Hotel lobby ambient lighting: A case study of Perth hotels
Document Type
Conference Proceeding
Faculty
Faculty of Business and Law
School
School of Marketing, Tourism and Leisure
RAS ID
7661
Abstract
Lighting, a key ambient factor, can influence human emotion and subsequently affect a person's subjective perception of comfort and quality. Despite the operational and showcasing roles that hotel lobbies play, lobby lighting levels have been largely a neglected area of research into hotel atmospherics. This paper reports an exploratory investigation into the impact of ambient lighting levels of hotel lobbies in Perth. Data were collected via site visits to 3-5 star rated hotels in the Central Business District (N=36), The findings indicate wide variance in lighting levels across the sample, therefore suggesting an apparent absence of uniformity in lobby lighting and its implementation in hotel design and operations despite the existence of chain-mandated standards, and architectural canons governing lighting in other areas of hotels. Variability in perception of lighting quality amongst the investigators strongly suggests that lighting is intrinsically subjective in nature and may be linked with gender and ethnicity. The implication of the study is that hoteliers have to be cognizant of the effect lobby lighting has on their guests and factor it in their property positioning and branding decisions at a design stage.
Comments
Ogle, A., Mao, Y., & Li, J. (2009). Hotel lobby ambient lighting: A case study of Perth hotels. In Proceedings of the Asia-Pacific CHRIE (APacCHRIE) Conference. Singapore: University of Nevada Las Vegas.