ITHACA, N.Y.—The Survey Research Institute at Cornell University conducted a survey of a sampling of 2,347 people, with a total success of 329 respondents. The purpose of this study was to identify if there are hotel guests that would opt to stay in an allergy friendly room and be willing to pay a small premium for the room. On average, respondents stayed 12 nights per year in hotels or motels and 41 percent of the respondents had allergy issues. Fifty-five percent of respondents said the availability of allergy friendly rooms would cause them to choose a particular hotel over comparable options without such rooms.
A recent study done by the American Hotel & Lodging association found that 34 percent of hotels now offer allergy friendly accommodations. These accommodations range from special pillows or linens to a complete patented process done by a company called PURE Global.
“Indoor environments are tricky to keep clean and healthy, clear from allergens and germs that freely roam the great indoors,” says Vinny Lobdell, president of PURE Global. “Our thorough process is a result of many years of collaboration with industry experts, and provides an environment at least 50 percent cleaner than what allergy and asthma specialists recommend.”
PURE Process Defined
The PURE process is a patented seven step process that includes a deep cleaning of the indoor environment with all natural plant based cleaners, complete cleaning and shielding of the air handling unit, shielding of all surfaces in the room, and the installation of a medical grade air cleaner.
The Cornell study also pointed to the fact that consumers are willing to pay for this offering; 62 percent of respondents said they would be willing to pay a premium of at least $10 or more to stay in an allergy friendly environment. The average premium to stay in a PURE Room is $24.19 per night. Many hotels that have adopted PURE Rooms have found that it is a market differentiator and can immediately impact REVPAR by giving them the ability to charge a premium for the new room category.
The study also concluded that 81 percent of respondents wanted to be informed by travel agents and reservation agents about the availability of hotels with allergy friendly accommodations at time of booking or check-in.
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