The newest hotel amenity? Air scrubbed of viruses
When the coronavirus first hit, hotels quickly adopted enhanced cleaning polices, including germ- killing electrostatic spraying and ultraviolet light exposure in guest rooms and public areas.
But as research on virus spread has shifted focus from surface contact to airborne transmission, some hotels and cruise ships are scrubbing the very air travelers breathe with a variety of air filtration and treatment systems.
“The best amenity that any hotel could provide under those circumstances is safety, especially in the air,” said Carlos Sarmiento, the general manager of the Hotel Paso del Norte in El Paso, Texas. The 1912 vintage hotel recently reopened after a fouryear renovation that included installing a new air purification system called Plasma Air that emits charged ions intended to neutralize the virus and make particles easier to filter out.
With the new air- scrubbing campaigns, hotels are following airlines, many of which have hospitalgrade, high- efficiency particulate air ( HEPA) filters that are said to be over 99% effective in capturing tiny virus particles, including the coronavirus.
Hotels and cruise ships can more easily ensure social distancing than airplanes, but, given the recent research on the importance of enhanced air filtration, some are adding air- cleaning dimensions to their heating, ventilation and air conditioning ( HVAC) systems, which already aim to remove dust, smoke, odors and allergens.
How air is purified. Researchers, including those at New Orleans’ Tulane University, have found that the tiny aerosol particles of SARS- CoV- 2 that are emitted when someone with the virus speaks or breathes can remain in the air for up to 16 hours.
Along with social distancing, mask wearing is the first line of defense against breathing contaminated air indoors, said Dr. Philip M. Tierno Jr., a professor of microbiology and pathology at New York University School of Medicine, who has consulted with HVAC companies.
“HVAC systems are of great significance in reducing the amount of airborne particles since this virus can be spread in an airborne fashion,” he added, calling the tiniest aerosols “the most dangerous.”
There are several ways to remove these particles, he explained, including fresh- air ventilation, which dilutes the pathogens.
Air cleaning technologies include bipolar ionization systems, which, according to their manufacturers, send charged ions out on air currents that damage the surface of the virus and inactivate it. They may also bind with the virus aerosols, causing them to fall or be more easily filtered out.
Some antiviral HVAC systems feature germicidal ultraviolet light in the ductwork ( the Food and Drug Administration states that ultraviolet- C lamps have been shown to inactivate the virus). Such a system was installed at The Distillery Inn in Carbondale, and includes a three- hour disinfection cycle between guests.
Systems often use a combination of these technologies with efficient air filters that remove contaminants. Filters with Minimum Efficiency Reporting Values ( MERV) of 13 or higher are best at capturing the coronavirus, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
According to its website, the agency “recommends increasing ventilation with outdoor air and air filtration as important components of a larger strategy that includes social distancing, wearing cloth face coverings or masks, surface cleaning and disinfecting, hand- washing, and other precautions.”
From property- wide to portable. Throughout the summer, the Madison Beach Hotel, part of Hilton’s Curio Collection of hotels, in Madison, Conn., used its outdoor spaces for dining and even holding meetings in tents. But with the approach of cold weather, HVAC contractors installed an air purification system that uses UV light and ionized hydrogen peroxide in most public areas of the hotel, including the indoor restaurant and meeting rooms. Spa treatment rooms each have their own portable air purification systems.
“We wanted to create an environment that was as safe as possible,” said John Mathers, the hotel’s general manager, adding that each guest room has its own closed HVAC system that doesn’t mingle with others and thus doesn’t require extra purifying. “The air being recirculated in your room is your air.”
But many hotels are bringing units into the guest rooms for extra assurance.
Attempting to breathe easy on cruise ships. The 112- passenger SeaDream I from the SeaDream Yacht Club took many precautions — including pre- embarkation COVID- 19 testing, electrostatic fogging of public areas and UV light sterilization after nightly turndown — before it launched its winter season from Barbados on Nov. 7, and still a passenger got the virus within days of departure, cutting the trip short. Eventually nine infections were diagnosed and the line canceled future 2020 sailings.
Adopting systems that are “aimed at reducing occupant exposure to infectious droplets/ aerosols,” and upgrading HVAC systems with MERV 13 filters were among 74 critical recommendations to ship lines made by the Healthy Sail Panel, a group of public health experts assembled by Royal Caribbean Group and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings in September.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention maintains that ships remain vulnerable to spreading infection based on population density and the inability of crew in particular to maintain social distance in their workspaces and living quarters.