Tiles for hotel: complete selection guide 6 zones

By Jeroen Hoogveld · Specialist Architects & Projects at Tegelmonsters

Hotel tiles are selected by zone, as a lobby, hallway, hotel room, bathroom, and wellness area each have different requirements. Wear resistance, anti-slip properties, ease of cleanability, and fire rating together determine which tile is suitable for each location.

Architects and project managers in hotel real estate are increasingly working with zone specifications to ensure that the technical aspects and appearance of each room are consistent. This approach prevents maintenance issues after completion.

Starting point

Why does the choice of tiles for the hotel require a zone-by-zone approach?

Most buildings have a dominant load. An office revolves around wear resistance, a swimming pool around anti-slip. A hotel stacks these loads on top of each other, because the building essentially combines six functions. As a result, each zone has its own technical profile, and that profile guides the tile selection even before the color comes into play.

Four properties recur in every zone, with varying emphasis. The first is wear resistance, measured according to ISO 10545-7 and expressed in a PEI class from 0 to 5. The PEI value indicates how well the enamel withstands wear caused by foot traffic and scratching dirt. The second is slip resistance, the third is cleanability, and the fourth is fire class. The latter is not a minor detail for a hotel, as an escape route places specific demands on the flooring material.

Ceramics naturally score high on that fourth point. Ceramic tiles and natural stone fall into fire class A1 or A1fl according to EN 13501-1, the class for non-combustible materials that do not contribute to fire. We elaborate below on how those four properties come together per zone. For a broader view of ceramics in various uses, our explanation regarding the various applications of ceramic tiles a good foundation.

Lobby & entrance

Which tiles are suitable for the lobby and entrance of a hotel?

The lobby is the busiest public area of ​​the entire hotel. Guests, staff, rolling luggage, and cleaning machines pass through it daily, often from early morning until late evening. This intensity demands the highest abrasion class. PEI 5 is the safe choice here, as the enamel must withstand both foot traffic and the scratching effect of carried-in street dirt. Abrasion resistance is tested according to ISO 10545-7, as explained in our background on the wear value of ceramic tiles.

Large format fits well with the image of a lobby. Large format includes tiles starting from 60 cm per side, with common sizes such as 100×100 cm and XXL formats above. A smooth surface with few grout lines complements open reception areas and keeps the floor easier to clean. popular format 100×100 is a common starting point in this regard, provided the subfloor is sufficiently level for that size.

The entrance strip deserves its own line in the specifications. This is where most moisture and dirt enter, so a clean zone with a mat or grate reduces the load on the rest of the lobby floor. The slip resistance according to DIN 51130 is set at R10 here, because wet shoe soles temporarily cause a slippery floor during rain. This ensures the reception area remains safe without the entire floor requiring a coarse texture.

Circulation

What requirements do hotel corridors have for floor tiles?

A hotel corridor seems quieter than the lobby, but the load is deceptively high. All traffic to the rooms passes through the same narrow lanes, day and night, with rolling luggage and cleaning trolleys as a constant factor. PEI 5 is therefore the logical choice here as well, combined with R9 to R10 for slip resistance. The justification for these wear classes per room type can be found in our Selection guide for the PEI value per room.

Impact sound is a recurring point of concern in a hallway. Rolling suitcases and footsteps propagate to the rooms below, affecting comfort throughout the entire building. A ceramic tile itself dampens little sound, so the benefit lies in the underlying structure: a sound-insulating underlay or decoupling mat absorbs the impact sound. This structure should be included in the same specification line as the tile, ensuring that the acoustic plan and the tiling plan align.

The escape route function makes the corridor particularly important. Many hotel corridors simultaneously serve as escape routes to the stairwell, and this places a requirement on the flooring material that we elaborate on further in the section on fire class. Ceramic amply meets these requirements, making the corridor a rewarding zone to establish early in the design.

Room & bathroom

How do you choose tiles for the hotel room and the hotel bathroom?

The hotel room is the zone with the lowest foot traffic and the greatest design freedom. Guests stay here, the furniture is largely fixed, and little abrasive dirt passes through. PEI 4 is therefore sufficient, and the choice shifts to the visual aspect: a wood look for warmth, a natural stone look for tranquility, or a concrete look for a sleek interior. Here, the tile is allowed to carry the character of the room without compromising on technical aspects.

The hotel bathroom revolves around moisture and safety. A dense slab with low water absorption absorbs virtually no moisture, which prevents stains and deposits during heavy use. Class BIa porcelain with an absorption rate below 0,5 percent is the standard choice here. The background of that absorption scale is explained in detail in our guide on the water absorption of ceramic tilesOn the floor, R10 applies, and in the walk-in shower, the requirement shifts to R11 due to standing water and soap residue.

The bathroom wall follows a different logic than the floor. Wear class does not apply there, because no one walks on the wall. However, a sealed glaze helps protect against splashes and soap residue, and rectification allows for a clean joint. Rectification is a grinding process that makes the tile edges exactly square, allowing for a joint of two to three millimeters. You can find more about bathroom choices on our page with tiles for the bathroom, and the justification for the floor slip resistance is found in our explanation regarding anti-slip value in bathrooms and shower areas.

Wellness & spa

Which tiles work in the wellness and spa area of ​​a hotel?

A spa or wellness area differs fundamentally from the rest of the hotel because guests walk barefoot on wet floors. The R-value for footwear is therefore not the relevant test. For this purpose, there is the barefoot classification A, B, or C according to DIN 51097, which uses soapy water as the test basis and has a test subject walk barefoot on an inclined plane. Class B starts at eighteen degrees and covers wet floors and shower areas; Class C starts at twenty-four degrees for inclines and the wettest transitions.

The dense body plays a dual role in this zone. Low water absorption prevents moisture from penetrating the material, which benefits both hygiene and drying behavior. Class BIa porcelain is therefore the standard choice for swimming pools, steam cabins, and relaxation areas. The standard designations are internationally established and can be consulted via NEN for the NEN-EN ISO 10545 series and EN 14411, so that the design team includes the requirement directly in the specifications.

The heat-exposed components of the spa require a separate assessment. For a sauna, in addition to barefoot grip, resistance to thermal shock is also important, and we elaborate on this matter in our guide on tiles for the wellness zone. A narrow joint makes the zone calmer and easier to keep clean, for which rectified tiles with their sharply polished edges, they offer a solution. In our showroom in Utrecht, we see that architects often specify the wellness zone last, even though this is precisely where most safety requirements converge.

Fire safety

What does fire class mean for tiles in a hotel?

Fire safety is a major concern in hotel real estate, as guests stay there and evacuation takes longer than in an office. The fire reaction of a material is classified according to EN 13501-1, from class A1 for non-combustible to class F. For walkable surfaces, the designation fl follows the class, such as A1fl or Cfl. The basic requirement for a walkable surface is class Dfl, while an escape route requires the stricter class Cfl.

Ceramics more than meet these requirements. Because a tile is fired at over a thousand degrees, the material does not contribute to a fire and falls into class A1fl. This is the highest class and exceeds both the basic requirement Dfl and the escape route requirement Cfl. In a hotel, this means that the same ceramic floor can extend into the room, the hallway, and the stairwell without the fire class posing an obstacle. The precise performance requirements per use function are described at Building Decree Online.

Manufacturers in our range align with this when selecting materials. Pamesa Ceramica from Spain, known for its hydrogen-powered production line, supplies large-format BIa porcelain with test data on the datasheet, suitable for heavily used lobby and corridor floors. Aleluia Ceramica from Portugal, known for its design-driven collections and hand-painted Color Art, offers wall tiles with character for hotel rooms and lobby walls. We match these collections to your zone requirements, so that the datasheet fits directly into the specification block.

Sample package

How do you put together a sample package for a hotel project?

The hotel application page is the starting point. There, you can filter for free by zone, size, finish, and classification, and immediately see the collections used in hotel projects. For the lobby, set the filter to large-format porcelain; for the bathroom, to an R10 floor; and for the wellness zone, to the barefoot class. Next, bundle the package per project via the Sample Map, ensuring that the client, architect, and contractor have the same specifications at their disposal.

What project managers often tell us: the first filtering round takes place online, followed by the physical assessment in our showroom in Utrecht. That showroom is by appointment only for professionals and offers full-size samples alongside additional sample areas. For the breakfast and restaurant zone, our guide concludes with tiles for the hospitality industry rely on a same-zone approach, and for smaller wall accents in the spa or at the bar, the mosaic tiles a practical option. Our manufacturers from Spain and Portugal showcase their technical zone mapping annually at the Cersaie trade fair in Bologna.

Frequently asked questions