A Guide to Hotel Design Pt 31: Tips To Make Your Hotel Bathroom Cost Effective

 Produced in collaboration with CCL Wetrooms  –  UK’s leading wetroom supplier offering an unrivalled range of innovative products designed to create stylish contemporary wetrooms.

Hotel rooms are a natural extension of the brand, and the bathroom is no exception. They can either make or break your guest’s stay. It is critical therefore to have bathrooms are stylish and breath-taking to your guests. The clean elegance of a wetroom is ideal for a stylish, modern hotel brand.

Today a bathroom is so much more than a functional space. The bathroom in a hotel has become a living space and a haven of well-being and is one of the main things that guests remember. Exciting, functional designs and high-quality, light materials that are easy to clean help to make the bathroom into a very individual haven of well-being.

But cost-effective yet stylish does not have to be a contradiction in terms. There are a variety of ways, from design to cleaning to management, that you can make your hotel bathroom cost effective without compromising on the experience.

1) Control water temperature and flow rates

Save energy by setting an upper limit of hot water. The average length of a shower is eight minutes, but in a hotel environment, people tend to linger. During that time, your shower is using around 60-70 litres of hot water. By maintaining control of the temperature and ensuring flow rates are consistent, you can keep firm control of your bathroom energy costs.

2) Ensure durability

By investing in reliable, hardwearing materials, from tiles to taps, you can reduce the chances of leaks and repairs. A poorly build hotel bathroom will end up costing more money in lost room rates and repair outlays than spending a little more in solid installation at inception. With repairs in mind…

4) Have fewer parts

Fewer parts mean fewer things that can break. Stick to having only the appliances and features the guests need and make sure they are reliable and of high quality. Extraneous bells and whistles are invariably worth more than their upkeep.

3) Make it easy to clean

When your housekeeping staff are responsible for the fast and efficient cleaning of hundreds of rooms, making your bathroom easy to clean can save thousands on worker hours. For example, choosing a minimalist, open plan design or a wetroom, you can reduce the time it takes to clean the bathroom by a third. Multiply that over hundreds of rooms 7 days a week and you’re looking at a serious time saving.

5) Make the bathroom feel like an upsell

Designing a bathroom that is exciting, stylish and instantly Instagram-able gives a premium feel to a hotel room. A premium feel justifies a premium price. After all, 68% of customers are prepared to pay more for better quality.

A wetroom-style bathroom can address a number of these solutions. Modern, minimalist and easy to clean, wetrooms can be fitted with a variety of tiles and materials, including stone, marble, glass or steel. So whatever effect you’re looking to achieve in your hotel room interior, a wetroom can easily blend into your style. They are easy to clean and when installed by professionals, you can rely on the waterproofing for over 20 years.

For hotels looking to combine style with cost savings, wetrooms are certainly a valid option when it comes to bathroom design.

Fun fact: I’m usually the person friends rely on to organise trips, schedules, and group plans.

Workhighlights: Successfully coordinating events from planning through to delivery and seeing everything come together on the day.

Fun fact: I’m a keen cyclist and will happily bore people with copious amounts of cycling chat. My top cycling experience (so far) would have to be riding in the spectacular mountains of Crete.

Work highlights: Charles joined Forum Events in 2022. With a background in publishing, editorial media and events, Charles brings a wealth of experience to his role as Senior Production Manager. Having being involved with SPACE from the outset, he is excited to see the brand grow and develop.

Fun fact: People tell Sienna she gives off Bridget Jones vibes, and she loves to bake, always making sure there are shortbreads floating around the office

Work highlights: Sienna joined Forum Events & Media Group while studying Communications and Media, starting in the sales team where she managed and helped launch the first the PA Life Leading Venues of London SHOWCASE, where she built relationships with luxury venues across the capital. Drawn to the stories behind these spaces, she naturally transitioned into the editorial team, creating social media and editorial content. Upon graduating in June 2026, she is excited to be joining as Assistant Editor for Hotel Designs and SPACE.

Fun fact: When not working, Jess can usually be found tending to her kitchen garden in the Sussex countryside or foraging for herbs in the nearby woods. A keen grower, she recently studied a RHS Level 2 Diploma in the Principles of Horticulture during her spare time.

Work highlights: Jess joined SPACE magazine in 2022 and has since progressed from Assistant Editor to Editor. During this time, she has worked across many aspects of the publication – from shaping editorial strategy and overseeing operations to contributing to art direction and representing the brand on stage at industry events including Surface Design Show and WOW!house.

Alongside her role at SPACE, Jess has built a creative career spanning the arts, culture, design and travel sectors. Prior to joining the magazine, she spent more than a decade in the commercial art industry, in artist liaison, gallery management, and curating collections for the hospitality sector across hotels and cruise ships. During this time, she also worked on freelance projects as a writer, photographer, and creative content producer.
 
Jess studied photojournalism at London College of Communication and the Danish School of Media and Journalism and holds a first-class BA (Hons) in Culture, Criticism and Curation from Central Saint Martins.

Fun fact: Katy has spent years perfecting all kinds of accents and loves a good impersonation!

Work highlights: Katy has been with Hotel Designs since the beginning, way back in 2015 when Forum Events & Media Group acquired the brand.

During this time, she has fostered many meaningful relationships with clients from across the hospitality spectrum, as well as playing a pivotal role in the launch of The Brit List Awards, Hotel Designs MEET UPs, client-led roundtables and panel talks, brand and website redesigns, HD Wellness Sets, DESIGN POD podcast, Hotel Designs LIVE panel talk series, Accessible Design Talks and more. Katy is always on the lookout for the next opportunity to help grow the Hotel Designs brand even further.
 
Most recently Katy has stepped in to the role of Publisher at SPACE magazine, the printed bi-monthly publication focused on hotel design, architecture, and development.

Together these platforms offer a comprehensive 360-degree service encompassing digital media, print publishing, and live events – providing unparalleled value to advertisers, partners, and readers alike.