The presence of malodors in any facility can give people the impression that the facility is dirty – which can have devastating consequences on a business’s bottom line. Since sense of smell is strongly linked to memory centers in the brain, an unpleasant odor can cause occupants or visitors to associate the negative experience with the entire building or brand. Research from Harvard Business School found that Yelp reviews can have a 5-9% effect on business revenues, meaning that bad reviews as a result of poor facility maintenance or malodors can translate to lower profits.
When developing an odor elimination strategy, keep in mind that multiple areas of a facility can be plagued with malodors. Whether it be a hotel, hospital or fitness center, malodors aren’t typically confined to one room of the facility and must be approached with special care.
Areas for (Scent) Improvement
An all-encompassing odor elimination program should consider all odor hotspots. Customizing fragrance notes, duration and scent intensity for different areas of a building is easier said than done. Thus, facility managers should consider the following recommendations for each area of a building.
• Restrooms: Bathrooms are perhaps the most common area for malodor complaints within any facility. Finding the right fragrance fit for odor elimination is key to keeping customers happy. Women’s and men’s restrooms both benefit from wall-mounted odor eliminating solutions that continuously work to neutralize malodor molecules. Consider also investing in urinal screens for men’s restrooms that eliminate rather than mask foul odors to keep urinals smelling fresh for 30 days. The screens should also be available in a wide variety of fragrances to ensure freshness, all the time and kick malodors to the curb.
• Kitchens: Kitchens in restaurants, school and hospital cafeterias and corporate offices are often plagued by smoke and food malodors as courses are being prepared, as well as odors emitted from trash receptacles, refrigerators and drains. Install a dispenser that can be easily programmed to work for 30, 60 or 90 days to avoid frequent replacement, and look for cartridges that rely on oxygen fuel-cell technology to target malodors by neutralizing them and releasing a pure, fresh scent into the air.
• Lobbies and entrances: The first area guests step into upon entering a facility like a hotel, corporate office or casino is the lobby, making the need for an effective odor elimination system very important. Some hotel chains even customize the scent they feature in their lobbies to increase brand recognition among visitors. Opt for a system that offers high-quality designer fragrancesin a wide range of scents and intensities to satisfy guests’ olfactory sensors.
In addition to the above areas, don’t forgot often overlooked areas like corridors, break rooms, conference rooms and more. Odor control should be a facility-wide focus so that occupants are always greeted with freshness.
Creating a Fragrant Facility
Making sure your facility is completely free of unwanted malodors is a crucial step toward keeping visitors and occupants happy. Facility managers should take into account the following considerations when searching for an air care system that optimizes overall odor control.
Customizable scent durations and intensities.Innovative air care systems allow users to set the cartridge lifespan to either 30, 60 or 90 days. A shorter duration results in greater scent intensity while a longer duration offers a less intense yet still effective fragrance. Consider a short duration for restrooms and longer durations for areas like hallways and offices. A system that harnesses the power of oxygen fuel-cell technology ensures that these solutions continuously emit a fresh scent at the same intensity over the entire period.
Variety of high-quality fragrances. Choosing a suitable fragrance for your facility has never been easier with 14 options of refreshing scents, all user-tested and designed to ensure the customer’s experience is a positive one. Look for a system that offers everything from floral to fruity to spicy fragrance notes, as well as non-fragrant options. Additionally, the range should offer low-intensity, medium-intensity and high-intensity fragrances.
Sustainability features. Picking propellant-free air care products that avoid harmful chemicals, VOCs and CFCs like acetone, butane, propane, toluene and ethanol can help reduce indoor air pollution that impacts both the environment and occupant wellbeing. A system that uses long lasting recyclable cartridges further reduces waste, whereas cans and cartridges that use batteries cannot be recycled.
Malodor eliminator.Be sure that your air care system’s cartridges contain a proprietary malodor counteractant that effectively eliminates odors. This ensures that foul odors are not merely masked with fresh smelling fragrance, but also effectively neutralized from the surrounding air.
Helpful alerts and reminders. Look for a system that offers both audio and visual alerts. Alerts signal to users when it is time to change the cartridge or replace batteries and can also highlight whether the cartridge has been successfully installed. These reminders ensure that the unit is always functioning and is effectively eliminating indoor odors.
Site Selection Success
A successful odor elimination strategy addresses every aspect of a facility – from restrooms and common areas to meeting rooms. Eco-friendly dispensers that focus on delivering fragrance consistently throughout the life of the cartridge can improve a facility’s image room by room and enhance the overall occupant experience.