Pater Familias

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CREATING A SMELL FOR A HOTEL.

January 26, 2018 at 3:47 PM · Economics

CREATING A SMELL FOR A HOTEL. Scott McCartney had an article in the Wall Street Journal (November 9) about efforts hotels are making to create a pleasing smell to associate with their brand.

McCartney quotes the description of the Holiday Inn Express Signature Scent: “Crisp lemon top notes accent a heart of watery green florals, sweet grass, a dash of exotic herbs, spicy perilla and a base of sheer woods and musk”.

A more upscale scent is Essence de Sofitel: “lemon leaf, bergamot and basil, supported by lily of the valley, white rose and cardamom, with a complex bottom note of precious woods like white sandalwood”.

One survey showed that about 75% of guests like scented spaces.

Although the use of smells in marketing by hotels seems to be recent, Mary Jane has told me that when she was a girl, Flah’s, one of the nicer department stores in Syracuse, had a distinctive scent.