Environmental fragrancing

The key to a successful night out is a good ambience – but the smoking ban has uncovered several unsavoury smells which affect the perception of the evening say scientists who suggest masking these smells with something sweeter.

The familiar but unpleasant smell of cigarette smoke on clothing after a night out is no more, but it used to mask the unwanted stench of old beer and body odour in nightclubs, restaurants and bars. Science is intervening to see how introducing pleasant, ambient scents that mask the odours might enhance the nightlife experience.

Researcher in the Netherlands tested the impact of dispersing three scents – relaxing orange, stimulating peppermint and neutral seawater – in a nightclub environment. They targeted three distinct dance clubs in cities with a high student population, observing the level of dancing in male and female customers. They then asked 849 of them to fill out a short questionnaire asking how they rated the evening, the music and the club, as well as how they were feeling.

The results showed the introduction of scents positively influenced dancing, enjoyment, music and mood – although there was no effect between the scents. The scents increased the dancing activity and participants rated the evening and the music more positively. They were also more cheerful when the pleasant scents were diffused than without them.

“Given the visitors gave a better evaluation for the clubs, felt more cheerful, and showed more dancing activity when scents were diffused, environmental fragrancing may be expected to have a positive effect of visitor return rate and future revenue for clubs,” said Dr Hendrick Schifferstein from Deflt University.