5 Quick Ways to Make Your Guest Bedroom Smell Like the Ritz-Carlton, According to Housekeepers and Scent Experts

Let's face it, why wouldn't you want to make your home smell like a hotel? It's refreshing to live in, and will provide a luxurious aroma that's sure to impress any guests that come to stay. This is a huge part of the reason why hotels do a lot to ensure their rooms smell divine — the scent of their guest's space is an influential part of their experience.

If you're wondering what tricks and tips hotels may be using to make their rooms smell so good (and for so long), you've come to the right place. I talked to cleaners, professional organizers and aroma experts to discover their best advice on quick and easy methods to make a room designed for a guest smell heavenly.

These are the tricks I learned that are sure to make your guest bedroom feel more expensive (and smell more expensive!) You'll be surprised by their simplicity and effectiveness. Here's what to do.

1. Use Baking Soda on Rugs

Guest bedrooms are generally less frequented spaces in our homes, which means they don't get aired out as much, and it's easy for musty odors to get trapped in soft furnishings, like carpets and rugs. You most likely won't even realize that an odor has been accumulating until it becomes overpowering.

Fortunately, there's an easy fix that will leave your guest bedroom smelling notably fresher for at least a week afterwards. Karina Toner, operations manager at Spekless, a top-rated DC cleaning service, says, "Sprinkling baking soda lightly over your carpets and rugs, then allowing it to sit for 15-20 minutes before vacuuming will help neutralize odors."

As well as cleaning a rug with baking soda, it's always a good idea to air your rugs outside on the washing line before guests come to stay. This is particularly helpful if you decided to vacuum your rugs with carpet shampoo as it will help them to dry.

Aim to keep pets out of the guest space if possible once your cleaning is done, and if you're looking for something else to clean your carpets, Karina suggests trying the Arm & Hammer Carpet & Room Extra Strength Odor Eliminator, available at Target.

2. Use Linen Spray

When it comes to the best bedroom finishing touches to take from hotels, spritzing just the right amount of scented sprays onto bed linens and curtains is definitely a trick to steal.

Muffetta Krueger, founder of Muffetta Domestic Assistants, says, "For that extra touch of warmth and fragrance, lightly spritz the bedding and pillows with a linen spray." She recommends opting for a subtle and natural scent, like lavender or eucalyptus, "which are soothing but not overpowering."

She adds that you can easily DIY your own linen spray, too. "Mix water with a few drops of essential oil, and a little vodka or witch hazel will do the trick," she says. "Just mist it lightly over the sheets — a little goes a long way."

Spekless' Karina recommends spraying your guest's bedding lightly with Mrs Meyer's products just before they arrive to allow the scent to last as long as possible, which is usually a few days.

3. Diffuse Hotel-Esque Essential Oils

Using the best essential oil diffusers in any room will help create a lovely aroma, but did you know that most hotels rotate between a few different scents to create a signature? They typically combine rich-luxurious fragrances designed to promote sleep (such as lavender), and you can apply the same technique in your guest bedroom.

"Many luxury hotels have signature scents designed to relax guests and enhance the sense of cleanliness," says Muffetta. "Look for scents like bergamot, sandalwood, lavender, or jasmine, which are commonly used in high-end hotels," she says, adding that some of her favorites include the Ritz-Carlton's candles or the Westin hotel's White Tea Diffuser.

Fragrance design manager at Air Aroma, Jolene van Roemburg, echoes the power of using a diffuser to cultivate an incredible smelling guest bedroom. "Nothing will work as instantly, powerfully, and as easily as an electronic scent diffuser to make a guest bedroom smell lovely," she says. "Scent diffusers will quickly scent a space without adding any smoke and will last much longer than a simple spritz, too. I recommend keeping one or two select scent oils in the room for your guests to choose from during their stay, and keeping the diffuser at, or slightly above or below nose height for the best scent experience."

4. Incorporate Flowers

Whether you've got a large space, or you're trying to make the most of a small guestroom, adding a bunch of flowers is a simple thing that can really go a long way in terms of your guest's experience. Scenting the space for three to five days, they not only smell good but look beautiful too.

"Flowers such as roses, lilies, or peonies add a natural, elegant scent to a room while doubling as beautiful décor," says Karina. "Bouqs Co. Fresh Flowers are a convenient source for beautifully scented arrangements."

Another alternative to using fresh florals is to create a simmer pot, which lets the luscious scent waft through your home. Plus, it's highly customizable to suit a guest's taste or to match the season.

"Simmering citrus peels, cinnamon sticks, or cloves on the stove releases natural, warm aromas that drift through the house," says Karina. "All you would need to do is simmer the ingredients in a small pot of water on the stove for about 30 minutes, leaving the door to the guest bedroom open so the scent wafts through." Plus, the boiled fruit and spice mixture also doubles up as a delicious tea you could drink with your guests.

5. Create a Self-Care Welcome Basket

Mindy Godding, certified professional organizer, owner of Abundance Organizing and president of the National Association of Productivity and Organizing professionals, says it's important to remember that not everyone has the same preference or tolerance for fragrance. Get it wrong, and it could completely ruin their stay.

"I recommend putting together a small basket of an assortment of sweet-smelling products (like lotion, room spray, soap, and essential oils) that guests are encouraged to use for convenience during their stay," she says. "Your guests feel pampered and get to choose the scents that they like best."

6. Neutralize Odors

But sometimes, the best thing to do for guests is to have a neutral odor in their room, which means avoiding using harsh cleaning chemicals days prior to their stay. Jessica Cormier of odor-eliminating brand, Dead Scent, recommends using an enzyme spray to achieve this, as it's a cleaning product that aims to neutralize as well as freshen up an area.

"Enzyme sprays are awesome," says Jessica. "Instead of just masking a smell like air fresheners tend to do, enzymes actually break down the source of the odor on a molecular level. It’s like tackling the root of the problem instead of trying to mask it. A good one — like the ones we swear by — won’t leave any overpowering fragrance behind. It’s more of a neutral finish, which a lot of people prefer in their homes."

If you use an enzyme spray such as the Dead Scent Ultimate Enzyme Spray when cleaning your guest bedroom, you can expect the room to be odor-free for days and up to a week, depending on the levels of humidity and ventilation in your house.

FAQ

Based on the experts tips and tricks, the best ways to make your guest bedroom smell like a hotel is to introduce high-quality home fragrances like essential oils and linen sprays. You can also include thoughtful gestures like a scent-filled welcome basket, or a bunch of flowers beside their bed. After all, who doesn't like entering their hotel room to find a complimentary bottle of champagne, or a thoughtfully worded card on the bed? It's all about the little details that your guests may not even consciously notice, but will contribute to the overall quality of their stay.