12 years
Hi there,
it is my understanding that the law states that all rooms should have natural ventilation - ie a window!
Maybe it is different in your country
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Windowless Rooms
The Ideal Hostel
Hi All. We are looking into the option of transforming an office building which has a good location to a hostel. One of the main issues is of course the number of rooms which can be offered there.
The building is shaped as a square and each floor is currently an "open space".
Of course, rooms can be created in the outer part of the floor with windows. The question is what to do with all the "wasted" parts in the middle of the floor.
- What are your thoughts on windowless rooms? Do you offer them? What are the guests comments to them?
- Do you have any ideas of unique features to somehow create sleeping rooms there?
I know we can put some common areas in the middle of each floor(like internet stations) but since it's a big building (5 floors) it's a major loss of money not to have more rooms there.
Thanks in advance
- Comments
12 years
One of my competitors has private rooms with no external windows. They get consistent complaints about them. In addition to feeling stuffy and claustrophobic, people sometimes complain about not having natural light in the morning to wake them up. They end up sleeping off hangovers until 16:00 because they don't know it's already daytime.
Cruise ships have the same problem with windowless interior cabins. They usually sell them as standard cabins, and the ones on the outside are sold as a superior class because they have the added “luxury” of a window.
One option would be to mount window frames and glass in the walls anyway, maybe with some lights behind them. You could put curtains around the windows to feel homier. Maybe even put a picture of a nature scene behind the glass, as if your guests were looking out onto a forest/beach/mountain scene? If that’s too kitschy you could put pictures of local attractions instead. Each room could have its own window theme. It’s a poor excuse for an actual window, but it could help to make the rooms feel less claustrophobic.
Getting proper ventilation to reduce heat, odor, and humidity will probably be your biggest problem, right? Do you have high ceilings by any chance? Can you put a vent near the floor that connects to a room with a window so that fresh air can be drawn in from below as the hot air is pumped out at the ceiling?
12 years
I think this is true in a lot of countries. I once stayed in a hostel in Edinburgh that had got around the problem by making the interior rooms with 2m tall walls, so there was ventilation , and some natural light. Noise from adjoining "rooms" was a problem as was the feeling of being an animal in a pen. I believe they did it this was as they couldn't have a fully enclosed windowless room.
11 years
We have rooms located in our basement, we advertise the fact there are no windows, since doing this we've had a lot less complaints...
11 years
We are also converting an office building, and some of the rooms will not have windows because the building is next to another building. But it is legal in the building code. We are just making sure those rooms have enough space to feel comfortable.
11 years
very strange building code, usually there is a requirement for window, and prohibition for basement occupancy.
11 years
I think we met some other exceptions to make it work according to the code enforcement people here. Alexandria actually has some of the most stringent requirements of any U.S. city. We are no more than two stories, there will be a sprinkler system, and their are two sets of 2-hour fire rated staircases within a short distance to each room. If a basement had two means of egress, then you could have rooms down there as well.
Here's the book the city is using right now:
http://www.magazines.com/2012-international-building-code/1340798-BK,def...
Support our project at http://www.fundable.com/dc-metro-hostel
11 years
Since 2007 the international building code has allowed guest rooms to have mechanical ventilation and artificial light in lieu of windows provided both artificial system meet certain technical specifications. However, I have yet to see a windowless room in a hostel or hotel. The problem is usually not the lack of window but the lack of two means of egress. In most situations, in smaller buildings the window provides secondary egress from the room. Interestingly though, in buildings of more than 5 stories openable windows are not a requirement since fire truck ladders can not reach that high anyway. So high-rise hotels lack this secondary means of egress. In these buildings they rely entirely on the buildings other fire safety systems (sprinklers, fire rated walls and doors, concrete and steel construction). The paradox for me is if these high-rise buildings can be made safe why can't a low-rise building be made safe as well.
I agree that windowless rooms are not an attractive option for all people, but if properly advertised, I think some people would prefer the protected feeling of an interior room where the artificial window light "sunrise" can be programmed to whatever time you want.
11 years
We have decided to take down two walls to allow light into the dorm room. Since its now a pretty large room, we are going to add private walls between beds. Our few windowless rooms will all be private. They are actually on the exterior, but that wall is up against the neighboring building.
11 years
this is a very strange situation with ZONING if any city or town allows it.
Windowless rooms are illegal on east coast usa,
room's window have to have minimum 8% of floor space .
Minimum floor space is 70 or 80 square feet per person.
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