Shouldn't All Guestrooms be Allergy-Friendly?

Several months ago, Hyatt Hotels & Resorts announced that it would add hypo-allergenic rooms to all of its full-service hotels in the United States, Canada and the Caribbean—totaling approximately 2,000 hypo-allergenic rooms in 125 properties. The program is offered by a company called Pure Solutions. Each room is treated comprehensively to minimize allergens and irritants from all surfaces and fabrics. Additionally, all mattresses and pillows are encased in a protective hypo-allergenic covering. The air in the room is continuously circulated through a medical grade purifier, filtering out up to 99 percent of impurities. The room is maintained and re-certified every six months. Hyatt calls its rooms Respire by Hyatt—Hypo-Allergenic Rooms.

Guests are charged from $20 to $30 extra a night to stay in the rooms.

I have watched the growth of Pure Solutions for quite some time. I knew from the start that they had a great idea. They have gotten a lot of national publicity for their system, including a recent article in The New York Times. It was only a matter of time before an entire brand latched onto the program. There are tens of millions of travelers with allergy issues who are looking for a place to stay where they can actually sleep through the night (see FreshStay.com for list of smoke-free hotels). Those travelers with allergies are willing to spend more for a good night of rest.

While a great marketing idea and a great service for guests, one has to wonder what in the world is floating around in the air in a typical hotel room. It is clear that hotels are not paying enough attention to indoor air quality (IAQ). Cleaning chemicals, floor coverings, furniture, glues, dust, pets and other items all impact IAQ. Of course smoking, which is still permissable in most hotels, albeit typically in a small percentage of guestrooms, also negatively affects IAQ.

Maybe it's time for all hotel owners to take a serious look at IAQ. Really, shouldn't all guestrooms be "pure" rooms? Your thoughts?