Making dollars from scents

Julie Mautner
Posted: November 22, 2006

New York City—The surreptitious spritzing of scent throughout lobbies and other public hotel spaces is one of the oldest tricks in the hoteliers' book. But lodging companies are now developing "signature scents" and are sinking huge marketing dollars into promoting these specific aromas. In fact, in a trend that's sweeping both the retail as well as the hospitality industry, scent is quickly becoming an essential element of "decor." And an even newer twist is the use of carefully chosen "point of purchase" scents to stimulate sales.

This spring, Hong Kong—based Langham Hotels, with six luxury properties worldwide, introduced "a refreshing, serene, and subtle essence of ginger flower that wafts through the hotels, leaving guests revitalized." Langham selected the essence for its "soothing and uplifting effects" and describes it as "something travelers flagged by jet lag or recuperating from the rigors of the road will certainly appreciate." The hypo-allergenic Langham Signature Scent is dispersed in "just-a-hint" quantities through air vents and will soon be sold as a room spray in all Langham boutiques.

Westin, meanwhile, is heavily promoting its new White Tea scent, which is diffused in lobbies via ScentAir machines. White Tea is part of Westin's ongoing strategy to create "truly memorable experiences" and to make travel "less transactional." With its notes of geranium and freesia, woods and musk, White Tea is said "to evoke the refreshing and sophisticated personality" of Westin.

"We don't want guests to just check in," says Nadeen Ayala, Starwood's senior director of corporate PR, "we want to deliver an arrival experience."

Working with ScentAir, the company spent almost a year on R&D for the scent, which it unveiled this spring. White Tea candles, home diffusers, and potpourri are available from www.westin-hotelsathome.com.

Meanwhile, three other Starwood brands also have their own scents. Sheraton's Welcoming Warmth aroma was designed "to make guests feel like they belong the moment they enter the hotel." With hints of fig, bergamot, jasmine, and freesia, the aroma was developed "to help settle and relax guests after a long journey." At Four Points by Sheraton, the cinnamon apple scent is meant "to evoke memories of the comforts of home." W hotels has taken the aroma idea further still and now changes its lobby scent seasonally, along with its "botanicals" (flower arrangements) and lighting. This past spring, all W hotels smelled of fresh-cut grass before switching over to guava for summer.

Research shows that the right smell can definitely impact the bottom line and scent is now being used as a sales tool in retail operations of all types. At the 40 Omni Hotels nationwide, the official lobby scent is a lemongrass and green tea blend, but aromas are used in other public spaces as well: mochaccino or sugar cookie in the coffee bars, for example, or coconut by the pool. "Some of our hotels have reported an increase in sales where they are using the mochaccino," reports Christine Connelly, Omni's former spokes person. "This is just one of the many elements of our sensory mission, which is all about setting a mood and creating a memorable experience."

The two leaders in "sensory branding" technology are ScentAir and AromaSys. The ScentAir system was created by a former Walt Disney scientist, searching for ways to infuse theme park attractions with different aromas. To date, the Charlotte, North Carolina–based company has concocted more than 1,500 different scents, for major hotel chains as well as clients such as Macy's and Bloomingdales, grocery and convenience stores, tobacco and coffee shops, spas, casinos, and even nursing homes. They make a system that emits a chocolate aroma for candy vending machines, called ScentPop, and another for bakeries that pumps up the smell of just-baked bread. The Minnesota-based AromaSys designs and supplies scents for Las Vegas casinos as well as Marriott, Hyatt, Ritz-Carlton, and other major hotels.

For the moment, hotel guest rooms and restaurants are still scent-free zones and, chances are, they'll stay that way. "We actually discourage the use of our scents in restaurants, especially fine dining," says Theresa Stark of AromaSys. Hopefully, the aroma of the food is good enough. We'd much rather have customers smelling their meal."