A hotel lift is a lift designed to make things easier for guests. It plays a major role in making the overall stay more comfortable, letting people move from one floor to another without climbing a single step. Guests generally don’t want to walk up and down stairs at a hotel — they are there to relax. A hotel lift can improve the way your business runs, both in terms of guest service and day-to-day efficiency.
A hotel lift improves the guest experience by making sure nobody has to wear themselves out on the stairs when moving between floors in your hotel, or in any other building without lift access.
In this article we look at what a hotel lift is and what sizes are available, so hotel businesses can understand the options more clearly. Here is what we cover.
How Many Types of Hotels Are There?
Hotels are classified in several ways, which helps guests work out whether a property suits them based on budget, what they are looking for, size and location. Classification also helps hotels build a stronger brand strategy: once you define what you offer, you attract the right audience far more effectively. Broadly speaking, there are three main categories.
Standard Hotels
Thailand’s hotel star rating runs from 1 to 5 stars, catering to travellers arriving for leisure or business. Most are located in city centres for easy access, with internet, telephone, breakfast and other conveniences readily available.
Extended-Stay Hotels
This type of hotel is built for guests staying for long periods, much like a condominium or apartment. Rooms may come with a washing machine, a kitchen or other facilities you won’t find in a standard hotel, making longer stays far more liveable. Rates are usually charged weekly rather than nightly as in a normal hotel.
Resorts
Resorts are usually holiday properties close to attractions such as the sea or the mountains. Their facilities are geared towards relaxation — spas, golf courses or water activities — with a strong focus on privacy.
What Types of Lifts Are Used in Hotels?
Hotels use a wide range of lift types, simply because there are so many rooms to serve and so much to do to keep guests comfortable.
Passenger Lifts
This is the lift built for hotel guests to use. It keeps their journey easy and often forms one of their very first impressions of the property, so it usually emphasises a luxurious, elegant and contemporary look, paired with excellent safety equipment to guarantee the comfort and security of every guest.
Freight Lifts
This type of lift is designed to move large items — furniture, laundry or equipment — around the hotel. It is therefore built for maximum durability and safety, which may include steel wall panels, a thick steel floor and reinforced doors, and it is larger than a standard lift.
Hotel Service Lifts
Hotel service lifts and freight lifts can look similar, and many people assume both are just for moving goods. But a hotel service lift is designed specifically for staff to move supplies, equipment and waste between floors. It lets the team move around and transport items without ever disturbing guests.
Hotel Food Lifts
A hotel food lift is designed to carry food and drinks from the hotel kitchen up to each floor. It comes with features such as temperature control to make sure meals stay fresh and safe to eat, and it is usually compact in size.
Hotel Firefighting Lifts
A firefighting lift is a lift that firefighters can take control of during a fire. Its safety requirements are far stricter than those of a standard lift, and it generally carries additional safety features such as fire-resistant materials.
5-Star Hotel Lift Standards: The Criteria
Lifts (for buildings taller than 4 storeys) are assessed against 13 indicators. Source: Thailand Tourism Standard, Tourism Accommodation Standard, Volume 1: Resorts, 5-Star Level
- Located in a convenient area and within easy reach, with a lift lobby large enough for comfortable use
- Enough lifts, of adequate size, for the building’s needs
- Quality lifts kept in efficient, safe and clean working order, correctly and regularly maintained by qualified specialists
- The lift lobby displays a floor indicator on every floor, clearly visible even at night
- The lift lobby and the lift car are well ventilated
- The lift lobby and the lift car have adequate daylight and lighting
- The lift lobby and the lift car are well finished, in keeping with the type and grade of the property
- The lift lobby and the lift car clearly display safety requirements and instructions for using the lift
- Accessible control panels for people with disabilities are provided both outside and inside the lift, with buttons mounted 0.90-1.20 metres above floor level and marked with Braille (except where a hotel has no need for a lift for people with disabilities)
- The lift car has an Emergency Call or Bell (alarm system) in good working order
- The lift car has handrails in good, clean condition
- An effective emergency control system operates the lift in the event of a power failure while the lift is in use
- Guest, staff and luggage lifts are kept separate from one another
Which Cibes Model Works Best as a Hotel Lift?
Every Cibes model is suitable for hotels and resorts of up to 6 storeys — that is, small to mid-sized properties. With up to 41 sizes to choose from depending on the model, the lift can be adapted beautifully to whatever role you need it to play in the hotel.
The Hotel Lift at Maraleina Sports Resort
We installed a Cibes Lift V80 Aurora serving 2 floors at this sports resort — a spacious property whose training facilities help athletes excel, from camps through to academies and on to professional representation. Our lift has a platform size of 1,110×1,467 mm.
The Hotel Lift at Sri Panwa Phuket
An exclusive installation at Sri Panwa Phuket Luxury Pool Villa, a 5-star hotel: a Cibes Lift Classic serving 2 floors in a villa-style property. It looks beautiful, opens up the view, blends into the hotel and never feels closed in. Beyond the aesthetics, Cibes lifts put safety first. Platform size 1,000 x 830 mm.
The Hotel Lift at Sea Pearl Beach Resort
This boutique resort sits on Patong Beach and is a 4-star hotel. It uses a Cibes Lift Classic serving 6 floors, which fits the property perfectly — the number of floors matches the building exactly, and the lift sits beautifully within the building’s design. Platform size 1,100 x 1,597 mm.
The Models We Recommend for Hotels
V80 Galaxy Striking Design with Colour-Changing LED Lighting
A home lift packed with head-turning luxury, thoroughly modern and exceptionally safe. Every home lift is designed around your requirements, in both style and size. The smallest takes up just 1 square metre, and there are 41 sizes to choose from. The finish is powder coated, available in both a plain surface and a special textured sandstone-effect surface.
V80 Aurora Design It Your Way
Our most popular platform home lift. Choose the colour and the wall finish so the lift sits perfectly with your home’s design. It features a premium floor, carefully designed and selected control-panel patterns, a safety system with lighting all around the platform, a redesigned door handle, and a shaft that can be specified in clear glass on all 4 sides. Available in 41 sizes.
V80 Elegance Understated Luxury
A home lift that is simple yet luxurious. The shaft and doors use larger panes of laminated tempered glass to make the lift feel even more open, with standard lighting and a mirrored glass ceiling. The grey floor hides marks, and the HMI control panel uses touchscreen buttons. Available in 41 sizes.
How Much Does a Hotel Lift Cost?
Today’s home lifts come with a wealth of stylish features. More importantly, most reputable manufacturers offer a broad range of accessibility features to suit every level of mobility. Many owners find that a modern lift is an investment well worth making for the lifestyle they want in the years ahead.
There are many types of lift on the market, and the price depends on product quality, transport costs, the credibility of the company and the number of floors served. At Cibes, prices start from one million baht.
Finally, the key thing with hotel lifts is to schedule regular maintenance inspections — at least every six months — to make sure everything works as it should, because the usage volume is high. You should also have an emergency plan in place and training for everyone. Consult a lift company you can trust.
