What’s New in Luxury Vinyl Tile for Hospitality
While luxury vinyl tile was once mostly for use in hotel guestrooms, the material is now more prominent across all areas of a property. LVT excels in hospitality environments due to its cost-efficiency, durability, and cleanability. This modern flooring option is now even better than before, thanks to improvements in performance and expanded design capabilities.
Enhanced Performance
Over the years, LVT has made strides in function and staying power. When luxury vinyl tile first arrived on the hospitality scene, the flooring material didn’t lend well to heavy foot traffic, resulting in unsightly scruffs, scratches, and stains. Manufacturers have added protective wear layers to LVT to prevent marring from suitcases, housekeeping carts, and other harsh elements within the hotel environment. The thickness of this barrier, or mil, impacts the extent of scratch resistance to luxury vinyl tile. Since product costs increase with the thickness of mils, hoteliers usually invest in the thicker protective layers in public areas while opting for thinner ones in hotel guestrooms. Waterproofing, acclimation, and sound absorption for LVT are also improving thanks to performance enhancers such as rigid core construction.
Creative Design
Custom digital LVT allows for endless possibilities with both pattern and color. Hoteliers can either pick a look from a manufacturer’s design library or work with the manufacturers to create a completely custom look. Certain vendors are taking designs from their running carpet lines and printing them to luxury vinyl tile for a seamless aesthetic regardless of flooring material. This digital technology allows LVT to mimic the appearance of ceramic tile and is an easy way to implement flooring design trends such as terrazzo prints without the higher price of other flooring materials.
A Natural Aesthetic
Wood looks have always been a popular choice for LVT, but advancements in design technology provide more variety and realism for this trend. Some manufacturers put indentations in the luxury vinyl tile so that the texture matches that of hardwood floors. A larger variety of plank sizes are also available, from wide to narrow, whereas in the past, planks only came in one width.
Biophilic LVT has seen a few changes in design trends, too. Slate grey is now a popular color choice for luxury vinyl tile that looks like wood to establish a more rustic ambience. You may also notice the recent emergence of stone-like LVT, particularly implemented in hotel public areas.
With durability and now increased design options on its side, luxury vinyl tile is an even better way to implement economical flooring than before. Innvision Hospitality’s design and procurement experts instill cost-efficient FF&E for hotel projects without sacrificing style. Reach out today to update your property’s floors!
