LEISURELY CHANGES
The hospitality and leisure flooring market has evolved considerably over the last five years, with the options for specifiers and contractors proving wider than ever. Here, Sarah Thorpe, national hospitality manager at Amtico, looks at the changing and emerging trends in the sector.
In hospitality and leisure venues, flooring has a crucial role to play in creating a safe and comfortable experience for guests or customers. Every project has varying demands and requirements, from design and layout to safety and cleanliness, so achieving the right combination is key to creating the ultimate experience and appeal to guests or visitors.
Not so long ago, flooring trends were focused on small to mid-scale designs that were heavily patterned with contrasting colours combinations. However, post-pandemic, we’re already seeing ‘big floors’ and increases in scale, while peoples’ need for calm and less challenging environments has also led to more projects influenced by wellbeing.
DESIGN In today’s hospitality and leisure flooring environments, the ‘design’ is centred on simplicity – colours and hues that enhance comfort and provide a homely feel. There is much more consideration given to making a space enjoyable to be in – starting from the floor up. Neutral palettes are particularly popular as they allow designers to combine materials and textures to more subtly provide pattern or detail, rather than relying on abstract shapes or strong, contrasting colours.
Amtico’s new Spacia LVT designs reflect such an approach – with more than 90 Woods and Stones that can be seamlessly paired across many complementary palettes for easy, harmonious combinations that are also practical to lay. Our LVT planks and tiles work well individually, but also add depth and texture when laid together – for instance, the authentic grain variety and painterly finish of Salvaged Timber combines perfectly with the chalky texture and subtle colour injections of Tones.
30 | HOSPITALITY & LEISURE
A few years ago, there was an increase in highly decorative flooring to create zoned areas; now, as the world returns to ‘normal’ and venues encourage guests and customers to return, contractors are taking a more considered approach, layering LVT designs in Woods and Stones to form subtle visual zones. A carefully curated mix of colour and materials results in a functional and visually appealing aesthetic, with the floor giving subtle cues.
LAYOUT Beautifully simple floors are becoming a key feature in hospitality and leisure, not only in terms of simplicity but also scale. Recognising this trend, Amtico introduced a new 36 x 36” option for the Spacia collection. The large-format tile delivers an almost seamless look and feel, plus it can be paired with Stone designs such as Terrazzo, which is perfect for large, sweeping areas. This allows vast spaces and buildings to be easily transformed, while the scale of the large-format tiles also makes them easy to install.
MIX AND MATCH Terrazzo designs are a hugely popular choice at the moment, as they lend themselves to the new larger tile sizes, while also offering versatility with a fantastic mix of colourful chips and concrete grey base tones. On a practical level, Amtico Spacia’s Elemental Terrazzo is excellent for hotel corridors and zoning café or bar spaces. The dispersion of large and small chips adds an element of refinement, which also looks stunning with timber products. And, due to its lightweight nature, LVT Terrazzo creates possibilities in multi- level buildings that may have previously
ruled out the marble-chip design due to weight and practicalities.
SAFETY AND
CLEANLINESS The choice of flooring in a hospitality and leisure project is important; the highly functional and durable surface must be able to withstand heavy footfall and spills, while also provide an appealing aesthetic. It’s here that LVT excels, especially in terms of resisting scuffs, scratches and stains. It also offers the same aesthetic years after installation, mirroring the look of time- worn oaks, ceramic-inspired stones and abstract terrazzo finishes. So, it is no surprise to see it becoming the flooring material of choice for these projects.
Furthermore, the Covid-19 pandemic has altered peoples’ view of cleanliness – and the control of bacteria continues to be of increasing importance, especially in dining areas and hotel bedrooms. Reassuringly, many LVT products now encompass antimicrobial technology as standard. At Amtico, an ionic silver additive is applied to the urethane coating during production to provide antimicrobial protection throughout the useable lifetime of the floor. This has been proven under independent tests to reduce bacteria, such as E. coli and MRSA, by 99% over 24 hours.
SUSTAINABILITY FOCUS In addition to designing positive wellbeing and safety influences into hospitality and leisure projects, sustainability is also an important discussion, not just for manufacturers and contractors, but for hospitality brands and their guests
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48
