Hotels exist in a variety of shapes and sizes, from intimate boutique retreats to opulent five-star resorts. Hotel lighting is a critical part of any hotel’s decor, regardless of design type. Poor lighting can negatively impact a guest’s perception of your hotel, resulting in a less-than-satisfying stay.
Why Choosing the Right Hotel Lighting is Critical?
When hotel lighting is done correctly, you may not even notice it, but you will most likely be disappointed if it isn’t.
Hotel lighting fixtures do more than only keep visitors and employees safe and comfortable when navigating a place. They also play a significant role in affecting people’s moods and behaviors in other ways. For example, compared to bright fluorescent lights, softer LED lights that generate a peaceful mood and calmer atmosphere are more successful at reducing stress in busy visitors.
Understand the following key points for enhancing hotel lighting for our property:
- Seek the advice of a lighting designer.
Building lighting design often overlooks style and structure, which might lead to your first lighting design mistake. Instead, obtain professional advice from a lighting expert who can guide you toward the best option for the hotel’s intended aesthetic and structural requirements.
- Choose lighting that complements your overall design theme
Hotel owners and operators must ensure that whatever lighting choices they make complement the hotel’s overall design. Lights can be an eye-catching design element on their own, but they should be effortlessly integrated into the overall scheme.
Out-of-the-ordinary lighting can have a beautiful aesthetic impact, but keep in mind that it should not appear jarring.
- Increase exposure to natural lighting
When designing hotel interiors, it’s critical to utilize natural light whenever feasible. This applies to the lobbies, guest rooms, and transition areas, among other places. Natural light has a calming effect on the human spirit and may quickly improve the look and feel of a space.

Using as much natural light as possible also has the added benefit of helping you save money by reducing the amount of electricity you use.
- Keep an eye out for changes in pace
Transitions between different illuminated spaces should be planned carefully to avoid upsetting guests and workers. For example, a sudden change from bright to dim illumination might be uncomfortable if not handled properly. Hallways, entrances, alcoves, and small transitional places can all be used to help guests transition.
Remember that visitors from outside will require time to adjust their eyes.
During the day, keep the transition area bright and use cool-white (4000k) lights to complement the sunshine. And to help guests acclimate to the darkness outside, the transition space should be warmer and softer at night.
- Beware of incorporating too much space
Having lots of light can also deceive the eye into thinking a room is much larger than it really is. This is especially true for hotels that cater to business travelers or those on a tight budget, as every inch of available space is utilized to the fullest—sometimes resulting in fewer or even no windows.
Close-proximity furniture configurations, such as a coffee table or love chairs in a sitting area, exacerbate this problem. Sometimes even making the guests feel claustrophobic. And can also have a depressing effect and give the impression that the hotel is substandard.
The use of wall-mounted hotel lighting fixtures is the most ideal option in such cases.