A guest slips on a wet lobby floor and the first question the insurer asks is what was at the door to stop it happening.
Under the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992, Regulation 12, you have a legal duty to keep floors free from slip hazards, and that duty starts at the entrance. Most commercial entrances need a recessed or surface-mounted matting system long enough to dry several footsteps before guests reach hard flooring, usually four to six paces.
Why Entrance Matting Isn't Just a Welcome Mat
The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 put a duty on whoever controls the premises to keep floors free from anything likely to cause a slip, and that includes rainwater and grit tracked in from outside. A loose cotton mat from a wholesaler doesn't meet that duty on its own. It moves, it saturates after a handful of guests, and it doesn't actually scrape grit off a shoe the way a proper aluminium matting profile does.
We've fitted entrance systems into a 40-room budget hotel near Manchester Piccadilly where the previous mat was replaced twice a year and the lobby still got reported as slippery on review sites. The fix wasn't a better mat, it was a properly sized recessed matting frame at the door.
How Much Matting Do You Actually Need at the Door?
As a working rule, you want enough matting length to capture four to six footsteps before a guest's shoe touches the hard floor behind it. Anything shorter and the moisture and grit simply transfer past the mat on the fifth or sixth step. For a typical hotel or hostel entrance, that means a minimum run of around 1.5 to 2 metres in the direction of travel.
Emco Diamond vs Emco Universal: Which Fits a Busy Hotel Entrance?
Both are aluminium profile matting systems, but they're built for different footfall.
Heavier-duty aluminium and textile insert combination, designed for continuous high footfall such as hotel lobbies and conference entrances. Holds up to daily trolley and luggage traffic without the inserts working loose.
A lighter, more affordable surface-mounted system that suits smaller HMOs, guest houses and side entrances where footfall is lower and a recessed frame isn't practical to install.
For a main hotel entrance, the Diamond earns its price through sheer durability. For a converted HMO front door or a fire escape used occasionally, the Universal does the job without overspending on a frame nobody needed.
Refurbishing a hotel or HMO entrance? We'll price the matting alongside your other front-of-house fittings on one trade order.
Get a Trade Quote →Getting It Past an Inspection (or an Insurance Claim)
HHSRS assessors and your buildings insurer both look for the same thing after a slip incident: evidence you took reasonable steps. A dated invoice for a sized, recessed matting system is far stronger evidence than "there was a mat there." Keep the product spec sheet and installation date on file alongside your other compliance paperwork.
Check the HSE's guidance on floors and traffic routes for the full duty under the 1992 Regulations, and our Corby of Windsor hotel buying guide if you're fitting out the rest of the guest-facing areas at the same time.
Frequently Asked Questions
Sort Your Entrance Before It Becomes a Claim
Emco matting systems, trade priced, sized and specced for hotel and HMO entrances.
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