Air Quality Becomes An Issue With Hotels.
 

Neicei Degen walked into her hotel room at Hilton Washington & Towers looking forward to a relaxing week in the capital. And then she walked right out again. The problem, the Peabody, Mass., administrator says, wasn't the glitzy decor or the limited view. It was the air, which she describes as a musty blend of stale air and cleaning fumes. "I didn't know what the blazes hit me," the admittedly chemically sensitive Ms. Degen says. "It was a beautiful hotel room, but I had to get out of there." Ms. Degen was on to something most travelers never suspect: Hotels might be adding Internet lines and snazzing up suites, but air quality isn't getting nearly as much attention. Experts say it may sometimes cause everything from headaches to fatigue; indeed, clinics from San Francisco to Boston specializing in travel health say almost 25% of patients who are frequent hotel guests now complain about air quality.
At Travel Health Services, a clinic in Manhattan, patient complaints range from kitchen fumes to bad ventilation, says medical director Bradley Connor, who adds that the number is growing every year. It's such an issue that some companies -- and even a few travelers -- are hiring environmental consultants to check out hotels before they check in. Behind the lament is a range of causes, everything from old wheezy air-conditioning systems to airtight wallpaper that designers love, but building engineers hate (as good as it looks, they say, it's even better at growing mildew).
Not to mention the chemical soup of paint fumes, cleaning solvents and deodorizers brewing up in a typical room. Of course, outside air has its own problems, from pollution to pollen, that circulate through any hotel. But Rick Layton, chief executive officer at Servidyne Systems Inc., a building-engineering company in Atlanta, estimates that only about half of all hotels provide air that's adequately clean. "A lot of hotels are just afraid to deal with it," he says, adding that telltale signs range from the smell of mold to just plain stale air. Indeed, even many hotel chains admit that indoor air quality deserves a lot more attention. Some of the most prominent ones are now improving maintenance schedules on air-conditioning systems and using more environmentally friendly cleaning products. Others are even ripping out wallpaper that can produce too much mold. As for the Hilton Ms. Degen vacated, a hotel spokeswoman says the company emphasizes "absolute cleanliness," but concedes that some cleaning products it uses "may affect some more chemically sensitive individuals."

Air quality just "wasn't on the industry's radar screen," says Gus Newbury, vice president of engineering at Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc., which owns the Sheraton and Westin brands. "There have been no standards, so it's been difficult to know what to do." So Weekend Journal decided to take a random sample of air quality at hotels. Armed with petri dishes, we spent two nights at nine hotels and placed our dishes at three locations in each room -- by the air conditioner, by the window and in the bathroom. Then we hired an accredited lab to count both the bacteria and mold growth in the dishes.
The results? Four of nine hotels had higher bacteria counts in at least one dish than what our lab says you'd find in a typical suburban home -- mirroring Mr. Layton's own estimates about hotel air quality. Mold counts were high too, high enough that allergy sufferers might notice in four of our hotels, according to the lab. "When it gets to 10, 20 or 30, that is not to be ignored," says Stuart Lerner, director of Associated Analytical Laboratories in New York, which ran our tests. We also found that air quality isn't necessarily any better in luxury hotels; on some dishes, midrange hotels scored about as well as or better than the ritzy Delano in Miami or the Four Seasons in Seattle. Older hotels didn't have higher counts either, including Chicago's 79- year-old Drake Hotel, which had the lowest numbers in our test overall. And don't assume that mold is more of a problem in hotels in humid cities: Houston's Hyatt Regency had the third-lowest mold count. Not that the hotels agreed with our methods, or our conclusions. A spokesman for the Sheraton Newark Airport said mold has "never been a problem" in its hotel despite the growth we found. And Holiday Inn, calling our experiment "too simple and incomplete," conducted its own tests after ours, finding that its bacteria and fungi levels "would not be anticipated to cause adverse health effects in normal, healthy individuals." Indeed, even some scientists we talked to disagreed over what levels of mold and bacteria constitute a health hazard.

Though most travelers never experience any problems, a surprising number of guests say they feel worse when they wake up. The typical symptoms: "Sore throat, headaches, burning eyes," describes Christine Oliver, an environmental physician at Harvard Medical School, who specializes in treating patients with mold allergies and chemical sensitivities. Spending one night in a hotel, Dr. Oliver says, obviously isn't a matter of life or death -- "but it's the kind of thing that can make you miserable that night, or a few nights later." Indeed, Dr. Oliver says the problem can be worse in hotels than in office buildings -- or even airplanes -- because of the sheer number of things churning through the air, both from within and outside the property. Hotels steadily circulate a certain amount of fresh air inside based on the number of guests. Even though all air is screened through filters, everything from common molds to bacteria can seep or stay in, hiding behind wallpaper or in cooling systems. Then there are "volatile organic compounds" -- a broad category that includes everything from room-cleaning solvents to fumes that come from new carpets and furniture. What's more, many hotels also use ozone- generating devices that cloak smoke and musty smells -- but leave other contaminants in the air. Those contaminants, especially mold and mildew, can be particularly hard on the growing legions of allergy sufferers.

Nationwide, as many as 50 million Americans -- about 20% of the population -- now suffer from allergies, according to the National Institutes of Health; closely related, asthma rates have nearly doubled since 1980, now afflicting more than 15 million Americans. In Kansas City, Mo., the new 400-room tower at the Marriott Downtown started to show signs of a mildew problem soon after opening last year, with curious discolorations on the wallpaper. The hotel has since gone over two-thirds of its rooms, this time making sure to paint the exterior walls so moisture can get through. Though no guests complained about the air, the hotel is rigorously monitoring its air quality, says Kevin Pistilli of Raphael Hotel Group, which manages the property. "It could've become a problem if we didn't take care of it," he says. Ironically, the industry couldn't be healthier -- economically -- and is in the midst of a vast renovation and remodeling boom, spending $3.2 billion on such projects in 1998. But much of the new furnishings being installed emit the very chemical fumes that experts say are giving some guests such trouble. And it doesn't help that less than $160 million, or 5% of the industry's renovations, was spent on new heating and air-conditioning systems. "Unless the air conditioning is making dreadful noises, it might be last on the list for replacement," says Adam Brecht, a hotel consultant at PriceWaterhouseCoopers.

Indeed, wholesale changes are slow in coming. Like most hotel chains, Promus Hotel Corp., which has the Doubletree and Embassy Suites brands, requires its properties to maintain their air-conditionings systems -- but doesn't say how often. "In some areas it might be insufficient and in others it might be frivolous," says Jim Hartigan, vice president of quality assurance at Promus. A few years ago, the American Hotel & Motel Association helped squelch the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's attempt to implement new indoor air-quality regulations for all buildings that would have targeted secondhand smoke and ventilation systems. According to Marthe Kent, OSHA's acting director of health standards, the agency intends to issue new rules on indoor air quality sometime next year. In the meantime, hotel-industry officials note that there are no federal standards for a "safe" level of airborne mold, which makes detecting and treating a problem more difficult. "Hotels deal with fire inspectors, food inspectors, elevator inspectors," says Mr. Layton of Servidyne. "But there's no one who checks on air quality."

As a result, air-quality measures aren't entirely different from those in place 23 years ago, when the air-quality issue first hit the hotel industry. With the nation's bicentennial in full swing, 29 guests at Philadelphia's Bellevue hotel, including some from the American Legion, died during an outbreak of what would later be called Legionnaires' disease. Bacteria, it turned out, had festered in the hotel's cooling system, growing to lethal levels before it spread throughout the building. The hotel -- and the hotel industry -- suffered for years afterwards from the association.
To be sure, such fatal outbreaks are unheard of in the hotel industry now, mainly because the incident prompted the industry to reevaluate practices such as placing air-intake vents near water sources, where dangerous bacteria can breed.

But other industry practices, such as the choice of cleaning products or the regularity of maintenance, can leave travelers with bothersome ailments. "It's uncomfortable," says Louisiana Zinn, who looks for telltale signs such as dampness and stuffiness before accepting a hotel room. Ms. Zinn, a New York lecturer who travels frequently, is particularly wary about older hotels, which "can get kind of dumpy," she says. "And I'm not going to stay in a place that has a problem." But it isn't only old hotels that can face problems. New hotels are built so tightly for the sake of energy efficiency that they're sometimes prone to trapping moisture and fostering mold. The problem is exacerbated by the pervasive use of windows that don't open; that saves on energy costs, but can trap bad air in a room.

Just ask Elizabeth Finch. Already fighting off a cold when she arrived at a Hyatt in Columbus, Ohio, she found herself assigned a stuffy room with little light -- and sealed glass. "I was scratching at the windows," says Ms. Finch, an art curator. Worried travelers like her have created a cottage industry for Laurence Molloy, an environmental consultant in New York. In addition to advising contractors and landlords, he says he's hired now by corporations and travelers to investigate hotel air before clients go on trips.

"Mold is everywhere," he says. One of the biggest culprits is vinyl wallpaper, which many hotel designers like for its luxurious appearance and durability, but which molds love for the way it traps vapor. Seven of the nine hotels we tested, for instance, use the wall covering to some extent, along with thousands of other hotels. Indeed, most hotel chains, from Radisson Hotels to Starwood's Sheraton and Westin, have required their franchises to use upscale-looking vinyl -- much to the frustration of Joseph Lstiburek, an engineer at Building Science Corp. in Westford, Mass., and a leading consultant on mold infestations. "It's a no-brainer," he says. "Vinyl doesn't breathe." An exasperated Mr. Lstiburek says he gets four or five calls a month from hotels desperate to solve their mold problems. Each time, he explains the basic problem of moisture barriers and mold. But that hasn't stopped them from using vinyl covering. (Such vinyl wallpaper is found in some houses, too, Mr. Lstiburek notes, though most homeowners opt for breathable latex paint or use paper or fabric wall coverings.) Some hotels are facing up to the issue.

Two properties presently taking on a vinyl-related mold problem are the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin in humid Orlando, Fla. Facing each other over a lagoon, both are lush properties with 2,200 rooms between them. But they also share a pesky mildew that grows behind the vinyl wallpaper in about 5% of rooms. Though guests haven't complained, "when you pull the vinyl down, you have this mold lodged to the sheet rock," says Charles Cocotas, an engineer at Tishman Hotel Corp., whose sister company co- owns the hotels. To fight the mildew, the hotels scour moldy walls with bleach, or even replace the sheet rock if necessary. The hotels, managed under Starwood's Westin and Sheraton brands, are required by Starwood to use vinyl wallpaper, but they do use a mildew-resistant paste, as well as a permeable paint on particularly damp walls, he says.
Starwood has started allowing properties to move away from vinyl, on a case-by-case basis. A new Westin hotel in Puerto Rico, for instance, was built with a new, breathable wall covering specifically designed for damp climates. A spokeswoman at Radisson, too, says it makes exceptions to the 100%-vinyl rule at hotels in hot and humid climates.
Other hotels are going a step further. Philadelphia's Sheraton Rittenhouse Square, for instance, opened in 1998 touting itself as the country's first "environmentally smart" hotel. Among the bragging points: Hotel air is filtered at twice the rate as the industry standard, all carpets and linens are made of organic or hypoallergenic fibers, and hotel furnishings have been lacquered to prevent the emission of chemical gases. The hotel even goes so far as to make guests sign a pledge that they won't smoke in the hotel. A Sheraton spokeswoman says the company is looking at expanding the concept to hotels in other cities. But whether such gambits represent a true industry wide shift, or just another marketing niche, is another matter.

Consider this: A few years ago, several Radisson franchises in California unveiled deluxe nonsmoking rooms with better air filtration and nontoxic cleansers. Though the rooms got a big push at the time, they never caught on with consumers, says a spokeswoman at Carlson Hospitality, which owns the Radisson brand. "Guests just didn't buy it," she says. "The rooms just faded away."
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How's the Air? A Petri-Dish Test of Hotel Air Quality.

We wanted to find out what kind of air hotel guests were sleeping in these days. So we checked into nine hotel rooms and put out petri dishes in three different spots: by the air-conditioning vent, by the window, and in the bathroom. Then we hired a lab to count the bacteria and mold growths on the dishes. Obviously, our methods shouldn't be viewed as a definitive assessment of one hotel's air. Many molds and bacteria are harmless, and we couldn't tell whether the growths came from outside air. But with those caveats in mind, we shared our results with a half dozen air- quality experts, as well as the hotels. What's an acceptable level? Scientists we consulted disagreed on a benchmark, but our lab said any bacteria count over 100 was more than what you'd find in a typical air-conditioned suburban home. As for mold, our lab said anything over 15 might be noticed by allergy sufferers.
DELANO HOTEL, Miami Beach
A/C
Window
Bathroom

Bacteria

2

100

140

Mold

2

1

9

Comments: Many hotels in humid Florida have mold problems, but Ian Schrager's Delano seems to have largely avoided the issue by avoiding vinyl wallpaper. The hotel says air quality and cleanliness are absolute concerns.

DRAKE HOTEL, Chicago
A/C
Window
Bathroom

Bacteria

12

2
1

Mold

9

10
4

Comments: Since some pipes burst three years ago, the hotel has undertaken some major work as part of a $100 million renovation. The high point: a complete replacement of the air-conditioning system.

FOUR SEASONS OLYMPIC, Seattle
A/C
Window
Bathroom

Bacteria

1

1
250*

Mold

2

2
250*

Comments: Converted to a Four Seasons in 1982, this hotel came across spotlessly in our test -- except in the bathroom. Our experts say that's not unusual, and could just indicate a dirty sponge. The hotel says air quality is an absolute priority, and cleans its bathrooms rigorously with environmentally friendly products.

HELMSLEY PARK LANE, New York
A/C
Window
Bathroom

Bacteria

41

5
54

Mold

7

5
20

Comments: Harriet Burge, an environmental microbiologist at Harvard University, was struck by the consistency of the growth on this plate, which she says looks "like a cloud of something that grows indoors." The hotel declines to comment.

HOLIDAY INN GEORGETOWN, Washington
A/C
Window
Bathroom

Bacteria

250*

3
1

Mold

25

23
20

Comments: The high bacteria count from the air-conditioning system could indicate some growth in the air ducts, says Laurence Molloy, an environmental consultant in New York. But the hotel denies that, and says it's replacing its air-conditioning units and vinyl paper as part of a continuing renovation. What's more, the hotel says it conducted its own tests, which indicated no air-quality problems.

HYATT REGENCY, Houston
A/C
Window
Bathroom

Bacteria

12

1
78

Mold

6

3
6

Comments: In the face of Houston's notorious humidity, this hotel uses a higher-efficiency air filter to purge the moist air. The vinyl wallpaper, too, is different, with tiny holes to let moisture through, a spokesman says.

MARRIOTT FISHERMAN'S WHARF, San Francisco
A/C
Window
Bathroom

Bacteria

35

1
26

Mold

18

4
2

Comments: Steps from San Francisco's foggy harbor, this hotel had a major rooms renovation last year, repapering walls with vinyl paper -- but this time using a mildew-resistant paste, says a Marriott spokesman.

MIRAGE, Las Vegas
A/C
Window
Bathroom

Bacteria

250*

250*
250*

Mold

1

1
1

Comments: Despite how scary this plate looks, Dr. Burge says it's probably nothing much more than common yeast and bacteria. The low mold count is likely due to Vegas's dry desert environment. The hotel says our test isn't "terribly scientific," but adds that it is conducting its own air tests as part of an extensive environmental program.

SHERATON NEWARK AIRPORT, Newark, N.J.
A/C
Window
Bathroom

Bacteria

17

16
18

Mold

13

13
7

Comments: With an indoor pool in a seven-story atrium, it isn't surprising to find some mold growth. But the property says it specially filters its atrium air and inspects its air-conditioning system quarterly.

And For Comparison...

OFFICE, New York
A/C
Window
Bathroom

Bacteria

1

--
--

Mold

2

--
--

Comments: Just to be fair, we put one petri dish in our editor's office here at The Wall Street Journal in lower Manhattan. With a carefully monitored air-conditioning system and sealed windows that keep in the good air, the building was bound to produce low numbers.

WEEKEND HOME (circa 1834), Cold Spring, N.Y
A/C
Window
Bathroom

Bacteria

33

1
45

Mold

65

12
30

Comments: We also ventured 75 miles north of Manhattan and put dishes in a non-air-conditioned, pre-Civil War home in the Hudson Valley. The high counts were't surprising, considering the nearby river, the bloom of the season and the age of the house. Indeed, the homeowner admits he suffers allergy symptoms after weekends there.

*250 was the maximum limit for our test.

Note: Associated Analytical Laboratories in New York conducted our test. ** NOTICE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit for personal, research and educational uses. **