Totally Toni - national speaker at dynamic educational events,training programs and tradeshows,providing tools,forms,information and publications that support the multifamily industry;creator of New Home Essence apartment aromatherapy

The Sweet Smell of Success
By National Speaker and Author Toni Blake

Do you know which of your senses has the greatest influence? Even though many of our evaluations and judgments are based on sight, . . . it is the sense of smell that is the most impressionable. Imagine a richly decorated environment filled with the most expensive décor, ornate touches, colors and furniture. No matter how visually attractive your clubhouse and models are - no matter how much you spent on decorating - burn some popcorn and people don’t want to be there. Scent is the only one of the five senses that is directly connected to the cerebral cortex of the brain and is the more powerful image builder. The right scent can influence sleep, romance, and mental focus. It is also proven to make both people and environments more attractive. And that’s nothing to turn your nose at.

Environmental Fragrance & Big Business

Environmental Fragrance has been a phenomenal commercial success as a mood enhancer and aromatherapy. The home fragrance industry estimates $3 billion in annual sales, according to the Fragrance Foundation. The who’s who of international businesses have joined the home fragrance business including Calvin Klein, Estee Lauder, Donna Karan, J Crew, Banana Republic and Old Navy. We’ve heard of designer water, but designer air? Aromatherapy has become an everyday part of many people’s lives - bergamot oil to "jump start" the day or lavender lotion before a meeting to “calm and relax”. Origins, a successful division of Estee Lauder, sells a product called "Peace of Mind" which contains peppermint oil and produces a "cool cloth" feeling when rubbed on the back of the neck. It can help reduce stress and ease tension headaches. You can't walk into a mall or even an airport today without passing a retail storefront full of self-help "aroma" products. In the future we may have an alarm clock that will spray a scent that will make you more alert 10 minutes prior to waking you up. You'll go to the kitchen, where an odor will be released to increase or suppress your appetite. Your office may be scented to make you more productive, and at bedtime . . . you can choose an aroma that encourages relaxation—or more amorous activities.

Aromatherapy & Apartments

With billions of dollars in sales, and millions of mainstream Americans educated about "aroma" ... how is the multi-family housing industry using this data? Frankly - we stink! Out of 100 communities surveyed, 97% experienced revenue loss from increased vacancy down time due to odor. 100% had replaced carpets simply due to a pet odor and only 12% were familiar with products that could successfully neutralize the odor. We are still expecting people to rent and live with residual odor left behind by the previous occupant including their cooking, personal body odor & loving family pet! Trend watchers and sophisticated management companies are looking for solutions to our odor problems.

Our make-ready procedure doesn’t address making the apartment smell good – most management teams simply clean it and pass on the keys. 19% of the complaints from New Residents included comments about odor. In your portfolio – how many carpets, still in good condition, were replaced due to odor? How much revenue was lost due to odor problems in vacancy? If we accurately calculated how much odor problems are costing us, it would be thousands of dollars per community and millions as an industry. 100% of the communities we surveyed have odor problems – with no known solution – until now.

Today there are very affordable chemicals that can completely neutralize all odors and leave the apartment completely odorless. There are foggers containing the same chemical micron as "Fabreez" that travel through the air along the same pathways as the odor and eliminate all organic caused odors for the commercial cost of about

$8.50 for 800 square feet or 6000 cubic feet. Special chemical warfare is required when it comes to problems created by pet residue and bacteria. Many of the properties we surveyed relied on the carpet industry to clean their carpets and apply the pet enzyme. I heard many stories about how it didn’t work after a $35.00 - $45.00 service fee. They are still forced to replace the carpet. There is a chemical product that will completely remove the residual pet bacteria causing the smell and leave the carpet as good as new. Its’ effectiveness depends on the dilution and saturation of the product. Most of these products only cost around $12.50 a quart. You could save the $45.00 carpet service fee and the carpet by simply having your own maintenance team add water to the chemical and spray in the area. The chemicals will do the job in about 24 hours.

Industrial Deodorizer vs. Home Fragrance

Once you have your apartment odor free – how about a positive fragrance? There are a lot of industrial deodorizers on the market. The only problem is that low-quality synthetics tend to have a sharp smell and a very short lifespan. Many industrial deodorizer programs sell you an additional electric distribution device that continues to deliver the deodorizer in the room. Now you are paying for equipment and electricity to make your beautiful home environment smell like an industrial bathroom. Our product is the “home” and we should understand our customer wants “home scents” in the home environment. Home fragrance products are typically more expensive i.e., Crabtree & Evelyn’s room spray is $10 for 3.5 oz. or Sydney City Room Spray is $14.00 for only 1.35 oz.

Finally there is a choice besides industrial deodorizers or expensive room sprays. I want to share a very exciting product with you – New Home Essence. This product line is not only made with high-quality natural essential oils – it is psychologically designed to smell like a new home. Similar to the car business’s “new car smell” your apartments don’t have to be new to smell new!! Now you can add New Home Essence - a wonderful perfume quality aroma to your clubhouse, models and target apartments.

How was New Home Essence Developed?

After visiting custom homebuilders and walking their elaborately decorated models a list of “scents” was created. This list was then shared with both chemical engineers specializing in scent and a group of experienced perfumers. High-quality synthetic oils – usually called fragrance oils – are often used in fine fragrances; they substitute for oil that can’t be extracted, like fig or lily of the valley. A combination of these fragrance oils along with a series of natural essential oils was tested for an 18-month period. The base of New Home Essence contains the fragrances of each of the elements present in a brand new home – including the furniture & decorative touches. This gives a room the psychological scent of "Brand New”. There is the scent of Corinthian leather combined with the essential oils of Cedar Leaf and Sandalwood. This offers your guests the scent of fresh wood & leather. They also blended just a touch of essential oils from the exclusive decorative candles such as patchouli & the exotic oriental spice ylang ylang. To give this unique fragrance a psychological selling advantage, they added the chemically engineered scent from new carpet, varnish, fresh wood and other important “scents” of new. All together these fragrances duplicate the scent of a multi-million dollar new home model. Imagine the competitive advantage of New Home Essence.

Where do we go from here?

I suggest you do a survey of your communities. Find out how much of a problem odor is and what products are being used. For more information about the products mentioned in this article go to newhomeessence.com.

Toni Blake is a nationally recognized expert in customer service, sales and marketing. She travels to over 60 cities annually speaking to over 30,000 management professionals each year. Toni is known for her innovative concepts and is an industry trendsetter. She has been involved with Multifamily Housing since 1979 and currently resides in Greeley, Colorado. For more information contact her office toll free 866-889-6600 or 1-970-378-6784. www.HappyFaceLady.com