A hotel should smell like somewhere

Most hotels smell like nothing, or worse, like the idea of nothing — a laundered, conditioned neutrality that could be anywhere between Fresno and Frankfurt.

Place first, product second

Before you pick a scent, walk the property. What grows outside? What did the building used to be? A brewery in a converted citrus packing house has an answer already waiting in the walls.

The best brand decisions are the ones that were already true about the place. You are just the first person to write them down.

Three rules we use

1. One scent, one property. No sub-scents per floor. Guests cannot tell the difference and your housekeeping team will hate you.
2. Under-dose it. If a guest can name the scent in the lobby, it is twice as strong as it should be.
3. Sell it. Put it in the shop. A candle at the front desk is the cheapest brand souvenir you will ever produce.

What it costs

Less than the signage package and roughly the same as one bad photoshoot. Scent is the last honest bargain in this business.