Solar Control Window Film

Solar Control Window Film Installation at a Marriott Hotel in Burlingame, California

Calling all hospitality managers! This case study is for you! American Window Film installed solar control window film to the San Francisco Airport Marriott Waterfront Hotel in Burlingame, California. This is a newly redesigned Marriott that not only has great location to the San Francisco airport, it also has beautiful views of the San Francisco Bay waterfront. American Window Film was lucky enough to help with the redesign! The hotel was having an issue with heat control in the atrium part of the hotel. American Window Film was invited to help be part of the hotel redesign and help make guests more comfortable!

American Window Film's Goals

Being in the hospitality field, what are some of the most important things to make sure your hotel has? First and foremost, the most important aspect is customer satisfaction. If your customers aren’t satisfied, running a hotel is going to be difficult. Energy efficiency and keeping costs down is also extremely important. Hotels are really large buildings and the costs to maintain them can get out of control really quickly. The manager of this hotel agreed that these two things are key in running a successful hotel. With that being said, there is a large atrium in this hotel that is comprised of nearly all glass. The atrium is home to the lobby, a bar and a restaurant. The manager loves the atrium because it not only overlooks the San Francisco Bay waterfront, but guests can also see planes taking off and landing, which is really cool. It is by far the most popular part of the hotel and guests love to hangout and collaborate there. However, the atrium unfortunately does bring a few problems. The first problem is the heat. Since there is so much glass, the sun radiates through and creates an extreme amount of heat, which poses a really big problem in the summertime. Like we just said, guests like to hangout in the atrium area or get some work done there, and the heat makes the spaces really warm and uncomfortable. Guests have complained about the issue and about how they can’t spend too much time in the atrium because of the heat. This is a shame because of how beautiful the space is.

The manager clearly wanted the guests to be able to utilize this part of the hotel without feeling uncomfortable. The second issue the atrium brings is sun fading and high electricity bills. The sun that brings in the heat also brings in the UVA and UVB rays. These ultraviolet rays are the leading cause of sun fading. As you can see from the photos, there is a lot of furniture and flooring in the atrium since it’s such a big space. The hotel manager started noticing that the furniture and floors were getting faded from the sun.The manager tries to balance the heat by turning up the air conditioning. This ultimately leads to a really high electricity bill because the hotel is so large. The hotel manager knows the ins and outs of running a hotel and knew these problems needed to be fixed as soon as possible. The customers goal for their hotel was to find a solution to reduce heat in the atrium and lower their electricity bill, while not losing views out of the atrium glass. He wanted to get ahead of the game and find a solution to the problem before the hot summer months get here. In his research on finding solutions for these problems, the manager was came across window film and thought it might be a good fit for the atrium of the hotel. From there he researched different window film companies near him and came across American Window Film’s website. The manager reached out to American Window Film to get a free quote and learn more about what their different options are.

American Window Film's Suggestions

If you are having issues with heat, glare or sun fading, what kind of window film would be the best option for you? If you’ve read any of our past case studies, you should know the answer to this question. Solar control window film is the winner! Our project manager met the hotel manager on site to see the atrium glass in person and to assess what we were dealing with. Our project manager started by first determining that the glass is single pane laminated glass. Determining the glass type is really important because there are certain window films that cannot be installed to certain types of glass. Once the glass type was determined, he showed the customer different solar control window films that are appropriate for their glass type and that would help with heat and UV protection. Since the customer was looking for a solar film that would reduce heat without losing the ability to see out of the atrium glass, our project manager suggested 3M Prestige 50 and 3M Prestige 60. The reason why he suggested these two solar films is because they both have low reflectivity and will enhance the views of the glass and the overall beauty, while still rejecting heat and providing energy savings.

After hearing our project managers suggestions and working with him closely to learn the different benefits of the solar films, the hospitality manager decided to go with 3M Prestige 60 Window Film. Since both solar control window films our project manager showed the customer have low interior and exterior reflectivity and won’t change the aesthetics of the hotel, you might be wondering why the customer chose Prestige 60 over Prestige 50. The customer ultimately chose Prestige 50 because it is a lighter window film. The business manager wanted the clearest possible views out of the glass because that was extremely important to him. With Prestige 60, the hotel guests are still going to be able to completely see in and out of the glass. They will still be able to enjoy the water views and they will still be able to watch the planes land and take off!

What the Customer Chose: 3M Prestige 60 Window Film

The solar control window film the manager chose blocks 53% of heat, 32% of glare and 99% of UVA and UVB rays. Blocking 53% of heat will make a significant difference in the temperature of the atrium. The space will feel more comfortable and inviting, without having to reach for the air conditioning. Not having to turn on the air conditioning as much will help lower the electricity bill, making the hotel more energy efficient and manageable. Finally, blocking 99% of UVA and UVB rays is going to extend the lifespan of the hotels floors and furniture because these ultraviolet rays are the leading cause of sun fading. The hotel manager thought this was the perfect solution for their hotel because it checked off every box they were looking for.

With that being said, he decided he wanted to move forward with this sun control window film for the entire atrium, which is a ton of glass! American Window Film ended up installing 8,544 square feet of the 3M Prestige 60 which took our installation crew seven business days to install! Since the atrium is so large and the windows are so high up, our installation crew had to use both a scissor life and a boom lift. You can see in the photos what these lifts look like. Our entire installation crew has been properly trained on how to use and operate these lifts in a proper and safe way.

Results of the Window Film Installation

The hotel manager was really excited about the results of the installation. Their guests are going to be able to utilize the atrium more because it won’t be as hot and they will be more comfortable during the summertime, and on top of that, their belongings are being protected from sun fading. Our project manager, Chad Shields, was the point of contact during this installation. He was the one who worked closely with the hotel manager to help pick out the right film for the hotel and to make sure they got exactly what they were looking for. He was there to ensure the installation went as smooth as possible and to make sure the hotel managers goals were met.

At the end of the installation we asked Chad how he thought the installation went, and he said, “Overall, the installation went really well. We had initial pickups to start, but the install went well and turned out great. We worked with the hotel for accommodations and we finished ahead of schedule.” This is great news! The install went well AND we finished ahead of schedule. A win-win situation! In addition to solar control window film, American Window Film also services decorative window film, custom graphics, anti graffiti film, window security film and exterior building wraps. If you are in the hospitality field and are interested in learning more about solar control window film for your hotel, or are experiencing similar problems as this hotel manager, contact American Window Film today for a free quote!

Burlingame, California