WALK through the glass doors of the downtown Omni Los Angeles Hotel at California Plaza, and a pleasant scent immediately hits your nostrils. Guests may think it's coming from the tall glass vases of yellow lilies, but they're not the only source.
Day and night, the scent of lemongrass and green tea is pumped into the lobby, designed to offer constant olfactory pleasure, although it's not always discernible to guests.
"I smell something," said John Edmisten, a downtown worker who was relaxing in the lobby after lunch. "I thought it was something cooking."
It's not enough these days to have a great stay at a hotel. Operators of higher-end properties want you to have a great-smelling stay too. Signature scents, one example of "sensory branding," are an avenue to making you a repeat customer.
At the Bellagio in Las Vegas, that's lavender sage you smell in the lobby. At the Phoenician in Scottsdale, Ariz., the scent is called Seduction, a spicy citrus blend. At Langham Hotels in Australia, London, Boston and Hong Kong, the signature scent is ginger flower. At Sheratons, bergamot and jasmine, and at Westins, white tea.
Although the scents are usually pumped only into lobbies and other public areas, some in the hotel and fragrance industries say guest rooms may be next.
It all seems well and good, except possibly for those with allergies or asthma and migraine sufferers whose episodes can be triggered by smells.
Hotel operators and those who design the scents say complaints from people with sensitive airways and nostrils have been few, but if you're hypersensitive, knowing about the trend -- and what to do when the odors are overpowering -- can help you avoid misery while on the road.
Environmental aromas affect consumers' behavior. "We have a strong association with scents," said Terry Molnar, executive director of the Sense of Smell Institute, the research and education division of the Fragrance Foundation, a New York-based industry group. If a hotel guest has a good experience, the scent will help bring him back, although he may not be conscious of its role in that decision. "It is a way to brand your hotel," Molnar said. "If it's done right, it's a subliminal scent."
"We perceive that things that smell good are good," said Dr. Alan Hirsch, a physician who heads the Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago. "People like baby-powder smell, and citrus smells clean."
