| By Dean Gruber, August 2006
Consider this: Travelers are forecast to spend an average of 6.0 percent more to rent a hotel room this summer compared to the summer of 2005 (based on the summer 2006 edition of Hotel Outlook, an econometric forecasting model developed by PKF Hospitality Research). It certainly would be a shame to lose this new-found revenue just because your hotel has an odor problem. Hotel occupancy rates are forecast to average 74.1 percent this summer, the highest level since 1997, according to PKF research. Since 2001, some of the greatest swings in lodging performance have occurred in the major coastal cities of the U.S. According to Smith Travel Research, the top U.S. coastal markets for summer occupancy include: the Hawaiian islands of Oahu and Maui; Manhattan and Long Island, New York; Los Angeles, Long Beach, Anaheim, Santa Ana and San Diego, Calif.; Miami, Hileah, Boca Raton and West Palm Beach, Fla.; and Houston, Texas. The good, the bad and the ugly OK. More travelers are heading to the water � the gulf, the lake, the ocean. That�s the good news! The bad news comes from trip reviews reporting unpleasant, lingering, damp, wet, musty odors and ugly mold growth. Let�s face it. With people comes odor. There are multi-cultural odors, body odors, accompanying pet odors, food odors and the No. 1 culprit � cigarette or cigar smoke. Likewise, when you have a waterfront property in a high-humidity climate, the hotel too will have odors � namely mold. Recently I went to TripAdvisor.com and did a search for mold smells. I was surprised to see that there were 250 complaints listed for hotels � most of which represent coastal properties -- that smelled from mold � almost equal to the number of complaints I see about cigarette smoke odors. More surprising is the fact that 204 complaints contain the word �Fabreeze� � a topical spray advertised to mask odors. When travelers start recommending that their peers travel with products that temporarily �cover-up� odors � the lodging industry is in BIG TROUBLE. One traveler wrote: �Take a bottle of FEBREEZE with you. (The room did not smell horrible but you are in the Carribean and no matter what you do you are still going to have a small musty smell. Face it. There are wet bathing suits, towels and such in the room and with the humidity so high they will never dry.� Here are a few other excerpts from TripAdvisor.com: �Great Beach � Horrible Stay!� This was a beautiful beach. Our family enjoyed spending time on the quiet beach and on the grounds of the villas (which were very well kept). However the stay wasn't all pleasant! When we arrived to check in, we did not get the room that we'd registered for over the net. � The room was also very smelly, moldy, and quite dirty. We had to go out and purchase cleaning supplies to use the showers. We tried using Febreeze to cover the smelly, moldy odor....that didn't work!Here�s a heads up. When your guests say your hotel smells like a �mushroom,� you�ve got an odor problem. However, just because your hotel is on the water or features a lot of water attractions, it doesn�t mean that your guests have to throw in the towel, pack the Fabreeze and assume that mold odor will be part of their stay. It�s just not true. A simple, proven solution Ozone Generators have been providing hotels with mountain-fresh accommodations for many years. Ozone Generators actually attack odor-causing molecules and eliminate them completely from the atmosphere or hotel environment. That includes mold and mildew smells, pet odors and the too familiar stale cigar or cigarette. Ozone Generators attack the molecules that make the odor. Depending upon the application, an ozone generator emits large or small amounts of O3, or ozone molecules. The O3 molecule has an unstable O atom which quickly attaches itself to the odor causing molecules, creating pure, clean and odor free oxygen as a by product. So your guests can say �good-bye� to smoke, burnt popcorn, mold, moth balls and bleach � forever. The odor never returns. Simply keep the machine on your maid cart and plug it in for 30 minutes after each room is clean. It�s also great for the lobby, restaurants, exercise rooms, pool locker rooms, etc. Anywhere that you may have an unpleasant odor � ozone will remove it. So, don�t drown in negative publicity. Go to www.TripAdvisor.com and search you�re your hotel�s reviews. Then call Zontec Ozone to the rescue. Your guests will be glad you did � and they�ll thank you each time they return.
Dean Gruber is president of Zontec Ozone, a leading manufacturer of Ozone Generators used worldwide in residential, commercial, industrial, and institutional applications. Visit www.zontecozone.com or call Gruber at 800-474-0105. |
High
demand for hotel rooms this summer doesn�t necessarily mean a high level
of guest satisfaction among coastal-hotel patrons. According to recent
reports by PricewaterhouseCoopers, the hotel industry will achieve a record
number of roomnights this summer. Recent guest complaints, however, on
travel review web sites show some oceanfront properties are in hot water
with guests due to poor indoor air quality and lack of proper cleaning
tools which cause damp, moldy, musty odors.