In the ultra-competitive hospitality industry, retaining regular customers and attracting new ones gets tougher daily. Scent marketing, used by many of the world’s most successful hotel brands, has helped elevate their guests’ perceptions in various ways.
Many of them have gone as far as creating their own signature scent (known as scent branding) —and your brand can, too. It’s a great way to set your business apart and kindle guest loyalty, encouraging them to stay with you whenever they travel.
Effective scent branding is about strategy and subtlety. By adding just the right fragrance to an indoor setting in just the right amount, businesses can use the science of scent to positively influence the guest experience. Let’s look at some of the innovative ways to implement scent marketing in the hospitality industry.
Why Scent Marketing Matters in Hospitality
There are more applications for scent marketing in hospitality than you might expect. And more reasons to use it, too:
- Smells tap into our limbic system, where our brains process mood and memory. That’s why fragrances evoke such strong memories, and marketers use them to create lasting impressions. Hotels, for instance, tend to choose scents that encourage relaxation and comfort.
- In the hospitality industry, how do you help your brand stand out? Smell. It may sound funny, but (as long as it doesn’t smell funny) it works. Creating a scent people recognize as part of your brand’s identity is a huge step. Just like your logo, your signature scent helps customers find the comfort of your brand in the sea of options.
- Aromas influence behavior—it’s true! Coffee houses and bakeries rely on the natural smell of their product to attract customers. Hotels, however, can work scent marketing into all sorts of areas. Lobbies, spas, gyms, gift shops, and more will benefit from subtle scenting that encourages guests to linger longer.
- Scent marketing can be targeted, too. Setting up more scent diffusers in “trouble spots” like bathrooms makes sense, as does choosing scents that feel “cleaner”, like eucalyptus.
It’s fun to start thinking about which scents might fit your brand!
Choosing the Right Scents for Different Hospitality Spaces
While a singular scent can be a foundational fragrance for your brand, there are spaces and instances where varying the ambient scent is more beneficial. So how do you choose the right scents for different hospitality spaces?
Lobbies
The idea here is to create a positive, welcoming first impression. That could include scents like amber, honey, flowers, and even chocolate!
Guest Rooms
How should your guests’ home away from home smell? Options like lavender, clary sage, jasmine, and chamomile are known to help create a relaxed, comfortable setting. [SOURCE]
Spa and Wellness Areas
Spas have tapped into the power of aromatherapy for years. These and other areas to promote wellness tend to choose “clean” scents, like eucalyptus, and “bright,” invigorating smells like lemon, lime, and orange.
Food and Beverage
Few scents are as powerful as those of food. That’s why many hotels have an in-house restaurant to start stomachs rumbling as soon as their owners smell searing steaks, baking bread, or freshly baked cinnamon rolls. But these areas may also need a little burst of clean scent in the bathrooms to complete the experience.
Signature Scents
As mentioned, more and more hotels are working with fragrance professionals to create their own signature scent. Carefully engineered to capture each brand’s personality, this one-of-a-kind scent helps connect guests to great memories from their stay. As THE scent customers will associate with a brand, it’s most often used to infuse “high-smellability” areas like entrances and lobbies. It can even be worked into your hotel’s printed brand pieces, like brochures, menus, and coasters.
Success Stories and Recognizable Hotels
If you’re a frequent traveler, you may already know some of the more recognizable scents in the industry. Westin® Hotels, for example, is known for its White Tea scent, a mix of white tea, vanilla, wood cedar, and musk that customers say makes them feel both relaxed and reinvigorated.
See if you recognize any of these other luxury resort scents or boutique hotel fragrances:
- Ritz-Carlton® boasts two signature scents, Ritz Carlton London® (jasmine, berries, and bergamot) and Ritz Carlton Caribbean® (melon and bergamot)
- Delano® Hotels feature a popular aroma that blends lime, citrus, parsley, and other herbs
- JW Marriott Hotels® welcome guests with the comforting scent of lemon, lavender, and notes of ocean scent
- 1 Hotel – Miami Beach® draws guests in (and back again) with a mélange of sandalwood, leather, musk, cedarwood, and cardamom
Best Methods for Dispersing Scents in Hotels & Resorts
Proper olfactory branding in hotels and resorts relies on consistent scent dispersal. The size and design of each space affect how smells travel, so let’s look at some suggestions for the best ways to disperse scents:
- For smaller spaces, like hallways, restrooms, and waiting areas, compact, battery-operated room diffusers work well. In high-traffic, close-quarters settings like these, subtle scenting that welcomes guests without overwhelming them is best.
- For mid-sized spaces, such as meeting rooms or retail stores, mid-range scent diffusers tend to fit the bill. Bigger but still discrete, these programmable, battery-powered units excel at creating a welcoming ambient scent throughout the space.
- Scenting large spaces requires more robust equipment simply due to volume. In vast auditoriums, conference centers, stadiums, and casinos, HVAC-style electric scent diffusers work best.
- Often-used spaces, like guest rooms and suites, may need a quick refresh to prep for the next guest. Portable diffusers you can carry from room to room, like Aire-Master Fresh Turn, take as little as 15 minutes to neutralize any odor left over from the previous guest. Once you’re done, all the next guest will smell is a light, fresh scent!
Whatever you need to implement scent marketing in your hotel or resort, Aire-Master can help. Take a look at all the options here, and contact us to get a quote.
Aligning Scents with Brand Identity & Guest Expectations
Luxury Resorts: Creating an Exclusive Experience
Elegance. Sophistication. One-of-a-kind activities. At luxury resorts, these amenities aren’t extra—they’re expected. One way exclusive properties pamper their guests is via scent, opting for rich, exotic fragrances like oud and amber.
Boutique Hotels: Telling a Story Through Scent
Not everyone wants luxury, though, and boutique hotels offer an option that’s more charming or quaint. Usually located in a remarkable setting, these are places with stories…and their scents tell stories, too. Beachside resorts might choose melon, lime, and coconut tones to tell their tale. Mountain lodges, on the other hand, are more likely to choose woodsy, earthy scents like pine and cedarwood.
Business Hotels: Energizing & Refreshing Guests
If your hotel focuses on business travelers, it’s a good idea to choose scents that benefit their on-the-go lifestyle. They appreciate simplicity and efficiency, making crisp, clean scents like green tea and fresh linen a smart choice. Citrus is always good, too, helping guests feel refreshed and productive.
Wellness & Spa Retreats: Enhancing Relaxation & Rejuvenation
Folks who visit these retreats get away to leave stress behind and fully unwind. As such, calming scents are the order of the day, every day. Lavender, jasmine, sandalwood, and even eucalyptus are the kinds of fragrances likely to complement the spa experience.
Family-Friendly Resorts: Creating Comfort & Nostalgia
When families travel, they value the simple things. Safety. Cleanliness. Comfort. Choosing scents that feel familiar, like cinnamon or rose or even vanilla, can have a wonderfully comforting effect on guests.
Cultural Considerations: Adapting Scents for Global Guests
If your brand is multinational or even global, it’s important to understand how certain scents are perceived in certain areas of the world. Cultural scent preferences dictate that, while scents like rose or leather might appeal to guests from the West, other guests might prefer smells like jasmine and sandalwood. The more diverse your locations, the more effort should go into discovering the right scents for the region.
By creating a signature hotel scent that fits your brand perfectly, you can help take the guest experience from ho-hum to premium. When applied with care and sensitivity, scent marketing strategies strengthen your brand’s identity and elevate the guest experience. Creating your own signature hotel scent powers the process, illustrating to your guests how much you value their patronage.
For hotels and resorts looking to win more customers, scent marketing is a powerful, proven way to make a positive impression. From the moment they walk into the lobby, your guests are busy forming opinions about their experience, using their senses to take it all in.
Welcoming them with subtle scents—and maybe even working a signature scent into your brand identity—is a great way to ensure they have a wonderful time, every time they stay.