The Nevada Hotel and Lodging Association (NHLA) named FreshAir Sensor Supplier of the Year at its 2023 Stars of the Industry Hospitality Awards Gala at the Four Seasons in Las Vegas.

The award recognizes FreshAir’s exceptional service to the hospitality industry, the community and Nevada.

The Supplier of the Year Award highlights the effectiveness of FreshAir’s patented, revolutionary sensor technology to tackle the problem of unauthorized tobacco and marijuana smoking in hotel rooms and suites.

 

FreshAir Sensor President, Jack O’Toole, accepting the Nevada Hotel & Lodging Association Supplier of the Year award

FreshAir Smoking Alerts provide immediate, indisputable proof of tobacco and marijuana smoking.

The FreshAir Smoking Detection Systems generates instant, positive financial and operational returns for hotel clients with the only sensors that can detect smoking on a molecular level.

Constantly juggling many priorities and vendors, casino hotel executives remark how easy it is to install and set up FreshAir Smoking Detection Devices.

Hotel managers say scientific proof from FreshAir Smoking Sensors enables them to reduce smoking, charge cleaning fees, and avoid chargebacks.

Feedback from casino hotel executives:

“I have dealt with at least a dozen different vendors in my 21 years at this company, and FreshAir Sensor has been one of the best! We have direct contact with an account representative who is able to answer any questions we have, most times the same day. In the casino industry that’s rare.” – Mary Wren, Mohegan Sun

“FreshAir Sensor pays for itself, and the guests have a better room. Guests are notified as soon as they smoke, not at the end of their stay which could give them multiple smoking opportunities.” – Trinity Updegrove, Bally’s

“I expected this program to cost us a good amount, and we wouldn’t see a return. I am happy to say that over a year later, our compensation offered per occupied room is way down. Furthermore, we have actually generated revenue from the program that was double the cost of the program.”
– Hotel Executive, 2,000 room luxury casino hotel

“We haven’t lost any chargebacks as guests have not even tried. Once the evidence is shown to them, they tend to just give up.”
– Mary Wren, Mohegan Sun

“Once we implemented it, we collected more smoking fees in the first few months than we’d successfully collected in the three years prior. This system changed our ability to collect on fees in a positive way. Also, word got around, and smoking in the rooms has gradually decreased.”
– Matthew Ulm, Treasure Bay Casino and Hotel

“The use of FreshAir Sensor’s technology has allowed us to create a cleaner and more pleasant atmosphere for our guests, while adding revenue for our hotel operation. We now feel closer to being able to ‘certify’ or guarantee a non-smoking experience for our hotel guests… Our Market Metric scores have gone up, because our complaints have gone down.”
– Hotel Executive, Urban Casino Hotel

“In our first 6 months, I have paid the lease fee for the next 3 years already! Beyond the revenue from fees, compensation due to rooms smelling like smoke has easily been cut in half. We see benefit on the cleaning side as well. Less burn holes in carpets, less odor elimination chemical being purchased.”
– Mary Wren, Mohegan Sun

The award also recognizes FreshAir’s active engagement with NHLA and its members.

NHLA showcases FreshAir’s expertise in no-smoking policy and procedure enforcement on its Master Key Blog:

• • Scientific Proof of Smoking Removes Ambiguity for Hoteliers: Unlike traditional smoke detectors that indiscriminately indicate any particles, FreshAir’s novel and patented sensors bind only with specific molecules that are present when someone is actively smoking tobacco or marijuana. FreshAir sensors are not fooled by candles, incense, dust, pollen, steam, or other non-smoking sources. When hotel clients receive FreshAir smoking alerts, they have reliable, stand-alone proof of the smoking incident … read more

• • New Technology Reduces Smoking and Increases Revenue: FreshAir Sensor provides a timestamped chart of smoking event, providing scientific proof that smoking took place. When cleaning fees are charged, the hotel is consistently able to collect them, and the credit card processing companies accept FreshAir Sensor’s charts as evidence of smoking … read more

• Casino Hotels Surprised to See Immediate Return on Investment from Smoking Detection Sensors: Casino hotel executives are reporting positive financial and operational results from revolutionary tobacco and marijuana smoking sensors in their guest rooms and suites … read more

FreshAir produces webinars for NHLA members, such as “Smoking Violations at Your Hotel?” where participants discussed:

• Actual cost of smoking policy violations;
• Impact of COVID on guests’ perceptions;
• Solutions for detecting, proving, and charging for smoking incidents (even without physical evidence); and
• Multi-year study case study for a casino hotel.

FreshAir executives serve on NHLA’s Clean and Green Committee and Technology Committee helping to organize events, create educational content, and enhance professional development:

• Clean and Green Committee: Promotes best practices in housekeeping and sustainability, efficiency, communication, education, and environmental practices in today’s hospitality industry. The focus is on best operational practices to reduce costs while increasing guest satisfaction.
• Technology Committee: Ensures new industry trends, technologies, current issues, and resources are made available to all NHLA members.

For NHLA’s 2023 Industry Awards, FreshAir Sensor sponsored the Safety, Security or Risk Management Star of the Year.

About FreshAir’s Patented Smoking Sensors:

• The Only Sensor that Detects Smoking on a Molecular Level – proprietary technology specifically detects only tobacco and marijuana smoke.
• Immediate Results Improve Financials and Operations – increased cleaning fee revenue, fewer customer complaints, reduced cleaning costs, and better guest reviews.
• Proven in the Real World – 24×7 monitoring and reporting in tens of millions of room nights, 11 US patents, and court case validated.
• Used by Top Hotels and Casinos – thousands of hotels across the country using FreshAir Smoking Sensors for indisputable proof of smoking.
• Essential to Staying Smoke-Free – FreshAir Smoking Sensors are not “nice to have,” they are “need-to-have” to maintain smoke-free and clean hotels.
• FreshAir Stands Behind Every Sensor and Hotel Client – American made and dedicated support for each property.
• Plug and Play Installation – simple and secure WiFi setup with no special software or expensive integration – solving headaches without creating headaches!

BusinessNH Magazine again named FreshAir Sensor one of the best companies to work for in the state of New Hampshire.

Moving up in the 2023 ranking to number seven, FreshAir excelled in the Employee Engagement Survey and continued to demonstrate its creative and exceptional commitment to a fulfilling and functional work experience.

In its ranking, BusinessNH “recognized businesses that go out of their way to create engaging workplaces and understand that fulfilled employees are more productive.”

Based on the “10 Practical Employee Engagement Steps That Drive Results” in Louder Than Words by Bob Kelleher, the survey gathers feedback and ratings from employees.

The results for FreshAir Sensor show remarkably consistent and high ratings. In all of the categories listed below, FreshAir scored between 94% and 100%:

An original study published by researchers at San Diego State University (SDSU) reveals that many “smoke-free” hotels expose guests to thirdhand smoke.

Thirdhand smoke is the chemical residue that is left behind on clothes, skin, furniture, walls, and other surfaces after someone smokes.

According to one of the study’s researchers, Georg Matt, an SDSU professor of psychology and public health, “Many hotels claim to offer their guests smoke-free rooms, but cannot live up to this promise.”

The researchers analyzed more than 332,000 hotel guest reviews from stays in 477 hotels in the United States. The analysis revealed that 10% of reviews for non-smoking rooms include complaints about smoking.

Of these complaints, 80% were about thirdhand smoke residue left behind in hotel rooms from smoking by previous guests. In the worst offending hotels, up to 25 of 100 guest reviews included complaints about thirdhand smoke from tobacco.

What can hotels do? Matt said: “Hotels must continually educate and remind their guests about smoke-free policies and consequences, and train their staff to monitor and enforce compliance.”

According to a summary of the study, “If hotels protect guests by fully committing to, implementing, and enforcing 100% smoke-free building policies … guests will have more positive experiences that will likely reflect in their reviews and ratings.”

As reported in an industry study about the actual costs of smoking in hotel rooms, “Lost revenue from reputation damage incurred by negative online reviews account for 65% of the entire cost of a single smoking event.”

FreshAir Sensor provides a novel and effective solution to enforce no-smoking policies in hotels.

FreshAir Smoking Sensors are the only technology available to specifically monitor for, immediately detect, and scientifically prove the presence of combusted tobacco and marijuana.

Disclaimer: Please note that FreshAir solutions are not designed for in-home or consumer use. If interested in bringing vaping detection to your schools, please refer your school officials to the FreshAir website.

A quarter or more of all kids and teens vape or smoke, and the majority of youth who use nicotine do so using e-cigarette technology.1 Although the research on the health risks of vaping is still ongoing, longstanding knowledge about the risk of nicotine use generally indicates that the rapidly rising vaping rates among kids and teens presents a public health crisis. Risks to brain development, lung capacity, and more are serious. What’s more, research has shown that vaping among youth is a significant risk factor for beginning to smoke traditional cigarettes, which carries further health risks.2

Students tend to hide vape use from parents, teachers, and other adults, so detection is a central part of prevention. One of the most significant issues in prevention efforts focused on kids and teens is finding ways to introduce detection – and thus supervision – in spaces where adult supervision is not typically possible. School bathrooms and locker rooms, for example, have low to no supervision and are currently hotspots for vaping in schools. Promising new vaping detection technology being developed may hold the key to reducing student vaping rates in schools and thus to helping teens to quit before they become addicted to nicotine.

FreshAir vaping detection technology, funded by NIH grants, is similar to biological receptors; it detects only molecules specific to vaping. The sensors have high sensitivity (i.e., can detect low levels of the substance) and high selectivity (i.e., specified to vaping substances alone). The sensors will specifically detect vaping and provide scientific proof of when it took place. These sensors were developed in the FreshAir lab and are currently being commercialized for use in middle schools and high schools. The sensors will allow for monitoring of students in environments where adults will not always be present. Stay tuned for where the research and develoment take FreshAir in 2021.

¹ CDC, Tobacco Product Use and Associated Factors Among Middle and High School Students — United States, 2019, https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/68/ss/ss6812a1.htm; NCBI, e-Cigarette Use Among Youth in the United States, 2019, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6865299/.

² NCBI, e-Cigarette Use Among Youth in the United States, 2019, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6865299/; Truth Initiative, Why Vaping is an Important Issue, https://truthinitiative.org/our-top-issues/vaping-issue.

BusinessNH Magazine named FreshAir Sensor one of the best companies to work for in the state of New Hampshire.

Ranked in the top 25, FreshAir excelled in the Employee Engagement Survey and demonstrated a creative and exceptional commitment to a fulfilling and functional work experience.

In its ranking, BusinessNH “recognized businesses that go out of their way to create engaging workplaces and understand that fulfilled employees are more productive.”

Based on the “10 Practical Employee Engagement Steps That Drive Results” in Louder Than Words by Bob Kelleher, the survey gathers feedback and ratings from employees.

The results for FreshAir Sensor show remarkably consistent and high ratings. In all of the categories listed below, FreshAir scored between 94% and 100%:

Disclaimer: Please note that FreshAir solutions are not designed for in-home or consumer use. If interested in bringing vaping detection to your schools, please refer your school officials to the FreshAir website.

A quarter or more of all kids and teens vape or smoke, and the majority of youth who use nicotine do so using e-cigarette technology.1 Although the research on the health risks of vaping is still ongoing, longstanding knowledge about the risk of nicotine use generally indicates that the rapidly rising vaping rates among kids and teens presents a public health crisis. Risks to brain development, lung capacity, and more are serious. What’s more, research has shown that vaping among youth is a significant risk factor for beginning to smoke traditional cigarettes, which carries further health risks.2

Students tend to hide vape use from parents, teachers, and other adults, so detection is a central part of prevention. One of the most significant issues in prevention efforts focused on kids and teens is finding ways to introduce detection – and thus supervision – in spaces where adult supervision is not typically possible. School bathrooms and locker rooms, for example, have low to no supervision and are currently hotspots for vaping in schools. Promising new vaping detection technology being developed may hold the key to reducing student vaping rates in schools and thus to helping teens to quit before they become addicted to nicotine.

FreshAir vaping detection technology, funded by NIH grants, is similar to biological receptors; it detects only molecules specific to vaping. The sensors have high sensitivity (i.e., can detect low levels of the substance) and high selectivity (i.e., specified to vaping substances alone). The sensors will specifically detect vaping and provide scientific proof of when it took place. These sensors were developed in the FreshAir lab and are currently being commercialized for use in middle schools and high schools. The sensors will allow for monitoring of students in environments where adults will not always be present. Stay tuned for where the research and develoment take FreshAir in 2021.

¹ CDC, Tobacco Product Use and Associated Factors Among Middle and High School Students — United States, 2019, https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/68/ss/ss6812a1.htm; NCBI, e-Cigarette Use Among Youth in the United States, 2019, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6865299/.

² NCBI, e-Cigarette Use Among Youth in the United States, 2019, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6865299/; Truth Initiative, Why Vaping is an Important Issue, https://truthinitiative.org/our-top-issues/vaping-issue.