Scientists are hard at work trying to create allergy-friendly hotel rooms. With luck, reduced-allergy or allergy-free homes won't be far behind.

The University of Buffalo reported today (July 18, 2006) that researchers from its Industry-University Center for Biosurfaces (IUCB) are analyzing results from one of the first scientific air-quality tests of "allergy-friendly" hotel rooms. Their temporary laboratory was the Buffalo Niagara Marriott in Amherst NY (see a related update at the bottom of this page), where a team sought to determine how novel cleaning processes and air-purification devices affect indoor air quality.

A small but growing number of hotels already offer what they claim to be allergy-friendly accommodations. In fact, some hotel patrons think allergy-free rooms are worth paying a premium for, according to a January 2005 study conducted by Cornell University's Survey Research Institute. Problem is, little scientific evidence exists to prove such rooms are effective.

Enter the university's researchers, who treated four "allergy-friendly" Marriott rooms with test products, and then measured more than 25 components of air quality inside each. They tested, minute-by-minute, for large and small particles, volatile organic compounds (chemical off-gassing), radon, ozone, carbon monoxide, and viable and non-viable fungi. Early reviews from the treated rooms showed counts of breathable particles -- the things that cause or exacerbate many allergies -- were about 75 percent lower than counts in an untreated room.

Five Western New York companies that make or sell cleaning or air-purifying products donated materials and assistance to the project. "These companies are anxious to demonstrate and confirm the scientific basis for their techniques and so are we" said Dr. Robert Baier, IUCB executive director and professor of oral diagnostic sciences in Buffalo's School of Dental Medicine. Final test results are expected to be released by Fall 2006.

Real estate practitioners are often acutely aware of problems caused by poor indoor air quality. Radon testing is a required contingency in agreements of home sales in many states. Courtrooms across the country remain the setting for lawsuits over viable and non-viable fungi -- molds -- found growing in houses that suffered from water damage which buyers claim was not suitably disclosed. Volatile organic compounds -- the gasses emitted by some paints, adhesives and insulation used inside a home -- also have been the subjects of real estate-related lawsuits.

Research like that conducted in Buffalo won't solve potential disclosure issues; only licensee diligence and seller honesty can meet those needs. But in homes where removing or reducing allergens can significantly improve the occupants' quality of life, today's announcement of preliminary test results is welcome news.

July 20, 2006, Related Update
All North American hotels and corporate apartments -- not just rooms, but entire properties -- that are part of the Marriott chain will be smoke-free starting this September, according to a story published July 19 by USA Today. Mariott's announcement follows similar declarations made in January by the Westin hotel group, and in March by Disneyland Resorts in Anaheim CA.