Hotel Fragrance: The Ultimate Guide to Enhance the Boutique Experience in your property

It is a fact that every hotel, regardless of its size, has its own dynamic personality, reflected on all its components — from design to brand identity. The relationship that travellers develop with a hotel is significantly strong, since they stay there from just a few to several days, coming in a continuous contact with all of its aspects. This contact is further enhanced by the hotel’s smell, which holds a key-role in shaping the overall traveller’s experience, creating positive or negative emotions.

Many recent studies have shown that the impact of fragrance on consumer psychology is extremely powerful, which has turned ‘smell’ into a strategic business tool. In addition to its given influence under the laws of physics, the smell’s ability to bring back memories and generate emotions and desires have led to the creation of a new marketing field: The so-called “Scent Marketing”, that, especially in hotels, seems to find its ultimate application.

As hoteliers are increasingly investing in their properties’ scent for enhancing guest satisfaction and sales, we present a complete guide on this fascinating subject, that will focus on:

• The key points for a hotel’s fragrance

• The standard equipment and supplies needed

• Calculating the cost of the investment

Which are the key points in a Hotel’s essence?

Custom fragrance for hotels

The first, and perhaps the most important step for a hotel’s successful scent is choosing the right fragrance, that will reflect the personality of the property. The process of creating a unique fragrance for a hotel is rather simple, and the properties that go through this procedure seem to enjoy an increased level of guest satisfaction, which is reflected in their reviews but also in their large number of repeating guests.

Steps for creating a unique fragrance for your Hotel:

• Documentation of the Hotel’s Brand Personality through a research about its identity
• Exploring the hotel’s values through a series of interviews with its executives
• Studying and analyzing the data by experienced perfume makers
• Creation of the first samples of the Hotel’s “Scent Identity”
• Final fragrance accompanied by a ‘Certification of Uniqueness and Exclusive Use’

The scent in hotel common areas and rooms

In order to get the most out of a hotel’s scent experience, you must ensure that the hotel’s common areas and rooms are properly aromatized. More specifically, great emphasis should be given on the Reception area, where travellers shape their first impressions about the property and decide if they have made the right choice by staying at this particular hotel.

Moreover, great attention should be paid to the rooms’ scent, as it should be always kept at a discrete level, without negatively affecting the visitors’ experience. The proper scenting of a hotel’s premises requires a specialized study by a team of experts, who will determine the required equipment and type of supplies.

Hotel smell in housekeeping

Housekeeping is the most important part related to a hotel’s feeling of freshness and cleanliness, which is greatly reflected on the travellers’ overall experience.

As a matter of fact, the bed is one of the most important spots that can create a positive feeling to the guests, through clever scenting methods. More specifically, the use of Fabric Fresheners in all the linens within the room, even in curtains, allows housekeeping to make a significant contribution to the hotel’s “smell experience”, increasing the positive reviews regarding the level of sanitation and cleanliness.

Managing unpleasant odors in sanitary and food establishments

In addition to adding a new smell, the management of existing unpleasant and/or strong odors in different areas, can also play an important role in a hotel’s level of comfort. Especially in the F&B outlets, the various intense and usually unpleasant odors coming from the kitchen can often create a negative feeling. The solution to this problem comes through specialized odor inactivators, which can be installed in areas with difficult ventilation and help the hotel create the right atmosphere.

Apart from the F&B departments, odor inactivators are an ideal solution for hotel WC and restrooms, whether common or in-room, greatly improving the visitors’ mood and overall experience.

The use of fragrance in promoting the restaurants

One of Scent Marketing’s most innovative applications in hotels is the promotion of restaurants and bars through the creation of “attractive fragrances” that can positively affect the travellers in deciding to try the various tastes offered in the hotel’s restaurants. Depending on the outlet, hoteliers can select the specific smell of a typical dessert (e.g. a cheesecake), a drink (e.g. a flavored brandy), and even freshly baked bread, and thus enhance the gastronomic experience of their hotel’s restaurants and bars. These special scents are designed not to cause negative emotions and stress to the travellers, but rather to stimulate their appetite and desire to try the hotel’s cuisine.

Hotel fragrance applications that can lead to Upselling

Provided that the hotel has created its own personalized aroma, the prospect of upselling through the fragrance’s micro-applications to specific products is also enhanced. The hoteliers can, for example, create and sell their own collection of scented candles or sticks, which are also an attractive Goodbye Gift. This will not only satisfy the departing guests but also boost their relationship with the property, increasing the possibility of coming back, especially since the hotel’s smell will always remind them of the precious time they spent during their holidays.

What is the minimum equipment needed for the proper hotel scenting and which are the basic supplies?

Scent Plus offers the most advanced scent equipment for hotels, using steam technology devices, with enhanced Eco-friendly characteristics. These devices work by dispersing scented steam of natural oils to the atmosphere rather than the classic spray method, achieving a high-quality result without burdening the guests or the environment. The number of scent devices required is determined according to the needs of the premises.

Whatever the device, Scent Plus offers a wide range of fragrances for Hotels for all possible uses and needs:

• Custom Perfumes: Special Perfume ‘Recipes’ made exclusively for each individual hotel
• Realistic Fragrances: Fragrances for Restaurants and Bars based on popular smells like Brandy Apple, Chocolate, Pizza, etc.
• Fabric Freshener: Special perfumes that resemble the smell of a fabric softener, for the hotel’s sheets and towels.
• Kitchen Clear: Odor inactivators particularly for smells caused by food and cooking, suitable for kitchens and restaurants.
• WC Perfumes: Selected fragrances in combination with odor inactivators for personal hygiene areas.
• Anti-Tobacco: Odor inactivators to combat odors arising from smoke.

How can hoteliers calculate the cost of a relevant investment?

The calculation of the total investment needed for a hotel’s proper scenting varies according to the size and needs of the property. In order to make the right budgeting, the hotel must first ask for a specific scent study, that will specify the full expenses plan.

At Scent Plus, both the Fragrance Study and the basic Equipment are provided to the hotels completely for free, and the hoteliers have to pay only the cost of the scent marketing service. Cost plans are fully flexible and can be configured in either annual or monthly basis.

Finally, Scent Plus’s executives keep track of the service and its performance in each hotel, returning at the end of each year with new, personalized suggestions that will maximize the results.