Why Most Hotel Rooms Don’t Have Ceiling Fans

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Ceilings fans are cool (you see what I did there?). They don’t actually decrease the temperature of a room, but since they circulate the air, they can make a room feel 3 or 4 degrees cooler. This would typically mean thermostats could be set a few degrees higher which, in turn, could potentially lower the utility bill. Yet few hotels, least of all chains, have ceiling fans in their rooms. What’s up with that?

As it turns out, there are multiple reasons why most hotels don’t have ceiling fans, and, not surprisingly, most boil down to the cost.

Installation costs

Many hotel rooms don’t even have lights in the ceiling, partially because of the extra time and cost it would incur to install each one. The same goes for ceiling fans.

Also, if you don’t install a ceiling fan correctly, it can have an uneven spin that (A) is annoying to listen to and (B) puts unnecessary wear on the motor, which brings us to…

Maintenance costs

Because they move, ceiling fans run the risk of motors burning out. The blades are also relatively fragile, so it would be easy for something (a thrown towel, something hung from the blades, etc.) to knock a blade out of place or even entirely off. So upkeep/repair/replacement is potentially costly factors.

Influences on utility bills

I know, I know – I said up above that ceiling fans can ultimately help lower utility bills. However, 2 things could put a wrench in that:

1. The heat from the motor – the motor from a ceiling fan that’s on a lot is going to run hot. That could negate the 3 or 4 degrees difference the room feels, especially in a smaller hotel room. That could potentially mean the thermostat really can’t get turned up
2. Regardless of what temperature hoteliers set the thermostat, guests will change it (even digital thermostats with pre-programmed limits have overrides), ceiling fan or no ceiling fan.

Bed jumpers

Probably not so much of an issue for little kids who might jump on the hotel room bed, but you just know some adults do it too. And the last thing a hotel needs is for a hotel guest at his jumping apex to get thwacked in the head by a ceiling fan.

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