Maintenance Tips to Improve Hotel Curb Appeal

In the highly competitive world of hospitality, your guests’ first impressions can make all the difference. How your hotel looks, or its “curb appeal,” lays the foundation for the overall guest experience. To help set the tone for a memorable stay, the following 10 exterior maintenance tips for hotels can help you address the essential aspects that can enhance your hotel’s curb appeal and transform your property into a unique and special getaway.

1) Maintain Lush Landscaping

Well-kept gardens and attractive greenery can enhance an average-looking property and make an already beautiful property even better. Increase your property’s curb appeal with manicured lawns, attractive trees, and trimmed shrubbery to radiate vitality and freshness. Gorgeous landscaping appeals to guests and shows the attention you invest in giving them a pleasant stay.

In addition to the basics, consider adding landscape features such as large rocks, a faux creek bed, strategically placed fencing, and outdoor seating areas with benches or tables. Create areas of beauty your guests can enjoy and use as stunning photo backdrops to encourage sharing your property on social media sites.

2) Seasonal Plantings

Exterior maintenance tips for hotels can include embracing seasonal changes by rotating flowers and plants to highlight different times of the year. For spring, consider planting bulbs to show off tulips and daffodils, and in summer, add bright, vibrant marigolds, rainbow succulents, and petunias.

Add some height with snapdragons in the fall, and integrate oranges and purples with mums and pansies. In the winter, opt for evergreen plants that look great regardless of the weather. Use pots to add holiday displays of poinsettias, and fill flowerbeds with red petunias and white pansies or violas. Camelia plants offer beautiful shrub-type greenery all year, and many varieties have showy, beautiful blooms during winter.

3) Lighting

Lighting is an essential hotel feature and should be high on your routine maintenance checklist. Ensure that you keep walkways and entrances well-lit and replace burned-out bulbs immediately. Use warm-toned, energy-efficient LED lighting to create ambiance and a warm, inviting atmosphere.

Consider adding additional lights for nighttime enjoyment, such as string lights or lanterns on outdoor decks and dining areas. Other decorative elements such as wall sconces and uplighting on strategic areas of the buildings and landscape can transform your property and add elegance to the guest experience.

4) Energy Efficiency and Safety

Transitioning to energy-efficient lighting can save money while preserving environmental resources. Modern lighting features include motion sensors, which you can install in areas that are not used frequently.

In today’s eco-aware market, using sustainability practices and saving energy appeals to environmentally conscious guests and minimizes your hotel’s carbon footprint. It also reduces your property’s energy bills, and LED bulbs tend to last significantly longer than incandescent bulbs, requiring less maintenance and fewer replacements over time. What’s not to love?

5) The Exterior Facade

Regarding first impressions, your hotel’s exterior tells a story to guests and passers-by. Exterior maintenance tips for hotels include regular cleaning of walls and windows, which can keep the façade of the buildings looking attractive and well-tended.

Conduct routine maintenance inspections to look for structural issues such as cracks in the building walls. Note dark areas on walls from water stains, peeling or chipped paint, and other signs of wear and tear. Pollution and the elements can take a toll and leave your hotel looking tired and dated if not cleaned regularly.

6) Keeping the Paint Fresh

One thing that can affect your hotel’s curb appeal is faded, aged or chipped paint. Exterior paint is not just for looks, either. It protects the building from moisture and potential structural damage, such as wood rot. Conduct regular inspections for signs of paint chipping, peeling or other wear and address them right away.

If your hotel's exterior could use a lift, exterior paint can make a significant difference with minimum work and cost. Ensure you use an inviting, modern color scheme that fits the image you want your property to project. Fresh paint can breathe new life into your hotel’s exterior, making it look attractive and well-maintained. Choose high-quality paint that offers weatherproofing and hire professional painters to give the project a polished finish.

7) Make a Grand Entrance

The entrance to your hotel should transport guests out of the mundane and into a warm, inviting experience. Maintain clear, well-defined walkways and paths to the entrance, free of clutter or obstacles. Decorate the front entrance with potted plants, seating, and decorative elements to create a welcoming environment.

Maintain the lighting in the entrance for guest safety and visibility, especially for guests arriving after dark. This point is crucial if your property has a long entrance drive that is difficult to spot without good lighting. Implement daily cleaning and maintenance to keep the hotel's entrance area pristine since it is the first and last area guests see. A welcoming and warm entrance sets the tone for a positive guest experience from the moment they arrive at your property.

8) Signage and Your Brand

Signage is an essential part of maintaining your hotel’s curb appeal. It represents not just the name of your property but also your brand. Ensure you have attractive, clear, modern signage that aligns with your hotel’s image. Regular maintenance can keep signage free of rust, peeling paint, and damage.

Keep the colors and fonts consistent and cohesive with your branding strategy and guidelines to establish your hotel’s identity for guests.

Proper and effective signage helps guests locate your hotel, communicates professionalism, and shows that you pay attention to detail. The look of your signage should remain consistent with any promotional materials and banners for consistent branded messaging.

9) Outdoor Seating Areas

Outdoor seating areas offer more than function; they create an inviting, attractive extension of your hotel’s curb appeal. Guests love to enjoy morning coffee or evening cocktails in comfortable, aesthetically pleasing outdoor areas. Choose attractive, durable furniture for these spaces, and regularly maintain the furniture by cleaning cushions and replacing worn or damaged ones as needed.

Have well-lit walkways with accessibility features to these outdoor gathering spots from the main hotel area to create an oasis for guests to relax and socialize with other travelers. Consider incorporating Life Deck coatings on your hotel’s wood or concrete decks and the pool area. These high-quality protective coatings require less maintenance and protect the underlying structure while beautifying the surfaces. Neat, attractive, well-maintained outdoor seating areas encourage guests to linger and mingle, adding warmth and charm to your hotel's curb appeal.

10) Seasonal Decor

You can always add something new and fresh to your hotel’s exterior by adding seasonal décor. You can acknowledge various holidays and events throughout the year by reflecting them in your property’s signage and decorations. For the winter holidays, add seasonal ornaments and festive lighting. For Valentine’s Day, create a flower-filled, romantic ambiance.

Seasonal décor shows your guests that your hotel celebrates the moments that matter to them. It can make holiday visits more memorable and unique. Don’t forget to remove holiday decorations once the event is in the past. While well-timed decorations increase curb appeal and holiday cheer, decorations from a holiday two months in the past tell guests that your hotel does not prioritize maintenance.

Invest in Enhancing Your Hotel's Curb Appeal

Get started on the journey to enhance your hotel’s curb appeal by integrating these maintenance tips. Taking action will elevate your hotel’s exterior and improve your reputation and profitability. We've got you covered when upgrading your exterior deck areas. Don’t wait; let West Coast Deck help you improve your hotel’s curb appeal and attract more guests today.