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.