Hotel Curtains

What fire rating do hotel curtains need?

Hotel curtains are specified against BS 5867 Part 2, the British Standard for the flammability of curtains, drapes and window blinds. Public areas such as lobbies, restaurants, bars and meeting rooms are normally specified to Type B, the general contract standard. Guest bedrooms are a sleeping risk, and many fire strategies call for Type C there instead, the more demanding test that also requires the fabric to keep its performance after a defined cleansing procedure. That matters in a hotel, where bedroom curtains go through commercial laundering on a cycle.

The fire risk assessment for the property is the authority on which type applies to which floor. Every fabric on this page carries a current BS 5867 Part 2 test report; where Type C is required, use the BS 5867 Type C curtains collection to filter to those fabrics only.

Choosing curtain fabrics for a hotel

Hotel curtains carry more requirements than almost any other contract application: fire performance, real blackout, commercial laundering, large or awkward windows, and a look that belongs to a designed scheme rather than a compliance exercise. The points that come up on every project:

• Blackout in guest bedrooms. Light leakage is one of the most frequent causes of poor sleep scores in guest reviews. Blackout fire retardant curtains block light through the cloth itself, with no separate lining. The fabric is only part of it: return ends, a generous centre overlap and adequate width either side of the reveal do as much for real-world blackout as the cloth does, and we can advise on making up to suit.
• Dimout and sheers for public areas. Dimout curtains soften daylight in restaurants and function rooms without blacking them out; sheers layered on a double track give daytime privacy at street level.
• Wide widths and heavier weights. Tall lobby glazing, bay windows and suites justify wide-width cloths, velvets, jacquards and the textured qualities in the higher fabric bands. Everything remains certified; the difference is in weight, width and finish.
• Laundering. Every fabric we list is inherently fire retardant: the performance is in the fibre and does not wash out, which is why we do not list topically treated fabrics. Check the product page for washing guidance before setting a housekeeping cycle.
• Continuity across phases. Refurbishments often run floor by floor over months. Dye lots vary between production runs, so tell us at the outset if the scheme will be phased and we will advise on matching later batches and holding stock.

Specifying and ordering

Every curtain is made to measure in the UK. Choose the fabric, enter your drop and width, select a heading (pencil pleat, eyelet, wave or pinch pleat), and the configurator prices it immediately. For a full refurbishment, or where you would rather send us a room schedule, request a quote and we will price the whole project as a single quotation across all the fabric houses we carry, including Panaz, Skopos, Edmund Bell, iLiv, Bancroft, Mallion & Knowles, Villa Nova and Vescom.

Fire test certificates are supplied for your fire risk assessment and O&M files. Samples are available on every fabric, and we can put together a sample set across bedroom and public-area specifications for a design review.

Hotel curtain FAQs

Do hotel curtains have to be fire retardant?

Yes. The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 places a duty on the responsible person to manage fire risk in the premises, and a fire risk assessor will expect curtains in a hotel to meet BS 5867 Part 2, with Type C commonly required in bedrooms. Every fabric on this page is tested to BS 5867 Part 2.

Do I need a blackout lining as well as a blackout fabric?

Not with a true blackout cloth, which excludes light through the fabric itself. Where you want a decorative face fabric in the bedroom, pair it with an FR blackout lining and we will make the two up together.

Can you match curtains to an existing scheme across a hotel group?

Yes. Send us the fabric reference or a cutting and we will confirm availability, current dye lot and lead time, and hold stock against a rollout where needed.