Fragrance Free Hospitality

The fresh smell of sun and clean air seems to have been replaced by the aromas of cleaners, baby powder, flowers, spice, fruit and many other fragrances. What gives with that?! If we can't have the real thing, why do so many try to replace it with fake smells?

Research is showing the increasing use of fragrances and chemicals is making people sick and chemically sensitive. U.N.'s Environment Programme has estimated that about 2,500 new chemicals are introduced annually, with more than 70,000 having been introduced since WWII. The "sick building" syndrome is real, and more people are suffering from it daily. People of all ages, including the unborn, are being impacted.

I have seen an increasing number of articles about this recently. In the April 2007, Hemispheres Magazine, there was an article about natural skin care products and the need for pure, unscented ingredients. Another article talked about how Las Vegas hotels are trying to mask cigarette smoke with artificial fragrances, and the health impacts it's having on employees and guests alike. People are waking up to the benefits of natural ingredients without added fragrances, but it seems manufacturers and the hospitality industry are behind in the growing demand for fresh air without chemicals. I have clients who are looking for hotels that cater to the chemically sensitive, and have a very difficult time finding them.

What are some of the promoted benefits of adding scents to cleaning products? A clean smell throughout the building, or as in the case of the Las Vegas Strip, even on the sidewalk; masked odors, like cigarette smoke or burned breakfast; and mood creation to encourage love, relaxation, or even spending money. The hidden dangers of adding fragrance to the air are that the chemicals are making people sick and aggravating respiratory problems.

Is it worth losing chemically sensitive people as guests to use scented chemicals? When I was talking to one client about this fragrance issue, her reaction was to just use another chemical spray that would "erase" the scent; the point was missed completely in our discussion. You can't erase the reaction to one set of chemicals with the use of another set. In fact, you can compound the problems! Some of the air fresheners that promote "removing" odors really only effectively mask them by killing your sense of smell.

Maybe some statistics from the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America will help your understanding. Asthma is the most chronic condition among children, and is more common, by almost double, in children than adults (about 8 percent of kids compared to about 4 percent of adults). The number of asthma sufferers under 18 is growing dramatically; nearly 5 million asthma sufferers are under the age of 18 or 1 in 20 children suffer. Another way of looking at it is that about 44 percent of all asthma hospitalizations involve children. What happened to the notion of protecting the children?

Have you noticed the trend around the United States to create smoke-free areas, including restaurants, bars, hotel rooms and public buildings in general? There are even some areas that are restricting outdoor smoking, like at building entrances and in parks. And those businesses where smoking can occur are masking the cigarette odors with perfumes or chemical "air fresheners". If Americans care about the hazards of second-hand smoke, they need to become more familiar with the hazards of perfumes and air freshener chemicals.

Scents evoke memories. The smell of grandma's, the beach or a bakery are examples of aromas that evoke fond memories for many. Designer fragrances are tapping into that biological function to persuade guests to stay longer, return sooner and /or spend more money. But those same fragrances, when used by hotels and other hospitality venues, are slowly killing or damaging the guests they are trying to take care of with their hospitality.

The issue most people aren't aware of is that fragrances often aren't safe. Air fresheners can contain hazardous ingredients like 1,4 dichlorobenzene (a lung irritant), formaldehyde (a carcinogen), and d-limonen (a pesticide), along with others that are neurotoxins and endocrine-disrupting. Of course many of the ingredients may not be as hazardous as those, more caution should be exercised. And though the individual chemicals that go into the fragrances are tested, the resulting combination of chemicals isn't tested. It's not uncommon for chemical mixtures to have different effects than the individual components do. You know that mixing ammonia and chlorine has deadly results. Do you want to take the chance that the fragrances you are mixing could have bad results?

Fragrances, being volatile compounds, should be added to your list of air pollutants. They contribute to poor air quality and health issues. Because so many of the chemicals used in fragrances are synthesized petrochemicals, they tend to disperse quickly and linger longer. That's an unanticipated problem for many people.

I see fragrances as a huge problem for lots of people today, and I see the problem getting worse. The research I did for this article startled me because of the amount of material on the dangers associated with fragrances. Do your guests -- and your business -- a favor and by avoiding fragrances in your laundry and cleaning supplies, as well as in your decorating items (no more potpourri or scented candles). It helps your business because you and your staff are healthier. And it helps your guests enjoy their stay. Now that's hospitality.