The ability to effectively clean hotel rooms is vital to the revenue growth of any hospitality provider.  But with designated smoking rooms – and even the errant guest who lights up in a non-smoking room – still in existence, hoteliers are continually challenged to effectively and efficiently keep these rooms clean smelling. Fortunately, there are safe and innovative ways for hospitality providers to confront these odor challenges in ways that support enhanced business operations.

For example, a major Las Vegas Casino has recently taken a progressive approach to odor management that allows it to more easily keep rooms free of tobacco and other odors, while also keeping House Keeping staff safe from the chemicals found in traditional cleaning products. 

In 2014, the casino implemented the use of three Fresh Wave IAQ M130 Vapor Phase Units, which offer a “dry” dispersion system for efficient and safe application of Fresh Wave IAQ Air & Surface odor eliminator. These units run consistently for most of the day in the hallways of the smoking floor, which has 122 rooms.  For the guest rooms with particularly heavy cigarette odors, the House Keeping Team typically run the Units for an average of 45 minutes – rendering the rooms largely odor-free.  In addition, these units are used in the non-smoking rooms if guests have broken the rules by lighting up their cigarettes.

As the M130 is much safer to use than traditional ozone machines, there is no need to keep the hotel room evacuated during the treatment. The Fresh Wave IAQ Air & Surface odor eliminator, dispersed by the M130, is comprised of natural ingredients including water, lime, pine needles, aniseed, clove and cedarwood, and is environmentally friendly and safe to use.

“We tried about 30 different other solutions, which included aerosols, room foggers and ozone machines, and none of them worked as well as this solution,” said the Executive Housekeeper at the casino. “Also, since safety is very important to us, we wanted a solution that was completely eco-friendly.”

Foul Odor and the Financial Bottom-Line
The House Keeping Teams at the casino have a standard:  45 minutes to effectively clean and deodorize a room.  Combating a foul odor can cause delays in bringing a problem room back on market.  This can cause late check-in times for guests, and in some cases, the need to offer them another form of compensation.

“To tell you the truth, foul odors really do impact the bottom-line,” added the Executive Housekeeper. “Odors can cause the House Keeping employees to fall behind, or they cannot fully clean the air within a room.”

In addition, since the M130 uses an eco-friendly solution, it is safe for the Housekeeping Staff to work along side the unit while it is in use, which can save valuable time.

“As a result, productivity is enhanced and we can provide highly safe environments for our staff to clean the rooms,” added the Executive Housekeeper. “This also plays a major role in helping us to retain cleaning staff.”

The 2014 Cigar Event
Last year, a major cigar magazine hosted an event that brought together a wide range of cigar enthusiasts who openly enjoyed smoking some of the world’s best cigars right in the facility.

During the event, the cleaning team placed two of the M130 Units right at the front desk – to help mitigate cigar odors that were making their way into the lobby and front-desk areas. “By doing this, we were able to completely rid these areas of cigar smoke, and we did not receive any complaints from both the front desk employees and the non-smoking guests,” said the Executive Housekeeper.

Because of this success, the casino has decided to purchase additional M130 Units to be fully prepared for 2015.

The Value of Green Cleaning
Green cleaning is fundamentally important to the casino. As such, the cleaning team has chosen to consistently use eco-friendly cleaning products to meet this objective.

“We are very diligent in using only the safest eco-friendly cleaning solutions, which helped play a part in us receiving the AAA Four Diamond Award,” said the Executive Housekeeper.  “Of course, this award takes into consideration many aspects of the facility, but green cleaning is was certainly a factor.” 

The Future
The casino is looking to continue its eco-friendly odor management efforts into 2015 and beyond. 

The casino is not only a leader in hospitality and guest services, but also a prime example of how hospitality providers can use progressive cleaning approaches to help support business growth – while also keeping the indoor environment safe and odor free.