easyHotel introduces ‘Fume Service’ for guests

Budget hotel chain easyHotel has introduced ‘Aroomatherapy’ by trialling a range of room fragrances to give guests the opportunity to personalise their rooms.

The service will be trialled at the new easyHotel Sheffield, easyHotel Leeds and easyHotel Barcelona properties, which are all set to open in September, with each fragrance sachet costing £4.99. Guests simply place a fragrance order at reception and are given a sachet that they can open in their room.

Laurie Walters, head of aromatherapy at easyHotel, said: “Feeling comfortable in our surroundings is so much about being surrounded by sounds and fragrances that we love. We’re trialling ‘fume service’ to see whether tailored room fragrances make a difference to how guests feel about staying in their rooms.

Choose your scent

“Many pricey hotels provide expensive potpourri and soaps that give off fragrances that aren’t every guest’s cup of Lapsang Souchong. Rather than automatically charge our guests for these unnecessary and often unwanted or disliked extras, we decided to give our guests the option to buy a room fragrance of their choice.”

Psychologists have studied the effect of scents for many decades. According to experts, a positive scent, such as baking bread, can trigger a sense of security and positive emotional memories.

Scents can also have different effects on people depending on their cultural heritage. In North America and Europe, for instance, citrus scents are perceived to be bright and happy smells and lavender is perceived as calming. Fresh cut grass is often associated with positive memories and bread or bacon evoke memories of ‘home sweet home.’

A poll for easyHotel found the smells most associated with comfort are:

• Freshly baked bread
• Coffee
• Bacon
• A partner’s scent
• Personal brand of washing detergent
• Bookshops
• Christmas dinner
• Baking cakes
• Sea air
• Petrichor

Walters added: “We’re going to ask customers to vote for their favourite smells and we may add more scents to the list, depending on demand. We’ll consider any options within reason!”