Hospitality lighting options for space or area

EVENT AND CONFERENCE ROOMS

These are the most multi functional spaces in any hotel property, designed to accommodate meetings and events of all sizes. They are often contiguous to one another and separated by soundproof “air walls” which can be opened up to create bigger venues for galas, exhibitions, dining, dances, conventions and other large events. Functional and effective lighting is essential if people are to use their time as here productively as possible. These spaces require lighting that can be tailored create the right ambience for the task at hand.​

Design Tips:

  • These spaces call for a variety of luminaires and lighting technologies consisting of general, accent and decorative lighting to handle the many activities and tasks that take place there. For Large events and conferences will also call for high output theatrical and video luminaires and light sources.
  • A high degree of lighting switching, control and dimming is also required so that light levels, lighting effects and combinations of different luminaires can be easily tuned or programmed by hotel staff as preset “scenes” depending on the activity or task.
  • Lighting for meetings, AV presentations, note taking and reading should follow the design guidelines set for Conference and Meeting rooms in the Office Lighting section of our website. Adjustable accent lighting should be provided for speaker’s podiums, head table locations, as these will likely change from one event to the next.​

Exteriors, Entrances, Garages & Parking Areas

When it comes of exterior lighting, you should judge a book by its cover. Your façade is your calling card. After dark, exterior lighting turns your hotel into a landmark that people will recognize and be attracted to. It conveys an image of welcome comfort and security for arriving guests. It helps them navigate entrance drives and canopies, parking garages and walkways. It creates a pleasing panorama for your guests to enjoy from the window of their rooms and transforms your gardens, terraces and walkways, into magical spaces for guests to walk through after dark. Take advantage of new lighting technologies and ensure that your guests’ first impression will be a positive one.  

Design Tips:

  • Good exterior lighting should be energy efficient, provide stable color and require minimal maintenance. For architectural lighting, parking lots, garages, entrance canopies and loading docks, use METALARC® discharge light sources. For landscapes, walkway, pool decks, use METALARC® POWERBALL® ceramic metal halide lamps.
  • Ensure that the exterior lighting design “blends” with the character and identity of the community surrounding your property.
  • Select lamps and luminaires that will provide appropriate levels of illuminance and optical characteristics to direct the light only where it is needed and away from guestroom windows.
  • Selecting high efficacy lamps and ballasts to achieve the greatest energy savings.
  • Save money with lighting controls that adjust illuminance levels, or switch off non essential lighting based on occupancy, or time of night.
  • For more information, see our web pages on Street & Area Lighting.​ 

Signs of the Times

Signage is essential to inform and direct your guests. Your property’s branding and directional signage needs to look as attractive and attention grabbing after dark as it does during the day. No matter what type of sign you choose: surface lit, backlit, edge lit, halo lit, channel letters or a combination of these, we have a wide variety of lighting solutions to put your name in the best light. Cutting-edge LED modules have revolutionized the sign building business. These small, ​versatile and robust light sources are extremely cost effective, easy to maintain and they last for upwards of 50,000 hours.

Guest Bathrooms

Grooming is the primary task in a guest bathroom. Light sources above or to the sides of mirror usually provide the illumination. When looking in the bathroom mirror, guests want shadow free lighting and accurate rendition of skin tones.
 

Design Tips:

The traditional T12 cool white linear fluorescent lamps still in use in many guest bathrooms make colors appear pale or washed out. OCTRON® T8 and PENTRON T5 fluorescent lamps contain rare earth phosphors that yield a high color rendering index and make skin tones and hair color look more natural. They also offer long life and energy savings

Larger bathrooms are often designed with separate alcoves or partitioned rooms designated for toilets, tubs, shower stalls or dressing areas. Each space should have its own lighting plan, with separately switched light sources for general illumination and for safety when closed off from the rest of the bathroom.

Shower enclosures in particular, require dedicated light sources for safety and egress. CAPSYLITE® halogen, DULUX® compact fluorescent and ULTRA LED products offer long life, bright white illumination and reduced maintenance.

Guest Rooms & Suites

Guest rooms are one of the major commodities of a hospitality facility. Whether your guest is a business or leisure traveler, their room is one of the features that set your property apart from your competition. Since a hotel room must serve as a home away from home, wired remote hospitality, conference room, hospitality suite and AV and sales presentation room among other functions, flexibility is needed in the lighting plan.​

Design Tips:

  • The guest room or suite needs to accommodate a variety of personal and business related tasks. Adequate lighting for these activities cannot be provided by general lighting alone. General illumination from ceiling or wall sconce luminaires provides the “base” layer for task lighting, helps housekeeping staff and provides flexible lighting for non residential use. Beyond that, a variety of general, accent, and decorative luminaires will be needed. In larger suites that accommodate business activities, guests must be able to control light levels and luminaire mix as needed. Don’t forget that the desk top may be used for multiple tasks requirement different illuminance levels.
  • Traditionally, the predominant lamp types used were incandescent. Today, they have been replaced by compact fluorescent, halogen and LED retrofits that last many times longer and save significantly more energy. This is a big advantage given that they are often left on even when the room is unoccupied.
  • The small entrance foyer which is a typical part of a guest room should have its own surface mounted luminaires that help enlarge the feel of the space by reflecting light off the walls or ceiling. Foyer lighting can be designed to light closets, luggage racks and the foyer at the same time.
  • Self illuminated switches provide a convenience for guests entering an unfamiliar space. Low wattage night lights and guide lights will avoid guests leaving higher wattage light sources turned on through the night.
  • Automated room controls that sense the presence of occupants or staff will provide additional energy savings. These systems switch off certain electrical receptacles and lower the thermostats when the space is unoccupied.

Lobbies & Reception Areas

Lobbies can be small and intimate, expansive and luxurious or anything in between. This is where people come together to meet, get information and interact. The main lobby is a showcase where the image and feel of a hotel is first introduced. In this high energy, high traffic space, flexible and functional lighting is a must both day and night.

Design Tips:

  • Lighting operates 24/7 in lobbies and often in high ceilings where re-lamping can be difficult, inconvenient and costly. Consider the most energy efficient long life light sources, like ULTRA LED retrofit lamps.
  • Lobby lighting should provide a safe outdoor-to-indoor transition, i.e. the ability of one’s eyes to adapt from outdoor to indoor lighting conditions.
  • Highly reflective lobby walls can be wall washed with light to provide illumination for the lobby and occupants.
  • For glass enclosed lobbies, the interior walls need to be at higher luminance in the day (to be seen from outside) and lower at night. Consider controlled dimming systems.
  • Hotel lobbies house a number of areas that can be differentiated and enhanced with appropriate lighting techniques. These include: elevator lobbies, reception desk, lounge areas, bell captain and, concierges desks.
  • Where informational display screens are used, care should be taken to avoid distracting reflections from luminaires or high brightness surfaces.
  • The registration desk is a multi-task area. A high general lighting level will help guests locate and use this area, while local task lighting should be considered where display screens are in use.
  • Higher illuminance is suitable in elevator lobbies especially over the elevator threshold.​

Restaurants, Lounges & Bars

Lighting enhances the guest experience. Creating the right ambiance for different needs is the lighting design goal of any in-house drinking and dining space whether it’s a cafe, martini bar, sports bar, or restaurant. These are places where people meet, socialize and simply enjoy the experience. Today’s many choices of luminaires and light sources allow you to create different lighting moods in the same space, from professional and refreshing during the day, to exciting and dynamic after dark. 

Design Tips:

Lighting in dining establishments should be suited to the goals of the space:
  • Intimate restaurants, lounges and clubs require low levels of illuminance with subtly lighted focal areas such as entrance lobbies, maitre d’ stations and table and bar surfaces. Lighting should be uniform and controlled in distribution.
  • Leisure restaurants and dining rooms (the most prevalent type) require moderate illuminance levels and luminaires are usually unobtrusive, except where decorative luminaires might be used as part of the interior theme décor. Light levels should be higher in focal areas such as buffet tables.
  • Quick service restaurants including snack bars, coffee shops and franchise restaurants usually strive for fast and efficient customer turnover. Higher illuminance levels and uniform light distribution are usually the norm.
  • In any dining or drinking establishment, there should be adequate light levels for reading menus or reading labels on bottles behind the bar.
  • Light sources with a high color rendering index are important wherever food is being served so that everything looks appetizing.
  • Where windows are present in restaurants, a daylight harvesting system can be used to save energy and extend lamp life.​​​
In lounges, clubs and discos, LED light sources and luminaires can be incorporated into just about any architectural surface, feature or texture to create exciting and dynamic color combinations and scenes. Digital controls give you total control over your LED systems to create both functional white light as well as warm and intimate color moods.​

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