AmericInn^® hotel rooms and suites are built using a method that’s proven to be quieter than the competition. It’s called AmericInn SoundGuard^™ construction and it uses building methods no other national chain consistently provides to promise an entirely peaceful and quiet lodging option. Concrete blocks filled with sound-deadening foam and heavy drywall divide rooms to drastically reduce through-wall noise and ensure quiet accommodations. Insulated windows and guest room doors with threshold gaskets minimize noise from outside and help isolate rooms from public spaces within the hotel. Carpeting, padding and pre-cast concrete floors decrease vibrations from above and below. We even fill the doorjambs of the adjoining hotel rooms with concrete. Simply put, AmericInn SoundGuard construction is a better way to build restful and quiet hotel rooms. And at AmericInn we provide the one amenity that truly counts: a quiet hotel room for a peaceful night’s sleep.

It’s no wonder our guests keep coming back to us, because AmericInn quiet hotel accommodations ensure a restful night. Please see how AmericInn compares to other hotel chains based on noise related issues (PDF), according to the leading customer satisfaction benchmarking firm, Market Metrix.

AmericInn SoundGuard^™ Quiet Hotel Room Construction:

• Concrete blocks filled with sound-deadening foam.
• Heavy drywall
• 8” pre-cast concrete floor
• 3/4” gypsum concrete floor underlayment
• Carpeted and padded floors to further ensure quiet room accommodations
• Door jambs between adjoining rooms are filled with concrete
• Solid doors with thresholds and sweeps.

The Details

AmericInn constructs our new properties to minimize noise from the outside, from public spaces within the hotel, and from adjacent hotel rooms to the side, above or below. We also continually review noise levels in our existing properties to make necessary modifications to maintain our strict standards for quiet room environments at all AmericInn locations.

We do this by measuring sound levels with decibel meters. All sounds consist of a mix of different frequencies ranging from 20 Hz (Hertz or cycles per second) to 20,000 Hz. In order to simplify comparison of building elements, Sound Transmission Class (STC) is the most commonly used rating for walls, floors, windows and doors. The relationship between STC and sounds on the other side of a wall is shown below:

The walls of AmericInn hotel properties are designed to achieve a STC 50 rating or better, which renders speech and TV sounds inaudible.

How do we do this? Our goal is accomplished through our unique quiet room construction methods which utilize concrete floors and composite concrete block walls between rooms to provide truly rejuvenating quiet travel.  Also, the basic design of AmericInn properties separates the pool and recreation area from the residential portion of the building to minimize noise in hotel rooms from activities in these spaces, and entry doors to each hotel room have thresholds that fill the gap at the bottom of the door to greatly reduce sound from the corridor.

The floors of AmericInn hotels are constructed of precast hollow core concrete panels topped by ¾” of gypsum cement and are covered in carpet in all areas except bathrooms.  The STC rating of this composite concrete floor has been measured at 55, thus providing excellent reduction of sound from above or below. 

With carpet, the floor also has a high Impact Isolation Class (IIC) rating of 75.  This means that sound from dropped objects, high heels, and moving of tables or furniture in the room above is essentially inaudible. In addition, the use of a precast concrete floor also reduces what is commonly called “footfall” noise, or noise that can be heard as a “thump, thump, thump” as a person walks across the room above.  Because of its mass and stiffness relative to a wood joist or truss floor, concrete greatly reduces the potential for this type of sound in the room below, ensuring a quiet inn environment in multilevel buildings. 

Outside noise that can also be of concern to hotel guests is minimized with 2”x6” stud walls using 5/8” gypsum on each side and with wall heating and cooling systems that have the highest sound reduction ratings for these units available. Also, internal noises are controlled through appropriate design including isolation of water supply and drain pipes and reduction of impact noise from doors, door hardware, and cabinets. Book quiet rooms with AmericInn and experience the most restful hotel sleep imaginable.