Hotel Ergonomics Design: Building for Visitor & Staff Safety

Unlike most offices, a bustling hotel has to keep the safety and comfort of both its employees and guests in mind during the design phase. You'll want to be as cognizant of hospitality ergonomics behind the front desk or in the laundry room as you are in the guest rooms.

Add in bars, restaurants, exercise rooms, and multi-use rooms like conference centers to the equation, and there are a lot of opportunities to implement ergonomics. 

Here are some helpful tips to take your hotel ergonomics more seriously -- and improve employee ROI and visitor satisfaction.

Hotel Ergonomics for Your Hospitality Employees

According to the Booking.com Partner Hub, proper hotel ergonomics can mean the difference between happy, healthy staff members and an unacceptably high turnover rate. It can also reduce the number of expensive worker’s compensation claims.

Small changes can make a huge difference in the everyday work experience of your employees. Let's consider a few of the areas where an ergonomic workspace is especially important.

• Do you have ergonomic keyboard trays at your reception desk? These space-saving additions to the workstation allow staff to keep their hands in a comfortable and preferred negative-tilted position while using the keyboard.
  
  
• Installing ergonomic monitor arms allows each staff member to adjust the monitor's height and orientation. This ensures better alignment with their eyes, neck, and back and more comfort (and less strain) throughout their shift.
   
• Easy-to-use bar lift gates increase staff mobility and safety while keeping guests out of potentially dangerous staff-only areas. A counterbalance-hinged countertop is so lightweight and convenient, your staff members will actually enjoy using it, unlike a heavy, awkward gate that lacks a counterbalance feature.
  
  
• Motion control laundry chute door hinges reduce the chances of repetitive-stress injuries and greatly improve the comfort of your housekeeping staff members. In fact, ergonomics in hotel housekeeping and maintenance is essential in reducing turnover and costly injuries.
  
  

Hotel Ergonomics for Guests

Now that you've considered the safety and comfort of your hotel staff, it's time to turn your attention to your guests. What can you do to make their stay as ergonomically comfortable as possible? After all, innovation, convenience, and comfort are hallmarks of guest satisfaction!

Television Mounts

Let's start with the television. A TV on an adjustable arm allows your guests to watch television at an angle that's comfortable for them. If they can swivel the TV to allow them to view it comfortably from different areas of the room, even better!

Storage

Have you considered convenient and easy-to-reach storage solutions? Guests need places to put keys, drinks, toiletries, jackets, shoes, and luggage. Providing ergonomic storage solutions that don't require excessive bending or stretching will increase your guests' comfort, safety, and satisfaction.

Murphy Beds

If you're following the trend toward smaller hotel rooms, consider installing lightweight pull-down beds. Using counterbalance technology and the right hinges for a Murphy bed can make it very easy to raise and lower this space-saving sleeping option.

Folding Furniture

Why not include other fold-out furniture options? A more spacious room reduces the chances of banged shins or twisted ankles. 

Let your guests fold out a desk or pop-up a monitor when they need it and easily put it away when they don't. Counterbalance technology makes innovative options like these easy and attractive to guests.

The More Ergonomic, the Better

It's hard to overstate the importance of ergonomics in the hospitality industry since it affects both your employees and guests. Just remember to also factor in an attractive aesthetic, durability, and budget constraints for the ultimate solution in hospitality design. 

To learn more about all the possibilities ergonomics opens up for your business, check out our new ergonomics page!