Trust Your Nose. Yes, Even Budget Hotels Are Smelling Better.

In a strange city and can’t find your hotel? Maybe you should use your sense of smell to find your way home.

It’s no secret that the lobbies of luxury hotels have been greeting guests with delightful aromas. But Holiday Inn Express? As sure as the nose on your face, it’s true.

Writes Scott McCartney in The Wall Street Journal, “Luxury hotels have scented lobbies, hallways and other public spaces with carefully crafted perfumes for several years to create a memorable brand image and stealthily calm guests as they arrive.”

Luxury chain Sofitel has created the Essence de Sofitel which “brings vibrancy largely through lemon. Floral notes such as lily of the valley add elegance. And the bottom note is dominated by sandalwood.”

As McCartney notes, “Now budget chains are spritzing, too. Hotels have arguably never paid so much attention to how they smell, employing expert ‘noses’ from leading perfume makers to entice travelers with just the right amount of sandalwood.”

The Intercontinental New York Times Square changes its scents every season. Right about now, you should be enjoying their “Winter Woods” blend.

And we weren’t making that up about the Holiday Inn Express, either.

“The description of the Holiday Inn Express Signature Scent tries for a level of elegance not normally found with the free breakfast buffet,” writes McCartney. “Crisp lemon top notes accent a heart of watery green florals, sweet grass, a dash of exotic herbs, spicy perilla and a base of sheer woods and musk.”