn't compensate for a guest's first and last impression being a loud, echoing lobby.
Finishes that read as hospitality design, not equipment
Stretched fabric and upholstered acoustic systems are specified to read as interior design, not visible equipment, so treatment fits the room's aesthetic rather than announcing itself as a retrofit. This matters more in hospitality than almost any other sector, the acoustic fix genuinely can't look like an afterthought bolted onto a considered interior.
Working around occupancy, not against it
Installation is phased floor by floor around occupancy, so rooms stay bookable throughout the project and guests already staying aren't disturbed by work happening elsewhere in the building.
Common questions
Can you treat guest rooms without closing them for long? Yes, we work floor by floor or room by room so the hotel stays operational throughout the project.
Does this help with room-to-room noise complaints specifically? Yes, we specify against Approved Document E's sound insulation requirements between rooms, the same standard governing residential separating walls.
Do you treat banquet and event spaces too? Yes, we treat high-use public areas like lobbies, bars and banqueting halls as part of the same project as guest rooms.
Assessing your property
See our guide to Approved Document E explained, our hotel acoustics page, or book a free survey to find out where your property's biggest acoustic risk actually is.
Related product guides: timber slat panels, acoustic lighting.
From first survey to final finish
One team handles all seven stages, the same way on every project, so you always know what happens next.
A surveyor visits the site, or works from your drawings and photos when a visit isn't practical. Either way, the room, its surfaces and how it is used are recorded before any advice is given.
Reverberation, ambient noise and noise transfer are read against what the space is used for. The findings arrive as a written report with recommendations, yours to keep with no obligation to proceed.
Treatment is modelled against a reverberation target, then drawn up with panel positions, fixings and finishes. Nothing moves forward until you have approved the design.
Every quotation comes with the specification behind it, listing products by type, quantity and finish with costs set out line by line. What is quoted is what the design calls for.
Panels, baffles, ceilings and screens come from our Acoustic Solutions range and are supplied to the approved specification. What arrives on site matches what was designed.
Our own engineers fit to the approved drawings, checking positions and fixings as they go. One team supplies and installs, so nothing is handed between contractors.
Optional: after fit-out the space can be measured again and compared with the original survey, so the improvement is measured rather than assumed. Results are reported against the relevant standards and the written record goes into your building file.
Stay connected with insights
Get the latest updates from our acoustic design experts