FOREST, VA.—Are travelers paranoid about cleanliness? That question was answered at this year’s ISSA InterClean conference in Las Vegas, which had more than 16,000 attendees, 700 exhibitors and 54 innovation entries from around the world. For the second year in a row, NanoSeptic self-cleaning surfaces took home the innovation award.
Travelers now have a cleaner surface to rest personal items in the TSA security bin with the new NanoSeptic self-cleaning mat. Portable NanoSeptic self-cleaning surfaces can be used by travelers and custom branded for hotels, airlines and cruise lines.
Last year, NanoSeptic won the award with their line of self-cleaning touch points for facilities. These peel-and-stick skins for door handles turned dirty public surfaces into continuously self-cleaning surfaces.
This year they received the award for their TravelWell line of products. These products represent a dedicated product development effort to bring self-cleaning surfaces to the transportation, aviation, travel and hospitality industries.
Travelers Paranoid About Dirty Public Surfaces
“I think we can now say for sure that travelers are paranoid about dirty public surfaces when traveling,” says NanoSeptic co-founder Dennis Hackemeyer. “Whether it’s the airplane tray table or hotel bathroom vanity, travelers just don’t trust the cleanliness of surfaces when it comes to places to set food or rest personal items.”
There were three primary products that were on display at the show. The one that got attention from both consumers and business people in the travel and hospitality industry was the portable self-cleaning travel mat. This mat provides a cleaner place to rest a toothbrush, eyeglasses, medications or other personal items on a hotel bathroom vanity. And it provides a much cleaner place to rest peanuts or pretzels on the airplane tray table.
“Our travel mat not only makes travelers feel safer and more secure, it’s also a great in-room or in-plane amenity that can generate new revenue,” says Mark Sisson, co-founder. “And because we can add the hotel, airline or cruise line logo to the mat, it’s another way these travel companies can extend their brand wherever the traveler goes and however they get there.”
Product for Phones, Tablets
Another product in NanoSeptic’s TravelWell line is their iO Dots. These are small clear adhesive “bumper feet” that you attach to the back of your phone or tablet. Not only are these feet self-cleaning, but they keep the device from directly touching dirty public surfaces.
But the item that got the most attention at the show was the NanoSeptic self-cleaning mat for TSA security bins in airports.
“Over and over again, we would tell the story of how travelers walk around the airport, including on bathroom floors, then take off their shoes and put them in the bin going through TSA security,” says Hackemeyer. “Then the next traveler puts their phone, glasses, keys and other personal items where those shoes were. The reaction was always the same…please stop, I think I’m going to be sick.”
After six months of testing by the local TSA team, the NanoSeptic mats were sent to TSA’s national testing facility for verification. And in September, the NanoSeptic security bin mat finally made its debut at the Akron-Canton airport, providing a cleaner surface for more than 1.4 million travelers per year.
