The Dreaded 13th Floor

Have you ever noticed that most hotels and buildings don’t have a 13th floor? When you’re looking at the floor buttons on an elevator and see that there is no thirteenth floor, don’t be alarmed. There are many superstitions regarding the number 13. People who are superstitious feel a huge sense of discomfort staying, living, and working on the thirteenth floor, so much so that they may change floors or simply find business elsewhere. Yet, according to a 2007 Gallup Poll, a whopping 87% of people don’t really mind staying in a 13thfloor hotel room. If that’s the case, why are we designing buildings without the thirteenth floor? One reason is, building owners don’t have anything to lose by skipping that floor or simply renaming it. Owners know that not having a 13thfloor will please the superstitious and the unsuperstitious don’t care either way. Another reason to remove the 13thfloor is simply to make the building seem taller. By removing the 13thfloor on a 19- story building, the building then becomes a more impressive 20-story building. This also makes lower floors rent even more expensive, which is great for building owners. If you didn’t know what was going on with the missing floor, now you do!