Ba-boom. Ba-boom. Ba-boom. The onomatopoeia of a heartbeat. Painting with sound. As picturesque as Vienna. And the heart of the capital? It beats at Stephansplatz. THE place to be for anyone visiting this impressive Austrian city. The pure, authentic feeling of life in Vienna’s inner city is on offer at the “Hotel am Stephansplatz”. Right on the city’s pulse - feel the beat. Don’t just experience Vienna, live it like a Viennese. That’s also the motto of this 4-star boutique hotel: guests should feel at home. They are the “Chef-am-Platz”, the boss on the square, at Stephansplatz. This philosophy - combined with the unique location, the art of Bucur and Aragall and a fine little wellness area - makes the hearts of business and leisure guests beat faster. And so that the boutique hotel can be experienced with all the senses, AROMEA Airdesign and its nano diffusers with patented AirQ technology come into play as well. Installed ready to go in the ventilation system and, thanks to the monthly Comfort First package, maintained and supplied with fragrances completely worry-free. Because the heart of Assistant Manager Kristina Klinger-Farnik beats for her guests - but also for fine scents…
Question: Since the refurbishment and reopening, you have been using a scent concept from AROMEA. What kinds of unwelcome smells can occur in a boutique hotel? What problem led you to choose scent marketing?
Klinger-Farnik: As part of renovating and redesigning our hotel, we wanted to create a unified, coherent overall concept. From the booking through check-in to departure, guests should recognise our hotel. We are not an anonymous chain or corporation; we take time for our guests and their needs. So we quickly decided that “smell” is also part of a coherent marketing and overall concept. The scent alone is enough to make our regular guests in particular feel “welcome back”. There wasn’t really a problem beforehand. We have a well-developed ventilation system, so fortunately we had little trouble with really unpleasant smells even before.
Question: You use three Pro 5 nano diffusers with patented AirQ technology in the ventilation system. Why these diffusers, and what positive effect has this scenting achieved in particular?
Klinger-Farnik: These diffusers were recommended to us during a detailed consultation with AROMEA. It was important to us that they are invisible to guests and relatively easy to handle. They are serviced every month, after all, so access should be as simple as possible. We are very happy with our choice, and now, after about a month in operation, the scenting has been optimised and perfectly adapted to our requirements. In the lobby especially, the “arrival experience” was very important to us. And of course that the scent is an ideal match for our look, the colours and the interior design. This has been implemented perfectly.
Question: Good air means a good mood. In Vienna especially, you must have a lot of exhaust fumes to contend with. What feedback have you received from guests or staff?
Klinger-Farnik: We use the scent concept very discreetly. It needed a certain “lightness” so that it wouldn’t overwhelm. As a result, the only feedback we’ve had so far is that it smells very pleasant and that people immediately feel at ease. So our expectations have definitely been met. Thanks to the pedestrian zone, we fortunately don’t really have a problem with exhaust fumes.
Question: Your concept is all about feeling good all round. How can AROMEA scent marketing with patented AirQ technology support you in this?
Klinger-Farnik: Our all-round feel-good concept includes the personal, individual service we want to offer our guests as a small, privately run boutique hotel. We also rely on especially comfortable, breathable mattresses and top-quality bed linen and toiletries in the rooms. Beyond that, we have minibars that aren’t stocked quite in the classic way, and free Julius Meinl espresso in the rooms. Then, of course, there’s a harmonious colour concept, warm tones, pleasant fabrics and various woods. Among other things, there are more than 100 sculptures made of local woods by the exceptional artist Daniel Bucur dotted around the hotel, some of them carved from a single piece of wood. So it was essential that the scent also fits and matches this concept. With the scent “Velvet Wood” we have found the perfect solution. It goes wonderfully with the various woods and the warm brown and grey tones, and fully supports our concept.
Question: A topical one, hand on heart: does scent marketing also help with unwelcome smells caused by the summer heat?
Klinger-Farnik: We have very good air supply and ventilation, so any unwelcome smells have fortunately not been a big issue for us so far. For us, it really was first and foremost “just” about a uniform image and about feeling good. And in our opinion, a pleasant scent is simply part of that.
Thank you for talking to us!
Kristina Klinger-Farnik on AROMEA
