Increasing RevPAR with Hypoallergenic Rooms
The words “clean hotel” are among the most used keywords entered by those in search of accommodations for their leisure or business trips. In the post-COVID-19 pandemic world, this desire for cleanliness is even greater.
How can your property stand out as cleaner when all brands—even independents, score well in this area? This article will look at how your hotel can accomplish this critical objective.
The Hotel Cleanliness Key – Hypoallergenic Rooms
Cornell’s Survey Research Institute conducted a study to learn traveler’s views on hypoallergenic rooms about ten years ago. Here are two vital statistics they uncovered.
- 83% of guests would choose an allergy-friendly room if offered.
This finding suggests that people assume allergy-friendly rooms are cleaner than regular guest rooms. The data shows that people believe hotels take extra care to prepare these rooms for guests.
- 59% of travelers prefer hotels that provide allergy-friendly rooms.
This point reveals that people believe that if a hotel offers hypoallergenic rooms, their other guest rooms are cleaner as well.
Hypoallergenic Room Programs
Hoteliers have a few choices to consider if they wish to implement an allergy-friendly (hypoallergenic) room program at their property.
The first option is Pure Wellness. This company offers Pure Rooms that feature “a patented 7-step process that treats every last surface and air particle, eliminating invisible toxins.” It starts with an Ozone Shock Treatment that eliminates bacteria, viruses, and germs.
The program also includes hypoallergenic bedding that protects against dust mites (the #1 allergy trigger).
Pure Rooms also include a HEPA air purifier. These devices are about the size of a floor fan and remove the smallest of airborne microscopic particles: dust, mold spores, pet dander—even airborne viruses!
Pure Rooms also are equipped with a chlorine-removing shower filter. This chemical, added to most cities’ water supply, strips hair and skin of their natural oils, leaving them dried out.
Pure Wellness is in 210 hotels and over 3,000 guest rooms.
The second reduced-allergen room program offering is Delos’ Stay Well Rooms. Like Pure Rooms, Stay Well rooms offer hypoallergenic bedding encasements, HEPA air purifiers, and dechlorinating shower filters. These guest rooms also incorporate special memory foam mattresses and dawn simulation lighting, aromatherapy, and Circadian lighting, which emulate natural light properties.
Stay Well rooms are in approximately 20 hotels in North America.
Both programs require outside personnel to set up and maintain the rooms. This increases their initial costs and ongoing operating expenses. Hotels earn a return on their investment by upselling guests to the Pure Room and Stay Well room accommodations. Hotels price these premiums in the $15 to $30 range.
The AllerEase® Hotel Program
The Wellness Hospitality Association International (WHAI) offers hoteliers a third alternative to provide guests hypoallergenic rooms—the AllerEase® Hotel Program. It uses an innovative approach that dramatically lowers the upfront and ongoing operating costs.
Three Levels of Hypoallergenic AllerEase® Guest Rooms
It turns out that five common room allergens trigger more than 90% of guests’ allergy reactions. These allergens are:
- Dust mites
- Mold Spores
- Chlorine
- Pollen
- Pet Dander
Most people don’t realize that dust mites are the #1 allergen that guests encounter. Dust mites nest in bedding that doesn’t have specially woven encasements placed over them.
20% of the population in developed countries are now allergic to the digestive enzymes dust mites produce. This fact means 20% of the guests in your hotel are at risk of developing allergy symptoms during the night and sleeping poorly.
Preventing dust mites solves half of the guest allergy problem. For this reason, the most practical way for hotels to address the room allergen issue is to offer three levels of reduced allergen guest rooms—one that deals with dust mites, a second room level eliminates airborne irritants, and a third room level that eliminates chlorine cities add to the water as a disinfectant.
AllerRest® guest rooms
These rooms contain just one allergen-reducing product—hypoallergenic casings for pillows, mattresses, and duvets to eliminate dust mites. A typical allergy symptom to dust mites is a stuffy nose—which leads to a miserable night’s sleep. More of your guests will sleep better and awaken more refreshed in AllerRest® rooms.
AllerClear™ guest rooms
In addition to hypoallergenic bedding encasements, AllerClear™ rooms are equipped with a HEPA air purifier. These eliminate microscopic airborne particles like dust, pollen, mold spores, pet dander, and even airborne viruses like Covid-19 and its variants.
AllerWell® guest rooms
In addition to hypoallergenic bedding and a HEPA air purifier, AllerWell® rooms feature a shower filter that eliminates up to 95% of the chlorine that cities add to the water supply as a disinfectant. Guests will find their skin is less dry and their hair is easier to manage.
When combined, these three products eliminate more than 95% of common room allergens that trigger most allergy symptoms in guests.
The AllerEase® Program ROI
AllerEase® rooms provide an exceptional ROI opportunity for hotels. The rooms take about an hour to set up. No outside personnel is needed to set up or maintain these rooms. And they have a minimal impact on housekeeping and maintenance. This breakthrough approach to hypoallergenic rooms allows for an exceptional hotel ROI.
The daily operating cost of AllerRest® rooms is about 5 cents (10 cents for rooms with two beds). The AllerClear™ daily cost is about 60 to 70 cents. AllerWell® rooms’ daily cost is around $1.00.
AllerEase® Hotels also commit to having HEPA air purifiers in all group meeting spaces. This feature gives them a distinct advantage in attracting more events than their closest competitors.
Click on this link to see the AllerEase® ROI for your hotel (or your entire property portfolio).
