Water surface area
There is a tendency among pool operators to believe that if a 500 m2 (5,381 sf) water surface area is good, then a 1,000 m2 (10,764 sf) surface area is twice as good. This view practically guarantees the project will be overbuilt (and over budget). An example can be taken from the resort/hotel industry. Rather than guessing at the appropriate amount of water surface area that is required, the alternative approach is to multiply the number of hotel rooms by the projected number of guests per room. This will help determine the number of people at full occupancy. Finally, multiply this number by the projected occupancy rate to get the total number of guests on site. A hypothetical example would be:
- 400 guest rooms x 2.5 (average guests per room) = 1,000 guests at full occupancy
- 1,000 guests x 75 per cent average occupancy rate = 750 total number of guests on site
Not every guest will utilize the resort’s pool(s), and guest surveys may be required to determine what the participation rate might be, but a conservative number is 50 per cent of the total guests on site.
In the hypothetical example above, 50 per cent of the total guests on site means 375 people would need to be accommodated in the pool(s). Most provincial and state health codes allow a maximum occupancy of one guest for every 1.9 to 2.3 m2 (20 to 25 sf) of water surface area. Assuming 2.3 m2 (25 sf) per guest, the hypothetical pool(s) should have a water surface area of at least 871 m2 (9,375 sf) (i.e. 375 guests x 2.3 m2 (25 sf) of water surface area per guest).
Multiple pools tailored to guest demographics (e.g. children’s, active and passive pools) are very desirable, since guests prefer having ‘their own space.’ When people are on vacation, they do not want to fight crowds. In fact, according to various client reports, having different types of pools ranks very high in guest satisfaction surveys.
Deck space
What can be just as important as pool water surface area is the amount of deck space allocated for the chaise lounges, shade structures or umbrellas. Typically, deck space within the pool amenity area(s) should be at least two to two-and-a-half times the water surface area. Going back to the hypothetical example, this means the pool deck should be 1,742 to 2,177 m2 (18,750 to 23,438 sf) in size. Depending on the client’s requirements (e.g. having at least one chaise lounge per guest room), it is necessary to produce a scaled site plan locating the required number of chaise lounges within the pool amenity areas to ensure adequate space has been allocated.
