Walk onto the right hotel terrace and you’ll notice it immediately: a guest reaching for their phone, not to photograph the ocean or the mountains in front of them, but to photograph the space they’re standing in.
More often than not, that space includes a net.
A Safety Fixture That Became a Design Language
For years, netting in hotels served one purpose only: keeping guests safe on elevated terraces, around pools, or along open-air walkways. It did its job quietly, in the background, indistinguishable from any other barrier.
That’s no longer the case. Designers now specify netting not to block a view, but to frame it. A tensioned mesh installation lets air, light, and scenery pass through in a way a solid railing never could — while still doing the structural job it was originally built for.
This shift hasn’t gone unnoticed in the industry. Feelnets alone has now supplied custom netting to over 200 hotel properties around the world, ranging from mountain lodges in the Alps to overwater villas in the Indian Ocean.
The Rise of the Sunbed Net
If there’s one product driving this trend, it’s the sunbed net — a taut mesh surface set into a frame at deck height, standing in for the traditional lounger.
The appeal is physical as much as visual. Rather than resting on top of a cushion, guests settle into the mesh itself. Air moves freely underneath, the material contours to the body, and the effect is something padded furniture simply can’t reproduce. It also happens to look extraordinary from a drone or a balcony above — which explains why these installations show up so often in guest photos and hotel marketing alike.
Operationally, the appeal is just as strong. Unlike upholstered loungers, a sunbed net has no fabric to replace, no cushions to store during the off-season, and none of the mildew problems that come with humidity. Over a few seasons of use, it often costs less to maintain than what it replaced.
Getting the Details Right
Not every net installation lands the same way, and the difference usually comes down to two choices: color and mesh density.
White remains the go-to for coastal and island properties — it holds up beautifully against blue water and sky. Sand and off-white tones work better where the surroundings lean toward natural stone or timber, blending in rather than standing out. On rooftops in city settings, a darker palette tends to read as more deliberate, creating contrast against the skyline instead of disappearing into it.
Mesh density changes the feel entirely. A tight, fine weave reads as refined — closer to a textile than a net — which suits high-end interiors. A looser, more open weave has a rawer, more architectural presence, better suited to contemporary or design-forward properties.
What Keeps Guests Coming Back to It
When guests talk about net installations, three things come up again and again: how comfortable they are, how novel they feel, and how connected they feel to their surroundings while using them. Without a solid wall or railing in the way, there’s an openness to the experience that people consistently describe as calming.
There’s a social angle too. A sunbed net built for two invites a kind of closeness that two separate loungers placed side by side just don’t offer. And because these spaces photograph so well, they tend to generate the kind of organic social media content hotels can’t easily manufacture through paid marketing.
What Hospitality Buyers Should Plan For
Specifying netting for a hotel isn’t quite the same exercise as a residential installation. The surfaces involved are usually much larger, which means anchor points need a more rigorous structural review. The netting itself has to be built for constant daily use by rotating guests, not the occasional use a private home sees. And because these installations are often tied to a renovation or opening date, lead times need to be built into the project timeline early, not treated as an afterthought.
Feelnets works directly with architects, interior designers, and hotel project managers throughout the process — supplying technical drawings, material samples, and site guidance as needed, so the finished installation is built around the property’s actual requirements rather than adapted from an off-the-shelf product.
In hospitality, it’s often the small details that turn a stay into a memory. A net that gets a guest to stop, sit down, and stay a while longer than planned may be one of the simplest, most cost-effective upgrades a property can make.