Hotel swimming pools can help hospitality operators attract customers, but picking the right type of installation is key to optimise resources and budgets.
Hotel swimming pools remain a key element of what a hospitality business can offer to its clients. A gathering place for guests, the right type of installation can become a source of fond memories that turn into happy, loyal customers – which ultimately promote the business.
Nowadays, there are multiple options for building optimised hotel swimming pools that maximise client satisfaction while remaining an efficient and sustainable investment for the business.
What are these current alternatives for hotel swimming pools and what criteria should hotels follow to choose their installations? Keep reading to find out.
Hotel swimming pools remain one of the key attractions for all types of resorts. In fact, they are among the main trends in the hospitality sector, and continue to be a must-have for some customers in both urban hotels and resorts. The photo opportunities and the fun activities typically associated with hotel swimming pools (relaxation, fun, sports) are two of the main motivations attracting clients today.
The addition of surrounding elements (from cocktail bars to water shows or water parks) help build a unique leisure space that pushes these businesses’ economic performance further. Choosing the right aquatic installation is most important to ensure end-users are satisfied and pool operators’ investments are efficient.
In this context, the current swimming pool sector offers innovative applications such as automation technologies and systems informed by real-time data, as well as modern building techniques that reduce the pool’s construction time and minimise maintenance and operating costs.
Current options in hotel swimming pools allow hotels and resorts to choose from appealing and modern designs that fit within their distinctive business models and attract the right type of guests.
Rooftop pools
Located on terraces, they offer privileged views and luxurious, exclusive experiences for guests while making the most of available space in buildings. Usually made with resistant and lightweight panel technologies, these pool solutions are often accompanied by additional services and economic activities, such as cocktail bars and other entertainment experiences, taking the hotel’s attractions to a new level.
Infinity or zero edge pools
These hotel swimming pools are designed to enhance surrounding views and spaces, merging with the horizon by presenting an infinity overflow effect. A big trend in hotel amenities today and a distinctive attraction, current swimming pool building possibilities allow these installations to integrate and adapt perfectly to various spaces.
Glass pools
Unique, transparent pools made of glass or acrylic walls with fine finishes, they offer a one-of-a-kind aesthetic, as they allow guests to see through the pool’s bottom or walls and provide a startling floating sensation. They can be placed indoors and outdoors and offer a great resistance to chemical corrosion and inclement weather. In addition, they are efficient and sustainable by retaining water effectively and taking advantage of the natural sunlight.
Leisure pools
These pools help hotels and resorts provide outstanding entertainment experiences, which translates into customer satisfaction,loyalty to the hotel and emphasize the resort brand image and style. They typically target family enjoyment, becoming multifunctional spaces that can also accommodate a wide range of economic and sport activities, such as a cocktail bar, pushing the hotel’s return of investment.
Above-ground pools
Ideal for suite hotels and private terraces where exclusivity and privacy is the goal. A privileged amenity that can increase average room tickets per guest, these pools are Plug & Play solutions easy to install. At the same time, they offer a minimalist and elegant design that blends with the hotel or resort’s architecture and overall atmosphere.
Stainless steel pools
Boutique hotels offer the perfect scenario for stainless steel pools, an elegant and exclusive solution that can be enriched with relaxing water games and sun loungers, among other options. Lightweight, resistant and eco-friendly, these pools adapt to existing spaces while offering a unique swimming experience that mimics in a mirror. Stainless steel pools are synonymous with elegant design and hygienic properties while also guaranteeing low maintenance needs.
Bio-pools or eco-friendly pools
As part of both indoor and outdoor gardens and green spaces, these natural hotel swimming pools and ponds offer an intense experience of being close to nature, surrounded by flora and fauna. They also add a delicate ornamental touch and naturalistic bathing experience in clean water. Natural pools and ponds have become an increasingly popular solution for eco-friendly hotels and resorts, creating harmonious experiences for guests. They can be equipped with multiple additional water features (from a small waterfall to a spring fountain), but their design must respond to country regulations and standards.
Splashparks
Splashparks are now an essential element in water installations for children. Unlike more traditional children pools, splashparks are designed to promote entertainment and fun with interactive fountains that present different colours and shapes, water splashes, dynamic water jets, wave areas, interactive games, and other fun and sensorial elements. Safety comes first in these installations: they’re always shallow (up to an adult’s ankle) or present zero depth, while also including extra security measures. Splashparks are perfect for hotels and resorts looking to create a safe, familiar atmosphere.
Lagoons
An innovative solution for hotel swimming pools that is quickly becoming a star trend in the hospitality sector. Aiming at becoming luxurious, peaceful oases that sit at the heart of big hotels and resorts, they can be adapted to limitless shapes and sizes and offer extreme design versatility, accommodating multiple concepts in a single space. Large-scale water features, such as waterfalls or idyllic beaches, can also add value to these destinations. Furthermore, lagoon pools are able to accommodate a wide range of activities and services that provide extra economic performance for the hotel or resort. These include sport activities (swimming, kayaking, paddle surfing, sailing in small boats, etc) cocktail bars, sunbeds, or spectacles – among others.
Wellness pools
Relaxing takes a new meaning in this type of hotel swimming pools. Designed to invite guests into a pleasant and serene atmosphere, they can easily adapt to any space and circuit, while providing efficient and sustainable installations. Common features found in wellness pools include vitality pools with cascades, cold plunges for temperature contrast treatments, hot tubs for relaxation with hydromassage jets, Finnish and salt saunas, steam baths, ice cabins, or emotional showers, among many others.
Hotel swimming pools represent exciting recreational spaces that create value both for guests and hospitality establishments. Some of the main benefits of hotel swimming pools include the following.
Economic performance
The hotel’s pool area can become a key functional and economic space that can push the business’ economic performance, increasing the hotel’s average ticket and ROI. Simply put, hotels with swimming pools and state-of-the-art aquatic installations can justify a higher price for a customer’s stay. Additionally, it’s common to design pool areas to include surrounding businesses that offer a complete leisure experience for guests, from cocktail bars to sun bed areas, spectacles, sport activities, or swimming and fitness classes. These quickly elevate return on investment for hotel operators.
Key customer attraction
When looking for hospitality destinations, the hotel or resort pool is often one of the main attractions and requisites for users, who can quickly jump to imagine themselves bathing in a beautiful environment under the sun.
Branding and differentiation
Cutting-edge aquatic spaces and installations can quickly turn into a hotel’s brand trademark, helping build a competitive advantage that differentiates the hotel or resort from what the competition is offering.
Enhanced guest experience
Choosing the right pool installation often means building a multifunctional space for guests to meet and enjoy a unique experience. This often translates into outstanding customer experiences that turn them to loyal guests that also help promote the hotel or resort.
Hotel swimming pools today can be enhanced by various cutting-edge technologies, which help push these installations to a new level. Some additional features for aquatic installations in hotels and resorts include the following.
LED lighting
Designing the right swimming pool illumination system can enhance a hotel’s space, create themed atmospheres or prepare pools for night activities. Sustainable subaquatic and outdoor LED lighting systems provide stunning illumination that also offer energy savings and great efficiency in performance.
Commercial pool cover
A solution designed to prevent heat loss, it keeps water warm and clean whenever the facility is not in use. Pool covers provide economic and energy savings for pool operators in terms of water maintenance, while they can also prevent accidents such as the unexpected fall of children into the water.
Fluidra Connect & InnfoPool
These automation and IoT (Internet of Things) solutions for hotel swimming pools enable operators to manage their aquatic equipment in an efficient manner through smart devices such as mobiles or tablets. New technologies such as Fluidra Connect & InnfoPool provide users with an improved experience, automatising and optimising the operators’ management capacity and resources efficiency.
Connected products for pool maintenance
The Fluidra Connect technology mentioned above can be related to a series of pool technologies that facilitate pool control and maintenance. Its aim is to generate a smart, sustainable ecosystem through the collection of relevant data and pool parameters.
These technologies include:
- Salt electrolysis systems and hybrid disinfection systems such as Easy Salt Next, Pro-Chlore Salt, Nature Salt or Neolysis.
- Automatic regulation and control equipment such as Guardian Pool, a fully automated electronic control unit with potentiometric measurements of pH and Redox potential, or an amperometric measurement selective chlorine. It’s an essential system for the control and regulation of chemical products for use in commercial pools.
- Dosing pumps like the AcquaDos model provide a constant or proportional dosage according to the measured pH or Redox value.
- Dehumidification systems such as Airpool guarantee the ideal humidity and temperature ambience for indoor pools
- Heat pumps like the new Zodiac Z950 offer a smart solution to control the pool temperature and use it for longer throughout the year. It offers great energy efficiency performance with silence operation, providing great savings as 80% of the energy used to heat the pool comes from the air. With different power levels, the electricity consumption is adapted to obtain an ideal pool temperature.
Construction systems: Skypool
Skypool is Fluidra’s patented modular system which enables the building of lightweight, customizable pools that adjust to the hotel’s available space. Adaptable to existing, fixed or temporary infraestructures, the use of prefabricated panels and easy anchoring system provides a quick and easy installation, as well as a lightweight structure. Also, hot dipping in a zinc bath provides galvanized steel panels with excellent antioxidant protection, ensuring guaranteed durability and safety.
Water games and features
Water features targeting an adult audience include cascades, waterfalls, or hydromassage jets. Meanwhile, water slides and splash parks can enhance water installations for children and make a difference. Additionally, themed pools represent unique water installations which require professional design and conceptualization.
Freepool2 & Neolysis
Freepool2 is a revolutionary solution for the treatment and disinfection of public swimming pools, providing perfect water quality. By using Neolysis, the most natural and sustainable technology on the market, the system uses UV light and low salinity electrolysis to disinfect, as well as correcting pH levels by injecting CO2. This ensures a natural, healthy and safe environment that users will love.
Robot cleaners
New Zodiac’s Vortrax pool cleaning robots are designed for public and communal swimming pools in hotels and resorts. Extremely resistant to intensive daily use in small ,medium-sized and large public pools up to 50m, they are easy to operate and efficient in their use of energy and resources, since they use powerful cyclonic suction to suck up all types of debris in pool walls and floors.This new range is composed by the TXR 7500 iQ, TXR 7700 iQ, ARCO and ARCOMAX models
All in all, resort and hotel swimming pool technologies are more efficient and varied than ever. They provide outstanding possibilities for the hospitality sector, to delight their guests and to embrace new economic opportunities.