Allergy-Free Rooms
Electron photograph of rotavirus particles
courtesy of Centers for Disease Control & Prevention
Also in today's NY Times Travel section, an article about hypoallergenic rooms.
In a dual-purposed bid to help allergy-sufferers and stand out from the crowd, many hotels are now offering hypoallergenic rooms. (We've stayed in and noted many hotels that are offering special scents in the lobbies and rooms, and it had occurred to us that there might be some people for whom that must be awful.) Brands like Hilton, Wyndham and Millennium are rolling out hypoallergenic rooms in different locations across the country, sometimes devoting several floors to the allergy-suffering traveler.
While the trend may claim to help those who can't tolerate the plush down pillows that beckon most travelers to their beds, this movement is also, in part, an attempt to rise above the flatscreen TVs and WiFi access that are now considered de rigueur by savvy travelers. And with a recent Conde Nast Traveler article noting that even 5-star hotels had rooms awash in germs, it might not be only the chronic allergy sufferer looking for a cleaner room.
There are currently no standards in the industry for creating a hypoallergenic room, and some of the methods hotels are using seem more designed for marketing purposes than actual allergy treatment or germ removal. Still, some travelers have noted a difference in the air quality of their rooms, and say they are willing to pay the premium that hypoallergenic rooms often command in order to have a sneeze-free stay. For those that don't need to go to such lengths but would still like to fight the germs and nasty habits of those-who-came-before, check out the end of Conde Nast Traveler's article, which has several helpful suggestions on how to make your hotel room less of a health hazard.
