Have you ever been to a restaurant or wine tasting and a strong aroma interferes with your enjoyment of the food and experience? Worse yet you step into an elevator or reach your seat on an airplane and boom - you're assaulted. There's no escape!

Since my wife is a natural perfumer with a very sensitive nose, we have had this happen many times. Lucky, we can usually leave or politely move our table before she gets a migraine.

There's an important lesson here for hotels and businesses looking to scent their space.

Don't be that company that invests in a system - on a long lease - only to find that employees and guests complain about the aroma.

I was just speaking with a hotel executive of a very well known hotel in Hawaii. They are looking for a scent diffuser system. Her boss told her to call his former hotel in Arizona because "everyone loved the scent system they used there." Well, she did. But being the astute manager she is - she asked the person she called: "Is it true everyone loves the aroma and system you have there in Arizona?" "Not everyone," the reference responded. "In fact, the wedding party here now asked us to turn it off. Some love it. Many hate it."

That's the problem with synthetic aroma and especially with emitting too much of it. Many people find it overpowering. In fact, a study performed by The University of Loyola reported that 16.9% of the public experience mild to severe reactions to synthetic aroma. That's nearly 1 in 5 people.

So how do you avoid this costly and business-stalling error? Consult the chef.

Celebrity chefs have become an important draw at many hotels. And just as a strong or wrong aroma can adversely affect your dining experience, so too can it detract from the hotel's restaurant , wine tasting or even the lobby experience.

Many jobs have come to us because a top chef tells their General Manager they need to work with us because our aromas are 100% natural. They are made from the very same ingredients that chefs use in the restaurant. They never compete. So the synthetic scent diffusion system (they're still leasing!) goes into the closet, and our 100% natural system takes over to the delight of employees, guests and yes - the chef!

So follow these rules when searching for the proper aroma, system and scent level for your space:

1. 100% natural scent from real plants and spices won't overwhelm. It's naturally anti-viral and anti-bacterial - And it doesn't need to cost any more than synthetics.

2. Remember: Synthetic scent in the restrooms is going to affect the surrounding spaces. So don't go for the cheap synthetic plug in, aerosol devices or sprays. Get small restroom diffusers with a 100% natural aroma. It will make a big difference!

3. Follow the AiroMystic A.R.O.M.A. rule - keep scent subtle - 20% of guests should not even notice the scent. If everyone notices, it's too strong. Turn your machine down.

4. Oh, and if you're stuck on a plane next to that person wearing too much scent - use my wife's trick: Put a dab of Ajne or AiroMystic aroma under your nose. It really helps!

Thanks for reading! I look forward to your questions and comments!