Guest sensitive to smell

[Monique858]

I had a previous guest who had a very sensitive smell! She gave me a 2 star review which I never got before! 😞 But would like some suggestions on the type of scent can be use to my home! I want something EARTHY/ WOODY or more on the natural scent as I have a lot of plants at the home and I want to match the theme! I appreciate all suggestions!

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Monique858 you will never find a scent that every guest will like. You are likely to make the situation worse if you just layer smell upon smell.

If it truly a one-off then just ignore and move on.

[Mark116]

@Monique858  I make my own linen spray using lavender oil, witch hazel and water, which I love, but I know not everyone likes lavender.  I used to buy a lemon verbena scented linen spray that I also loved, but I haven't seen that since the pandemic, but lemon verbena is a nice light scent.

I would actually stay away from anything too earthy as that might be overly strong for some guests.

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Monique858  the best smell is no smell.

[Gordon0]

While I wouldn't mark a host down on it (unless way OTT), I'd just unplug it. I hate air fresheners. By all means wash the sheets in scented conditioner, but don't artificially scent the place. You may like it, many guests won't - and will wonder what you are trying to hide.  

[Mark116]

@Gordon0  I wouldn't use an Air Freshener plug in but I do like the linen sprays.  They leave a pleasant fresh smell, which I think is a subliminal marker for guests thinking the space smells fresh.  Same reason we usually polish the furniture as one of the last steps, so there is still a little lingering scent of almond or lemon oil.

OTOH, I HATE sheets that smell perfumed.  When we were still using a comforter on the Q bed and had to send it out to be laundered I had to constantly remind them to NOT use fabric softener.  When they used it, the smell was incredibly cloying, it filled the car and then the bedroom.  I could never have slept on sheets that were that scented.  But, IMO, the linen spray leaves basically a quick impression, it doesn't last long on anything, whatever smell might have been on the sheets on night 1 will be gone by night 2.

[Laura2592]

@Monique858 we state in our listing that our place uses scented products and allows pets. Its therefore not suitable for anyone who is sensitive or has allergies to smells or pet dander. I would probably put that kind of disclaimer in your place if you use scented products. 

We frankly like certain candles, some air fresheners and scented oils etc. Many of our guests have commented that they enjoy them as well, particularly the candles, when they want to have a long soak in the clawfoot tub. Others unplug diffusers and hide the candles. Some hosts really can accommodate guests who prefer unscented products or have allergies. We can't. We let everyone know up front. They can make the decision to pass on our place if its an issue. You will never find a scent that appeals to everyone, so decide as a host how important this is to you and update your listing to let guests know if this is a good fit for their needs. 

[Ann72]

@Monique858  I agree that you don't necessarily want to introduce a scent, you want there to be no offensive scents.  Do you know whether she smelled lingering cooking odors, mold, or what?

Even when linens are washed between every guest, if bleach isn't used to kill bacteria, I can smell every person who's been there, it seems.  That can't be covered up by scented anything.  My formula is:  laundry detergent, Oxy Clean, and half the amount of bleach specified on the bottle.  (The full amount just eats your linens up in a short period of time.)

I normally use All Free and Clear laundry detergent but needed some in a hurry this year and grabbed Seventh Generation Geranium Blossoms and Vanilla laundry detergent.  I honestly thought the scent sounded strange but it came in a pressed cardboard bottle so I thought why not give it a try.  Could not get over how good it smelled.  I know I *should* keep the unscented All around but I have gone over to the scent side with this Seventh Generation stuff.  I like the fact that the bottle isn't plastic, and sometimes you have to follow your bliss/nose 🙂

[Monique858]

We used airwick lavender as of the moment, and that's what she specified as not good and caused her allergies to trigger

and left us a 3 star review with bad comments 😞 

[Sarah977]

@Monique858  You really shouldn't introduce any scents at all into an Airbnb, IMO. It should be scentless. What smells good to one person smells terrible to another- there aren't any universally appreciated scents, as far as I know. 

I would really dislike finding air "fresheners" or scented sprays or diffusers, or bedding smelling of dryer sheets or anything other than clean.

[Kia272]

@Monique858  As some others have already stated, no smell is the best smell. Just because something smells appealing to you doesn't mean that others will like it. Your best bet for pleasing a wide variety of guests is no smells at all. 

[Linda108]

Over the years I have participated in this  forum, the debate about odor or scent goes on.  Guests bring odors and hosts endeavor to have pleasant scents.  In high end hotels, part of the branding process includes developing a signature scent, somewhat akin to finding the perfect perfume.  There is quite an art and science to finding a signature scent and I would think most of us lack the proper training and experience.  Therefore, I am in the no scent camp and opt for fresh air whenever possible.  

[Laura2592]

@Linda108 

Guests bring odors

They certainly can!

Our place has 18 inch thick stone walls and non-existent outside venting so if a guest cooks something fragrant, has different hygiene standards than most in the area, or has a wet dog that hangs out, our place can really be an olfactory miasma after check out. Our cleaner gives us a heads up when this happens. Many times we need to go to heroic efforts to get the place aired out and back to some acceptable baseline of de-funk-edness.

I actually worked for a well known perfumer for many years, and scent is one of my favorite things. The science behind "nose blindness" is real. I am not in favor of dousing any home (or human) in scent to extreme and understand that many may not realize their own scent level. But in something like our Airbnb which we enter once or twice a week behind guests, its very easy to tell what the first scent impression is when you walk in and thus moderate it appropriately. I think this is very personal to each host and housing type, and everyone has to decide what they can and can't accommodate for others who may have particular requirements. If we left things as is after some of the guests, we would definitely have complaints.