Hotels make clean sweep vs. allergies
BETHESDA, Md. -- The 28 guestrooms on the fifth floor of the Doubletree Hotel here appear identical to the hotel's other 171 rooms. But there are palpable differences. The air feels crisper. The rooms lack that whiff of disinfectant. And a nightstand-sized air purifier with multiple filters occupies one corner.
The device is just one component in what the management says makes these rooms "allergy-friendly." Certified by a private company and branded as Pure Rooms, the spaces have been cleaned and sanitized, then misted with a compound that prevents bacterial growth. Pillows and mattresses are swaddled in hypoallergenic encasements to keep out dust mites. And air purifiers keep odors, plus dust and other allergens, at bay.
Like high-speed Internet and cushy white beds before them, so-called hypoallergenic rooms are among the latest amenities offered by a handful of hotels.
They're aimed at travelers who have garden-variety allergies, chemical sensitivities and, increasingly, health-conscious travelers and those merely seeking to mitigate the "ick factor" of sleeping in a bed previously occupied by hundreds of strangers.
Two companies touting different strategies are behind many of these conversions. One of them, Environmental Technology Solutions, basically rebuilds the room from the ground up to eliminate materials that collect dust or emit volatile organic compounds — gases emitted by furniture, carpeting and cleaning supplies that may trigger sensitivities in some people.
Among the measures in its Enviro-Room: removing carpeting and draperies and replacing them with hardwood floors and shutters; getting rid of particle-board furnishings in favor of natural wood; and applying an anti-microbial coating on bathroom fixtures and doorknobs. A monitoring system checks for volatile organic compounds.
The rooms "look cleaner," says Nicholas Nardella, president of the Glen Ellyn, Ill., company. "We're not saying they're cleaner than a standard room, but the fact is they have to be cleaned more carefully because (dust) is more visible."
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