Hotel & Motel Management: Washrooms are increasingly automated

Thanks largely to technical advances and guest demands, hotel bathrooms are becoming more streamlined, sanitary and stylish. In public areas, the push is toward hands-free technology. In guestrooms, hoteliers seek to make them as residential as possible while improving operating efficiency.

Several factors drive hoteliers' interest in making public rest-rooms as hands-free as possible. Well-designed electronic controls can slash maintenance requirements associated with mechanical valves.

"The other side of it is sanitation," said Michele Hudec, senior brand director, American Standard. "The no-touch value of electronics in the bathroom is becoming increasingly popular with consumers and hoteliers. We're seeing this not only with faucets, but even with soap dispensers, hand dryers and flush valves."

Inaccurate sensors once were automation's Achilles' heel, according to Keith Kometer, Kohler Co.'s marketing manager for North American faucets.

"The use of electronic faucets and flush valves increased in the late 1980s and plateaued through much of the 1990s because the technology was imperfect at best," he said.

Today, manufacturers address activation differently. With Kohler's TriPoint technology, for instance, sensors judge the angle of light instead of its strength. American Standard this fall will unveil a faucet that features ceramic disk cartridges and a simplified sensor setup.

Many suppliers use a dozen or more different sensors in products from faucets to urinals. In contrast, American Standard has one sensor that's adaptable to all its products. This means the hotel maintenance staff has only one part to inventory.

As for style, John Cairo, v.p., hospitality and commercial sales, Delta Faucet Co., said there is rising interest in products that achieve a less institutional look, sometimes through the use of special finishes.

With rising concerns for cleanliness, even the appearance of less-than-sanitary conditions can turn off guests.

"Hygiene is an issue at all levels," said Shannon Jones, Georgia-Pacific's senior market development manager, lodging segment.

The company's enMotion touchless towel-dispensing system is popular at large, upscale properties such as casino hotels, Jones said. It combats contamination and ensures that guests grab only one towel at a time.

"When we launched this, we didn't expect a lot of interest from lodging," Jones said. "A lot of facilities have been willing to forego their recessed dispensers to put up enMotion cabinets."

Comfortable quarters

Guestroom facilities must balance technology with psychology.

"In guestrooms, there seems to be a trend back toward familiar brands because hoteliers want their guests to feel like they're at home," Cairo said. "If guests see a familiar faucet or brand, it makes them feel more at ease, and most people know how to operate those faucets."

"Hotel owners feel there are two things that affect the quality experience of a room--the bed and the shower," said Oney Temple, Moen's director of strategic accounts, nonsingle-family. "Those are the two main things guests look forward to no matter what the hotel's level, high-end or economy."

In recent years, operators have sought to satisfy guests' desires for dual and massaging showerheads, sometimes with less-than-optimal results.

"It's a good idea in principle, but if the valve isn't configured to give a proper shower, adding an additional head isn't going to do it," Cairo said.

Delta addresses such problems with a system that augments a regular showerhead with two 0.75-gallon-per-minute jets mounted on the shower valve faceplate. In use at the Venetian Resort Hotel Casino's 1,000-room tower in Las Vegas, the jet technology has turned around complaints, he said.

Kohler concentrates on delivering showers that compensate upwards or downwards depending on individual rooms' water pressure levels, Kometer said. They are designed to give peak performance at low pressures and provide consistent performance across the pressure range.

Moen's Revolution showerhead incorporates a dial that allows for larger droplets of water, designed to keep guests warmer with less liquid.

Likewise, guestroom toilets are flowing more freely. At one 90-room property, American Standard's Champion toilet, which offers a flapper-free flush valve and a large tramway, is cutting clog-related maintenance calls from 90 per month to less than a trickle, Hudec said.

Sink trends mirror those in public bathrooms, with smooth-er, rounder fixtures and stain-resistant countertops. "We get a lot of questions about bacteria, so we've come up with faucets that are virtually seamless, where there's no potential for bacteria growth," Cairo said.

For such reasons, some experts foresee hands-free-technology one day moving into guestrooms. One challenge will involve modifying the one-temperature-fits-all approach now taken by automated faucets in public areas.

Allowing hands-free temperature adjustment and letting guests keep water flowing as long as they want are critical, Hudec said.

hmm@advanstar.com

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Company             Circle No.

American Standard      370
Bradley Corp.          371
Delta Faucet Co.       372
Georgia-Pacific        373
Hansgrohe              374
Kohler Co.             375
Moen                   376
Palmer Fixture Co.     377
Sloan Valve Co.        378
Symmons Industries     379