NATIONAL REPORT—The degree of air quality in the guestroom, in most cases, is a mystery and goes unmeasured. Yet guests and employees are typically exposed to volatile organic compounds (VOCs), dust, dander, pollen, dirt tracked in from shoes, combustion products, biological particles from mold and more. According to the E.P.A., indoor air quality can be two to five times—and occasionally up to 100 times—more polluted than outside air. Sometimes the pollutants go undetected by guestroom visitors. Other times odors emerge and make issues obvious. Oftentimes, those with allergy or chemical sensitivities are impacted most and notice first.
Vinny Lobdell Jr., President of HealthWay | PURE Global, estimates less than 5 percent of hotels include portable air purifiers in the guestroom. Thirteen percent of respondents to last year’s 2016 Lodging Survey said they offer guestrooms with air purifiers. Clearly, a portable guestroom air purifier is a rare find for travelers even though numerous suppliers now make it easy to get them—and sometimes with no upfront cost. Portable air purifiers also have proven benefits.
Green Lodging News spoke with representatives of three portable air purifier companies for this article—all of whom currently have their products in use in hotels. The three companies include HealthWay | PURE Global, Blueair, Inc., and Innovaci Inc.
HW Deluxe Portable Air Purifier
Healthway is actually the parent company of PURE Global, innovator of the PURE Room that is now found around the world. HealthWay’s HW Deluxe portable air purifier is used in PURE Rooms as part of a seven step patented purification process. (To read a recent article that explains PURE Rooms and its various financial models, click here.) The purifier is unique in that it addresses three pollutant categories. First, it has been proven to capture 99.99 percent of all particles as small as .007 micron in size. A seven-stage pre-filter and main filter capture the particles. The heavy duty nine-stage, commercial-grade gas and odor filter eliminates most gases and the patented DFS technology removes 94 to 100 percent of harmful viruses, molds, and bacteria. At low speed the HW Deluxe produces just 45 decibels of sound. On the electronic control panel a light indicates when it is time to change the main filter.
According to Vinny Lobdell Jr., President of HealthWay | PURE Global, the need for portable air purifiers has grown in recent years as hotel buildings—especially new construction properties—have gotten more energy efficient and “tighter.” “The way we are building our spaces is counter-productive to indoor air quality,” Lobdell says. “It can create a time bomb of pollutants.”
Blueair, Inc.’s Blueair Pro M, using electrostatic and mechanical filtration, removes particle pollutants such as bacteria, viruses, pet dander, dust and pollen. The company’s SmokeStop Filter eliminates gaseous pollutants, for example VOCs such as formaldehyde, tobacco smoke and particles. For extra protection against gaseous pollutants, the company offers a Blueair Carbon+ Filter. The Blueair Air Intelligence Module allows one to set a Pro unit to auto mode. Using particle and gas sensors, the AIM continuously tests the indoor air quality and automatically adjusts the speed setting based on the actual air quality conditions.
Brian Prestifilippo, V.P. of Business Development for Blueair North America, says the Blueair Pro M is AHAM (Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers) certified. Room air cleaners that are certified through AHAM’s Certification Program have been certified and verified by an independent laboratory, assuring consumers that the product will perform according to the manufacturer’s product claims for suggested room size and the reduction of three common household particulates: tobacco smoke, dust and pollen, commonly referred to as the Clean Air Delivery Rate (CADR). These tests determine the unit’s recommended room size and the CADR rates that are listed on the product packaging. For units that have earned the Energy Star designation, AHAM’s energy verification of the unit ensures that the product meets Energy Stat criteria.
Blueair Room Program
Blueair North America is currently rolling out its Blueair Room program. It includes the Blueair air purifier, a service plan for it, and a marketing program that helps a hotel sell the Blueair Room as a premium room. “We will handle everything from installation to filter changes to measuring the indoor air quality in the room,” Prestifilippo says. “We have a lot of hotels that are interested.”
Prestifilippo says guestrooms with air purifiers require potentially less cleaning and are odor free. “Hotel operators are looking for ways to enhance the guest experience,” he says. “It is no longer good enough to offer a free breakfast. Guests want a healthy environment.”
There are no upfront costs to set up Blueair Rooms. Hoteliers share revenue for those rooms with Blueair North America.
Much More Than an Air Purifier
Innovaci Inc. has taken the concept of air purification and built upon it with its AireSpa system that also includes an Electo Sanitized Mist producing humidifier, aromatherapy with four nature inspired scents, and 16 Soundscapes to aid in better sleep and relaxation. All of these are controlled using a touch screen remote control—a tablet. The AireSpa Management System allows real-time remote monitoring of each unit; generates reports to track trends and usage; and can connect with a hotel’s back end to offer various billing options for guests.
“They can charge guests to use it or give it as an amenity for free,” says Louis Holder, the CEO for AireSpa and former President of Vonage Mobile.
Like Blueair North America, Innovaci offers a revenue share model. The most popular model, however, Holder says, is a lease model where hotels keep the revenue themselves. With the tablet hoteliers can feature advertisements from local businesses. The hotel can also push information to tablet users—a survey for example, or a special offer at a hotel restaurant.
Holder says his company will maintain the AireSpa System—swapping out the three filters, changing the aroma cartridge and cleaning out the tank used by the humidifier. A UV light is built into the system to ensure humidifier tank water remains clean.
The AireSpa Management System is currently being used primarily in casino hotels. “There is a real benefit in smoking rooms,” Holder says.
Jeff Laster, Senior Vice President Business Development for AireSpa, says that with the AireSpa Management System there are more than a million different combinations of experiences. “We are more about creating an experience,” Laster says, as compared to just purifying the air.
Holder says the most popular feature with guests so far is the purifier, the second is the humidifier, the scent is third, and soundscapes the fourth.
What to Look for in an Air Purifier
According to Healthway’s Lobdell, the goal with any air purifier is to move as much air as efficiently as possible and as quiet as possible. He says, “How much air is put out? What is the level of efficiency at removing particles? What is the desirable noise rate? Noise is crucial. If it is too noisy you will have complaints.”
CFM refers to the method of measuring the volume of air moving through a ventilation system or other space, also known as “Cubic Feet per Minute.” “You don’t need a lot of CFM in a hotel guestroom to make a big impact,” Lobdell says. Three to six air changes per hour is sufficient.
In regard to air purifier location in a guestroom, there is no specific recommendation. Wherever it makes the most sense in the space works best. Users of air purifiers should certainly pay attention to recommended filter replacement and other maintenance schedules.
Blueair North America’s Prestifilippo says one should ask, “Are your products AHAM verified?”
Also be sure to check out AeraMax, AirPurifiers.com, and Beyond by Aerus.
Glenn Hasek can be reached at editor@greenlodgingnews.com.
