Upland, Calif.�(April 22, 2002) For years, hoteliers have said: �You can�t put a price on guest comfort.� Well tens of hundreds of properties today say that you can � and for only pennies an Occupied Room � thanks to the Nature�s MistTM Odor Control System.

Owner/operator VIP�s Hotels Inc. said Green Suites� Nature�s Mist� Pennies Per Occupied Room program is �a breath of fresh air� for hoteliers and guests.

�We believe so strongly in the bottom-line benefits of the Nature�s Mist� Odor Control System and related preventative maintenance program that for the past two years we�ve mandated its usage at each of our 13 Phoenix Inn Suites, as well as at our Hampton Inn and planned Hilton Garden Inn,� said Regional Manager Scott Snyder.

�There are plenty of deodorizers and ionizers out there on the market, and we�ve probably tried most of them. Quite frankly Nature�s Mist� stands in a class of its own for its uncanny ability to simply and quickly neutralize tobacco, food, cologne and other strong odors from the air, as well as from drapes, carpeting, bed linen, and other soft and hard goods, in both smoking and non-smoking guestrooms.�   

�It�s a funny thing�. I have never seen it written that a smoking room has to smell like smoke,� says John Boynton, National Accounts Manager with Green Suites International. �The Nature�s Mist� Odor Control System really is the simplest and most effective way for properties to win the war with odors. Since the Nature�s Mist� Liquid is highly concentrated Executive Housekeepers can clear off their cluttered shelf of odor battling agents. Whether it be daily air neutralization, guest room conversions, carpet care or the occasional bladder-challenged pet, Nature�s Mist� will handle it safely and naturally.�

Clearing the air

Ray Burger, VP Sales & Marketing for Green Suites International, said the Pennies Per Occupied Room Program provides an incentive for hotels to be proactive with the Nature�s Mist� preventative maintenance program.
The two-part program is simple: Housekeepers take a few seconds every day to spray all-natural, non-toxic Nature�s Mist� into the air of every guestroom they clean. The revolutionary liquid consists of more than two-dozen plant extracts working together to neutralize tobacco and other strong odors in ways only before imagined. Secondly, during general cleaning cycles the housekeeping staff takes about 15 minutes to use the patented vapor-phase sprayer to reach the spots inaccessible by trigger sprayers. Referred to by some as the �Green Machine,� the sprayer discharges thousands of microscopic droplets, allowing the proprietary compound to reach mattresses, pillows, bedspreads, carpeting, drapes, heating and cooling vents, and ceilings.

Perhaps most remarkable, no chemicals are used in this all-natural system that instantly unmasks the deficiencies of other air fresheners and ionizers that all too often are quick fixes at best. More than 1500 properties nationwide use Nature�s Mist�� including marquee hotels such as the Hotel Del Coronado in San Diego, the Mandarin Oriental in San Francisco, New York�s Waldorf-Astoria and about 15 Ritz-Carltons, as well as midscale, economy and extended-stay properties in all markets.

�Room odor literally has ranked among the Top 4 complaints in lodging for years,� Burger said. �Why not use Nature�s Mist at zero upfront investment and cure overnight what just might be one of your property�s biggest Achille�s heals? Who can�t afford to look into this value proposition that allows you to sell the last guestroom and meeting room every day regardless of your fluctuating mix of smokers and non-smokers � while bolstering guest satisfaction and repeat business in the process?

Burger said Nature�s Mist� has many significant tangible benefits:

• Employee satisfaction, housekeeping staff are pleased about offering a clean and fresh smelling guestroom for all guests.  Guest Services and Reservations staff is more comfortable �guaranteeing� non-smoking rooms with an increased level of confidence. 

• Empowering hotels to effectively manage their inventories � There�s nothing like the ability to sell to the last room. Whether you have an unexpected influx of non-smokers or are offered meetings business by a group of cigar aficionados, you have the flexibility to suit either population with very little notice without suffering from damaging testimonials from unhappy guests.  Some groups, such as a youth sports team, may require more non-smoking room types (double-doubles) than are normally available and the only way you can accommodate this demand is by converting rooms to non-smoking with Nature�s Mist�. 

• Allowing hotels to provide fresh, odorless rooms for all guests � �Just because one smokes, do you think he or she deserves a room rank with second-hand smoke? Absolutely not,� Burger said. �Why do you think so many smokers reserve non-smoking rooms and then smoke in them?�

• Last but certainly not the least, Nature�s Mist� is enabling hotels to keep their word � �What hotelier has not had a walk-in guest request a non-smoking room or late arrival of a reserved non-smoker and tried to �make do� by putting that guest in a smoking room? How likely is that guest to come back?� Burger asked. �With Nature�s Mist�, every smoking room can easily and cost effectively be converted to better serve either guest preference � as well as the hotel�s reputation and bottom line. �

�The Nature�s Mist� Pennies Per Occupied Room Program is an excellent way for hotels to get a fresh start with zero upfront investment required,� Snyder said. �It also helps Executive Housekeepers and management ensure that the solution is consistently used for maximum benefit to guests and operators. If we don�t use 2 gallons a month of the all-natural Nature�s Mist� at our property, it raises a red flag that we�re missing out on opportunities to bolster guest comfort and satisfaction.�

Stan Seibert. GM of the 64-room Hampton Inn in Quincy, IL, said the property has tried other deodorizers with little success, but that Nature�s Mist� is hospitality�s Holy Grail in this critical area.

�Even �the best of the rest� truly only mask odors temporarily,� Seibert said. �All too often, by the time a guest checks into the room, the odors have returned, only to be combined with some fruity or scented odor. With Nature�s Mist�, the odor vanishes into thin air and a clean, neutral, long-lasting freshness remains.

�With Hampton Inn, we are required to have at least 70 percent of our rooms non-smoking � however, often times almost half of our guests are smokers,� he said. �With Nature�s Mist�, we don�t have turn away or irritate anyone. It�s absolutely phenomenal. It penetrates everything from carpeting, drapes and wallpaper, to our guest satisfaction scores and, ultimately, our bottom line.�

Adriano Corsini, GM of the 237-room Hilton Seattle Hotel, said Nature�s Mist� helps put a fresh interior face on his property.

�When a property is decades old, such as ours, all the renovations and ff&e investments in the world won�t necessarily ensure guest comfort,� Corsini said. �If the air is stale, dead and/or odorous, then these investments truly will only work to mask temporarily one of the industry�s top complaints: odor.

�Half of the battle to retain customers is �the first impression,�� Corsini said. �With Nature�s Mist�, today we make lasting, positive first impressions with smokers and non-smokers alike � and that�s a competitive advantage that�s hard to place a price tag on.�

�For years, room odors have ranked among our guests� top complaints,� Corsini said. �Today, we�re proud to say that our guests are ranking room comfort, cleanliness and freshness at a record high.�

Jim Gross, GM of the 192-room Crowne Plaza in Clark, N.J., and Michele Webb, Executive Housekeeper of the Historic 100-room Governor Hotel in Portland, OR concurred.

�From a staff standpoint, Nature�s Mist� is very simple to use,� Webb said. �It takes little time, effort and money to use this �Housekeeper Helper,� but it takes a load off our housekeepers� and managers� minds. Now, our front desk and reservations department can say with confidence and a genuine smile that �Yes, we have non-smoking rooms available.�

�And with the proactive maintenance program built into the Pennies Per Occupied Room plan, we don�t have to ask guests if we can run an ionizer while they wait or go get something to eat. Their rooms are available with refreshingly clean air and odorless regardless of our rooms demand or preference mix.�

Gross said the Crowne Plaza recently completed $4 million worth of renovations and that while fresh air might be hard to place a dollar figure on, it has had a similar positive impact on guest impressions.

�We use Nature�s Mist� in our guestrooms, public spaces and even our upscale restaurant,� Gross said. �Everyone knows what it�s like to walk into a room that has been smoked in. It�s hideous, particularly when all the smoking rooms are not confined to one area. But now, thanks to Nature�s Mist�, we are in a unique position to WOW our guests.

�I�ve literally searched for years for a product such as Nature�s Mist�,� he said. �I was beginning to think It didn�t exist � but it definitely does � and it costs just a few cents per odorless room.�  

Based in Upland, Calif., Green Suites International assists hotels by developing solutions that are profitable to hotels and image enhancing to the more than 43 million environmental travelers in the United States. Solutions include natural amenities delivered from elegant dispensers, non-toxic cleaners, air and water filtration systems and energy and water efficient products. Facilities reaping the benefits of Green Suites� solutions include properties from every state and 12 different countries. For more information on Green Suites International, its Nature�s MistTM Deodorizer as well as an array of other ecological solutions providing economic benefit, please contact Ray Burger, VP Sales & Marketing, at 888-590-2285, e-mail [email protected], or visit www.greensuites.com.

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