Business Scents

“I used to work for the Ritz-Carlton hotel company, and one of the things we always talked about was enlightening the senses of the guests. That’s what creates a memory,” says managing director Phillip Starling.

To fill that olfactory gap, the resort turned to ScentAir Technologies, a company that infuses businesses with fragrances using its ScentWave machines. Starling and his team put their−ahem− noses to the grindstone and sniffed about a quarter of the 100-plus scents offered, which range from hot apple pie to burning rubber. They selected citrus for the spa area. For the lobby, their choice was pomegranate, in part because the fruit has been experiencing a burst of popularity that helps generate excitement about the fragrance, says Starling, who grew up eating pomegranates in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

While scent marketing isn’t new− the smell of fresh baked cookies has long permeated model homes and open house showings− it recently has caught the attention of some of the biggest companies in the country. ScentAir’s customer roster includes Bloomingdale’s, Coors, Lexus, Sony, Busch Gardens and Walt Disney World.  When guests at the Ritz-Carlton, Naples, enter the breach resort, they won’t stop and smell the roses; instead they get a whiff of juniper aloe, which is also in the presidential suites. A coconut-beach scent appropriately fills the lobby at the Hyatt Regency Coconut Point Resort and Spa.