Hotel Wallcovering Specification Guide (Malaysia)

A hotel wallcovering specification in Malaysia works zone by zone. Use a fire-rated fabric-backed vinyl in corridors, lift lobbies and other escape routes, and a wide-width non-woven where a seamless mural matters, such as behind the bed or across a lobby feature wall. Then confirm every rated zone with the project's fire engineer and attach the certificates to the submission. This guide sets out that process, from the fire strategy to the hand-over pack, using the materials VÉLLANO prints on.

Hotels ask more of a wall than almost any other building type. The same property has public routes that must perform in a fire, guest rooms that must feel residential, F&B outlets that get scuffed every night and a signature lobby wall that ends up in every marketing photograph. A single wallcovering cannot do all of that, so the specification has to change from zone to zone while the artwork stays coherent across the property.

Start with the fire strategy

The first question for any hotel wallcovering specification is not the design but the zone. The fire engineer's report or the architect's fire strategy drawings identify the escape routes, protected lobbies and public areas where a reaction-to-fire rating applies. Get that drawing before choosing materials, because it decides which walls can take a decorative non-woven and which need a fire-rated base.

Two classification systems turn up on Malaysian hotel projects, often side by side. The European EN 13501-1 class describes contribution to fire, smoke and flaming droplets; B-s1,d0 is the strongest result a decorative wallcovering can practically achieve. The American ASTM E84 tunnel test gives a flame spread index and a smoke developed index; Class A means a flame spread of 0 to 25 and smoke of 450 or less. Specifications written by American or international hotel brands usually ask for Class A, so it pays to specify a material that holds both. Our guide to B-s1,d0 and ASTM Class A explains each code in detail.

At VÉLLANO, two materials carry both classifications: Fabric Backed FR+ and DuraFlex FR. The Eco, Canvas and Luxe ranges carry strong emissions and durability credentials but are not marketed as fire-rated. Keep them to rooms where the fire engineer confirms a rating is not required. Requirements vary with the building and the local authority, so never assume a guest room is exempt; ask.

Corridors and lift lobbies: fire-rated fabric-backed vinyl

Guest corridors, lift lobbies and back-of-house routes see luggage trolleys, housekeeping carts and constant traffic, and they are usually escape routes. They need a base that is fire-rated, scrubbable and tough at the edges. That is the job of a fabric-backed commercial vinyl.

• Fabric Backed FR+: a 15 oz Osnaburg-backed vinyl (about 340 gsm), 1,295 mm print width, B-s1,d0 and ASTM E84 Class A, with GREENGUARD Gold, M1, AgBB, French A+ and SGBC Green Label credentials. It is the workhorse for hotel corridors and any project with a fire-safety submission.
• DuraFlex FR: a 15 oz/ly fabric-backed commercial vinyl with a linen-weave emboss, the same fire classifications, and a surface that is scrubbable and impact-tolerant for high-traffic public areas and F&B.

A Novarelle abstract in a public area, where a fire-rated fabric-backed base is the usual choice

A note on weights. Buyers often ask for "20 oz" wallcovering, a figure that comes from North American hotel-corridor specifications. Fabric Backed FR+ and DuraFlex FR are 15 oz per linear yard, about 340 gsm, not 20 oz. If a brand standard names a minimum weight, check it against the material before you submit, and use chair rails, corner guards and a rated base together on the most punishing walls.

Because the fire-rated range prints at 1,295 mm, a corridor mural is delivered as numbered panels that butt-join on the wall. Plan the artwork so joins avoid faces, horizons and large flat colour fields; the Wall Calculator shows panel counts and join positions for each wall before you commit.

Guest rooms and suites: seamless wide-width murals

Where the fire engineer confirms no rating is needed, guest rooms and suites can move to softer, more residential materials. The signature wall is usually the bedhead, and that is where a join is most visible: it sits at eye level, is lit by bedside lamps and is photographed for every listing.

The Luxe non-woven range prints up to 3,150 mm (124 in) wide. Turned on its side, a single drop covers most bedheads in one piece, with no joins through the artwork. Luxe Elegance NW has a soft linen weave for walls seen up close; Luxe Artistry NW has an artist-canvas weave and is certified ASTM F793 Type II, the commercial durability class, which suits suites and lounges that are cleaned hard. Read more in Seamless at 3.15 m: when to specify wide-width.

A Palmera botanical mural as a bedhead feature, printed to the measured wall

For smaller rooms on a tighter budget, the Eco paper-backed range is a crisp, economical alternative. Eco Tex adds a fine plaster-like texture that softens reflections, and the Eco range has an applied antifungal resin layer, which helps in rooms near bathrooms.

Lobbies, F&B and signature walls

The lobby, the all-day dining room and the bar carry the hotel's identity. These walls are judged by eye, in photographs and on social media, so the artwork matters most here. Two questions decide the material.

1. Is the wall on a rated route? Many lobbies are. If so, the artwork goes onto Fabric Backed FR+ or DuraFlex FR, and the panel layout is planned around the 1,295 mm width.
2. Does the composition need to be seamless? If the wall is not rated and the design has large flat fields or a strong focal point, the 3,150 mm Luxe range removes most joins.

Tropical Palmera artwork scaled to a lounge wall, the kind of signature surface guests photograph

Tropical and botanical themes work particularly well in Malaysian resorts and city hotels alike; see Tropical maximalism in hospitality interiors for how designers use them. Every VÉLLANO design can be recoloured to Pantone or NCS references, and bespoke brand artwork can be printed on any material, so a lobby mural and a corridor pattern can share one palette across the property. The Room Visualiser lets you test a design on a real room photo before you brief.

A Novarelle marble-inspired design for an F&B or lounge feature wall

Certifications hotel specifications ask for

Beyond fire, hotel brands, green-building assessors and owners each ask for different marks. Emissions labels matter because guest rooms are often occupied within days of installation. VÉLLANO's Canon UVgel ink is GREENGUARD Gold certified and evaluated odourless (ISO 16000-28), and the HP Latex ink used on the wide range is GREENGUARD Gold and UL ECOLOGO certified. Here is how the main hotel materials compare.

Our guide to wallcovering certifications explains what each mark tests. To compare materials side by side, use Compare Materials or answer four questions in the Material Finder.

Humidity, cleaning and long-term care

Malaysia's heat and humidity, combined with hotel air-conditioning, mean condensation can form behind walls that face the outside or sit beside bathrooms. Wallcovering failures in hotels are almost always about the wall and the adhesive, not the print. Build these points into the specification:

• Walls must be smooth, dry, sound and primed. In humid areas, prime with an alkali-resistant moisture-prevention primer.
• Use a heavy-duty ready-mixed adhesive with good slip and high initial tack for vinyl and fabric-backed bases, with a mould-resistant additive in humid locations.
• Printed wallcovering is not for wet zones such as showers; keep it to dry walls.
• Hang three panels and inspect before continuing, and use an experienced commercial wallcovering installer.

A Palmera design on a hotel wall, where good priming and adhesive matter as much as the print

For housekeeping, the standard routine is to wipe with a soft damp sponge and mild soap, then dry with a soft cloth. Avoid solvents, bleach and abrasive pads. The fabric-backed materials are scrubbable, which is why they belong in corridors and F&B. If the operator uses a specific cleaning product, test it on an A4 sample before hand-over.

Hotel wallcovering submission checklist

A complete submission saves a round of queries from the consultant and the fire engineer. Before you issue the finishes schedule, check that you have:

• A zone plan marking which walls are on rated routes, agreed with the fire engineer.
• The material for each zone, with its fire classification (B-s1,d0 and ASTM E84 Class A where required).
• The EU fire classification certificate and the emissions certificates (GREENGUARD Gold, AgBB, M1, A+) from the downloads library.
• A specification clause for each material, ready to paste from the Spec Clause tool.
• Measured elevations of each wall in millimetres, with doors, windows, sockets and switches marked.
• The design codes or bespoke artwork at 100 dpi or more at final printed size (check it with the Artwork Checker).
• Colour references (Pantone or NCS) and a full-scale strike-off for colour-critical walls.
• A4 samples on the specified material for the client's sign-off.
• Installation notes: primer, adhesive, three-panel inspection and the cleaning routine for the operator's manual.

Our broader checklist for specifying custom printed wallcoverings covers artwork and panel layout in more depth.

Next steps for your hotel project

Production lead time depends on quantity, material and approvals, so we confirm a production and delivery date with each proposal, once the artwork and strike-off are approved. We supply hotel projects across Malaysia, including Sabah and Sarawak, and regionally including Singapore.

Send the fire strategy, the wall elevations and your design direction through a Project Enquiry, and a specialist will reply within one working day with a material and sample recommendation for each zone. Or see more on the hospitality wallcoverings page.