A guest walking into a homestay or a small shop has usually finished judging it in the first three seconds, and most of that happens before they have had a chance to look around. The eyes see the light, the ears hear the music, and the nose receives the smell of the place. Scent is the thing least cared for, and yet it stays in memory the longest.
To the hosts and owners who message us, our first suggestion is always to choose a single direction of scent for your whole place and then keep it for a long time. One direction kept across many months becomes a sign by which the place is recognised, much as a shop is remembered for its wooden chair or for its window corner.
The entrance, the hallway and inside the room
The entrance is the place most worth investing in, because it makes the opening line for the whole space. A reed diffuser on a shelf at chest height, slightly out of the draught from the door, is the neatest way. It works all day, needs no flame, needs nobody watching, and you turn the reeds when the scent seems fainter than you like.
The hallway and the bathroom should also use a diffuser, because these are places where few people stay long yet a steady scent is still needed. As for the living room of a homestay, we often suggest putting a candle jar on the table along with a small note for guests, so they light it while they are in the room and blow it out before going out. That way gives guests a real experience and keeps everything safe.
With a café there is one thing to balance. The smell of coffee roasting and brewing is the main scent of that place, and it deserves the lead role. So we usually advise keeping fragrance at the entrance and in the outer area, while around the bar everything is given over to coffee.
Caring for scent as one small daily task
The rhythm of turning the reeds changes with region, with temperature and with humidity, so the surest way is to note a little down in the first week. In the morning when you open up, walk in from the street and try the scent of the room with a fresh nose, then decide whether to turn them that day. After a few weeks, you will know the rhythm your place needs.
The rainy season and the dry season need two different ways. In damp weather the scent travels slowly, so use fewer reeds. In dry weather, with fans and air conditioning running often, the scent goes fast, so add reeds. That is the whole interest of a reed diffuser: it lives by the weather of your place.
For places needing several bottles at once, message us so we can discuss quantity and regular sending separately. The workshop is at no. 31, DM6, Van Phuc craft village, and you are welcome to come and try in person if you would like to hear each direction of scent before choosing.
A few questions you often send us
Should a homestay use candles or a diffuser
A reed diffuser for the entrance, hallway and shared areas, because it is steady all day. Candles belong in the living room with a small note, for the times a guest is present.
Should a café use fragrance
Put the scent at the entrance and in the outer area, while around the bar let the smell of coffee take the lead. That way the two work together without overlapping.
How often should the reeds be turned in a shop
Turn them when the scent seems fainter than you like, usually every few days, and that rhythm changes with the season and the humidity of your region.
Read more choosing between essential oil and a diffuser, scents for the bedroom and the living room, and the way to the workshop in Van Phuc.