Hotel slip testing.
Because the lobby is the first claim surface.

Hotels concentrate the entire slip-testing spectrum into one building

A single hotel contains virtually every slip-test scenario that exists elsewhere: retail-equivalent lobbies, restaurant-equivalent dining areas, leisure-centre-equivalent pool surrounds, healthcare-equivalent bathrooms, warehouse-equivalent service corridors. Each requires its own pendulum protocol, and each contributes to an overall claim risk that is one of the highest in hospitality.

Chain operators — from mid-market to luxury — increasingly mandate slip testing as part of brand-standard compliance. A UKAS accredited portfolio survey, consolidated across a national or regional estate, is the standard document.

The hotel environments we test

Main lobby and reception

Marble, porcelain and polished-stone lobbies dominate luxury and mid-market brands. All three can test below PTV 25 in the wet. Revolving doors and automatic sliding doors concentrate water tracking at the threshold. Entrance-mat design is critical and often inadequate.

Guest bathrooms

Bathroom tile selections in hotels are aesthetic-led; large-format porcelain and natural stone often test poorly when wet. Barefoot pendulum testing with Slider 55 (TRL) is the appropriate protocol — Slider 96 shod testing is not the right test for a hotel bathroom.

Pool surrounds and spa

Pool surround testing follows the barefoot protocol. PWTAG guidance on chlorinated-water contamination is a supplementary concern. Hydrotherapy pool surrounds, steam rooms, and sauna transition areas each have distinct protocols.

Restaurants and bars within the hotel

Dining room, breakfast buffet, bar area and room service corridors. Grease-contaminated testing in the kitchen per the hospitality protocols. Timber and laminate dining floors can polish below PTV 36 over trading years.

Function rooms and banqueting

Hardwood and timber sprung floors for dancing. Wet-contamination testing relevant to spilled drinks at receptions.

Corridors and lift lobbies

Carpet is typical in corridors — and carpet is not pendulum-tested in the standard way. The transitions from carpet to hard-floor lift lobbies are the specific pendulum target.

Service corridors, housekeeping and back-of-house

Vinyl sheet and resin screed. Wet trolleys, spilled cleaning product. Typically higher-risk than front-of-house, lower-profile but higher claim value given employee-liability route.

Outdoor terraces, pool decks and garden areas

Timber decking, stone, porcelain outdoor tile. Seasonal algae and UV degradation.

The group versus independent distinction

Large hotel groups (IHG, Accor, Hilton, Marriott, Premier Inn, Travelodge portfolios) typically commission slip testing at the estate level, with national procurement and brand-standard reporting templates. A consistent UKAS accredited report format across the estate provides portfolio risk-mapping capability to asset management and brand-safety teams.

Independent and boutique hotels commission testing individually, typically in response to a specific incident, a refurbishment handover, or an insurer requirement at renewal.

Hotel PTV matrix