What Is The Scent That Westin Hotels Use?

Westin hotels are part of the high-end Marriott brand known for luxury accommodations and excellent service. In the late 1990s, Westin began developing a signature scent to provide guests with a distinctive sensory experience during their hotel stay. The soothing white tea aroma evokes feelings of tranquility and rejuvenation. Today, the iconic Westin scent is an integral part of the brand’s identity and is diffused throughout all public areas in Westin hotels worldwide. It has become so popular that Westin even sells home diffusers so guests can enjoy the fragrance in their own homes.

History of the Westin Scent

The signature Westin White Tea scent was first developed and used in 2005 (source). It was created through a partnership between Westin Hotels & Resorts and the fragrance house Le Labo. Westin wanted to develop a custom scent that would become synonymous with the brand and evoke a sense of wellbeing. The goal was to create a warm, welcoming scent that would relax guests and help them unwind. After testing various scent combinations, they settled on a blend built around white tea, because of its soothing and refreshing qualities. The signature scent helped Westin stand out from other hotel chains and formed part of their sensory branding strategy to appeal to all five senses.

Description of the Scent

The signature scent used by Westin hotels is called White Tea. As the name suggests, the fragrance is inspired by the sweet, floral aroma of white tea leaves. However, it consists of a custom blend of notes and ingredients to evoke the uplifting yet relaxing essence of white tea.

The top notes in the Westin White Tea scent contain bright citrus fruits like Italian bergamot, orange, lemon, and mandarin to give an energizing first impression. The scent then unfolds into floral heart notes of jasmine, lavender, freesia, and rose to create a soothing floral character.

The base notes provide warmth and depth with woods like sandalwood and musk. There are also white floral accents of lily to round out the fragrance and connect back to the white tea inspiration. The overall effect is a crisp, revitalizing scent with hints of tea and rose but it finishes with subtle musky undertones. According to the official description, the scent promotes tranquility and rejuvenation – perfect for a relaxing hotel stay.

The specific ingredients and formula behind the Westin White Tea fragrance are proprietary secrets. However, the hotel offers the signature scent for home diffusers so guests can bring the Westin atmosphere into their own homes. These room diffusers use a similar custom white tea essential oil blend that evokes the soothing, bright aroma of a Westin hotel (https://themagicscent.com/shop/scent-marketing/floral/white-tea).

Purpose of the Scent

The Westin scent is carefully crafted to evoke specific feelings and emotions in guests that align with the brand’s mission. As explained on The Magic Scent website, which sells the official Westin White Tea fragrance for home use, “Elegance in Every Note. As one of the most refined white tea fragrances, this scent is more than just a fragrance; it’s an experience” https://themagicscent.com/shop/scent-marketing/floral/white-tea/. The light, refreshing scent of white tea is intended to make guests feel relaxed, rejuvenated, and pampered.

According to discussions on Flyertalk, Westin strategically diffuses its signature White Tea fragrance throughout its hotels to evoke feelings of comfort and tranquility that align with its brand image as a luxurious, upscale retreat https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/starwood-starwood-preferred-guest/871397-welcome-aroma-w-s-westin-s.html. The fragrance helps create an ambiance of wellbeing and renewal, encouraging relaxation as part of the Westin experience.

Use of the Scent

The signature White Tea fragrance is diffused throughout all Westin hotel public spaces including the lobby, restaurants, meeting rooms and spa areas. The scent is pumped through the air conditioning vents via a patented scenting machine designed specifically for Westin properties. The machines scent the air 24 hours a day to provide a consistent experience for guests.

According to Marriott, the White Tea fragrance was designed to “evoke feelings of relaxation, tranquility, and renewal” and was intended to be a key part of the Westin brand identity from the start. The scent is considered part of the hotel’s sensory branding and is deployed strategically to impact the overall guest experience.

The machines use cartridges filled with the custom White Tea fragrance oil to scent approximately 20,000 cubic feet of space. The intensity of the fragrance can be adjusted based on the size of the space. Westin claims the scenting system uses less than 1/3 the amount of scent compared to normal HVAC scenting methods.
(Source: https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/marriott-marriott-bonvoy/558841-westin-lax-master-thread-29.html)

Guest Reactions

The Westin scent has garnered mainly positive reactions from guests over the years. Many reviewers on sites like TripAdvisor specifically mention the white tea scent as one of the highlights of staying at a Westin hotel. They describe the scent as “soothing,” “relaxing,” and “welcoming.” Some guests say the signature fragrance makes them feel like they are on a spa vacation.

According to guest reviews on the Westin Store website, the white tea scent helps create a calm environment that promotes a restful sleep. Guests love being able to purchase the room diffusers to bring home the Westin experience. The diffusers seem especially popular as gifts and souvenirs.

There are a few negative reactions from guests who find the scent too strong or overpowering. Some say it bothers their sinuses or gives them a headache if they are sensitive to smells. The white tea fragrance also receives rare criticism for being too feminine or floral for some guests’ preferences.

However, the vast majority of guest comments highlight the signature Westin scent as a major advantage over other hotels. Many loyal Westin guests admit choosing the hotel chain partly for the consistent and comforting white tea fragrance in the lobby and rooms.

Impact on the Hotel Industry

The distinct scent used by Westin hotels, often described as white tea, has had a significant impact on the hotel industry since its introduction in 2005. According to a report on FlyerTalk, Westin’s signature scent helped differentiate the brand and created a more welcoming, uplifting environment for guests. This innovative sensory branding technique proved so successful that Westin experienced rapid growth and became one of the fastest growing hotel brands.

Seeing Westin’s success, other hotel chains began experimenting with their own signature scents to stand out. For example, in 2016 Marriott Hotels created their own “scent identity” called Attune to promote feelings of comfort and refreshment. Similarly, in 2018 Hilton Hotels partnered with aromatherapy brand REN to create a custom essential oil scent blend for lobby diffusers. According to guests on Reddit, these signature scents help evoke a sense of relaxation from the moment they enter the hotel. The success of sensory branding at Westin and other hotels demonstrates the powerful impact scent can have on the overall guest experience.

Scent Branding

Scent branding is a key strategy that brands like Westin use to differentiate themselves and build emotional connections with customers. According to research, “scent builds trust between brands and consumers” (Inside the Invisible but Influential World of Scent Branding). Scents can evoke powerful memories and emotions that subconsciously influence customer perceptions of a brand.

For a signature scent branding strategy to be effective, the scent should be unique, consistent across locations, and match the brand’s identity and messaging (Discover the Latest Strategies for Scent Marketing in 2023). Associating a pleasant, subtle scent with a brand makes customers’ experiences more positive, memorable and distinguishable from competitors. This drives loyalty – studies show scent branding increases intent to return by 20% (Scent Marketing).

Westin’s white tea scent brand conveys the properties’s identity – fresh, uplifting, relaxing. Diffusing this scent throughout lobbies immerses guests in the brand experience. An effective scent brand like Westin’s elicits the desired emotions and associations that reinforce brand image.

Future of the Westin Scent

The signature Westin White Tea scent has become an integral part of the Westin hotel experience over the past several years. According to an article on Hotel Management website, Westin plans to continue using the White Tea scent as their signature fragrance for the foreseeable future (https://www.hotelmanagement.net/operate/westin-s-signature-scent-here-stay). The scent has become strongly associated with Westin in guests’ minds and reinforces Westin’s brand image as a relaxing, rejuvenating retreat.

While there are currently no plans to change or replace the White Tea scent, Westin is exploring ways to expand and evolve their scent branding. In 2017, Westin partnered with ScentAir to create a new scent called “Wellness” that diffuses in Westin’s Heavenly Spa locations (https://www.scentair.com/westin-ecosystem/). This specialty scent was designed to complement White Tea and evoke the feel of a soothing spa treatment. ScentAir and Westin may continue collaborating on additional location-specific scents in the future.

As scent technology and marketing continues to evolve, Westin will likely find new ways to integrate scent into the guest experience. However, the signature White Tea fragrance has become too iconic to Westin’s brand image to abandon anytime soon. Guests can expect to keep smelling those familiar White Tea notes when they check into a Westin hotel for years to come.

Summary

The Westin Heavenly scent has become an iconic part of the Westin hotel experience. This custom-made, patented scent combines elements of white tea, sandalwood, eucalyptus, and chamomile to create a soothing, revitalizing fragrance.

The Heavenly scent is lightly diffused throughout Westin hotels to establish an uplifting environment for guests. Scientific studies show that ambient scent can evoke powerful physical and emotional responses, and Westin has tapped into that research to make its hotels feel like an oasis of wellbeing.

By pioneering a multi-sensory experience and consistent branding via scent, Westin has differentiated itself in the luxury hotel market. The Heavenly scent has come to signify the promise of a restorative hotel stay. While other hotels have experimented with signature scents, none has achieved the scope and success of Westin’s trailblazing Heavenly fragrance.

The scent has become a key part of the Westin experience that guests know and love. It is an integral element of Westin’s brand identity and efforts to promote wellness and revitalization through all of the senses. The Heavenly scent will continue infusing Westin hotels with its unique aromatherapy benefits for years to come.