Case Study: Hotel Group Reduces Cleaning Costs Across 12 Locations with Commercial Entrance Matting
The Challenge
Crestview Hotels Ltd operates twelve mid-market hotels across Central Scotland, from Edinburgh city centre to smaller market towns in Fife and the Borders. They share a consistent challenge: the Scottish weather. From October through March, guests arrive wet and muddy, tracking water, grit, and soil across hotel lobbies that general managers then spend disproportionate resources trying to keep presentable.
In 2022, head of operations Fiona MacAllister commissioned an internal audit of housekeeping costs across the estate. The findings on entrance and lobby cleaning were striking. The combined cost of specialist carpet cleaning to lobby and corridor areas from October to March — including contractor fees, product costs, and downtime for wet carpet areas — was running at approximately £38,000 per season. Several properties were having lobby carpets professionally extracted monthly during peak winter months.
Guest review scores were also a factor. Analysis of TripAdvisor and Booking.com reviews revealed that lobby cleanliness was mentioned negatively at seven of the twelve properties, with specific comments about dirty or wet floors during winter months appearing repeatedly. For hotels at price points where presentation matters to the guest's value judgement, this was commercially relevant.
Why Rubber Matting Direct
MacAllister's team evaluated four entrance matting suppliers. The requirement: heavy duty commercial barrier matting rated for high footfall, available in widths and lengths to fit existing recessed wells at three properties, and configurations suitable for the nine properties needing surface-mounted solutions. Available in sufficient quantity for simultaneous roll-out across all twelve locations before the following October.
Rubber Matting Direct's heavy duty barrier matting roll — available cut to length in widths from 0.9m to 2.0m — offered the necessary flexibility. The anthracite colourway was selected as a neutral that would work across different lobby colour schemes. Anthracite also shows dirt accumulation less prominently than lighter colours — practically relevant in a high-footfall environment.
The Solution
The standardised specification was rolled out across all twelve properties during August and September 2023, ahead of the October wet season onset. Each property received matting cut to its specific entrance dimensions — widths ranged from 1.2m at the smallest entrance to 2.0m at the Edinburgh city centre property.
At the three properties with recessed wells, old matting was removed, wells cleaned, and new matting dropped in. At the nine surface-mounted properties, mats were laid with bevelled edge strips on the room-facing side and a straight edge against the exterior door threshold. Installation at each property took under two hours, managed by the property's maintenance team using fitting instructions provided by RMD.
Two properties with polished stone lobby floors used double-sided carpet tape at the corners as additional security — the heavy duty rubber backing provided sufficient grip on tiled and laminate surfaces without adhesive fixings.
The Results
At the end of the first full winter season in March 2024, MacAllister's team reviewed housekeeping records across all twelve properties. The combined specialist carpet cleaning expenditure for that season came in at £22,400, compared with £38,000 the previous year — a saving of approximately £15,600 for the single season, primarily from reduced frequency of lobby extraction cleaning.
All twelve mats, installed in August 2023, were still performing satisfactorily at season end, with no replacements required and only standard weekly vacuuming and quarterly hosing as maintenance. Guest review sentiment around lobby cleanliness showed measurable improvement at five of the seven properties that had previously attracted negative comments on this dimension.
"The previous mats had had it. Some were curling at edges, guests were tripping, and they weren't catching mud and wet properly. We put the new ones in before October and went through the whole winter without needing to call the carpet cleaners in nearly as often. The saving's real — it's not a rounding error."— Fiona MacAllister, Head of Operations, Crestview Hotels Ltd
Product Details
| Specification | Detail |
|---|---|
| Product | Heavy Duty Commercial Barrier Entrance Matting Roll |
| Material | Nylon barrier pile on rubber backing |
| Thickness | 12mm |
| Widths Supplied | 1.2m to 2.0m (cut to property dimensions) |
| Total Area | 540m² across 12 properties |
| Colour | Anthracite |
| Maintenance | Weekly vacuum, quarterly hose and dry |
Could This Work for Your Property?
Commercial entrance barrier matting is one of the most effective ways to reduce lobby and corridor cleaning costs in high-footfall hospitality environments. The matting used by Crestview Hotels is available cut to any width or length, in anthracite and other commercial colourways, suitable for recessed well installation or surface-mount with bevelled edges.
Rubber Matting Direct can supply to individual properties or co-ordinate multi-site roll-outs. Samples available on request. Trade accounts available for hotel groups and facilities management companies.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much soil and water can commercial entrance matting trap?
Research indicates that quality entrance matting can remove up to 80% of dirt and moisture from footwear within the first 4-5 steps. A standard 1.8m depth of entrance matting is recommended for high-traffic locations.
What is the standard recessed entrance mat well depth for hotels?
The standard recessed entrance mat well depth is typically 12-17mm, matching most common entrance matting thicknesses. This ensures the mat surface is flush with the surrounding floor, meeting DDA accessibility requirements.
How often does hotel entrance matting need replacing?
Commercial entrance matting in hotel lobbies typically needs replacing every 2-5 years. High-traffic city centre hotels may replace mats every 18-24 months. Regular professional cleaning extends mat life significantly.
Can hotel entrance mats be branded with a logo?
Yes. Custom logo entrance mats can be produced with hotel branding woven or printed into the surface. Lead times are typically 3-4 weeks for custom production.
What entrance mat width is needed for a standard hotel entrance?
For a standard double hotel entrance door (typically 2.0-2.4m wide), entrance matting should cover the full door width plus approximately 300mm on each side where possible.