Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared in LD&A magazine. See the original post here.

The hospitality industry is one of the most competitive in the world, with new players like Airbnb only intensifying the challenges.

As hotels vie against one another for customers and online approvals, their guest’s overall experience is most often the make-or-break differentiator. Indoor waterfalls, 24-hour fitness centers and exceptional dining services are great add-ons. Still, research shows that when it comes to designing a top-tier lodge, devising an environment for a good night’s sleep should top the list.

This is where a hotel’s lighting scheme comes into play.

Consider the following: A study by the Hotel School at the SC Johnson College of Business at Cornell University—which included more than 95,000 online reviews and ratings for 99 independent, high-end hotels—reported that guests cited a comfortable room as the most essential quality of a hotel stay.

Still, many hotels fall short. One perennial complaint: Inadequate sleep. Research shows 80 percent of travelers have trouble sleeping. In fact, the average business traveler loses 58 minutes of sleep each night, averaging just five hours and 17 minutes of shuteye. The leading cause? A “different environment.”

Hotels are under pressure today to right this wrong and deliver the “wow” factor they need to impress guests, many of whom have come of age during a time of technological transformation and, therefore, have developed behaviors and preferences very different from generations before.

To read the whole article, click here.

Want to learn more?

To learn more about why LED lighting is a must-consider design element for hotels and other hospitality settings, read: “How does tunable white lighting combat jet lag?“