Krystal Aire Inn & Suites unveils a bright idea

The 102-unit hotel – formerly the Pear Tree Inn – opened in March 2004 after an extensive renovation to make it a nonsmoking facility. Now hotel operators are taking it one step further by installing energy-efficient, odor-eliminating light bulbs.

The light bulbs were introduced to the Springfield hotel by Ray Burger, president of Pineapple Hospitality in St. Charles. Burger has served as a consultant for Krystal Aire Inn & Suites since it opened, providing hotel management with expertise and ideas for running a successful nonsmoking facility.

A better bulb

“These light bulbs provided us two things,” said Lonnie Funk, president of Rolling Oaks Hospitality, Krystal Aire Inn & Suites’ management company. “They provided us higher efficiency at a lower expense and most importantly for us because we’re trying to establish a clean-air environment, they’re also an odor-eating bulb, so it helps dissolve some of those body odors or people odors when people are in the room or after they leave the room.”

Funk said the hotel, owned by Drury Properties Inc., is continually looking for more economical ways of operating the business. While the initial investment was substantial – the light bulbs cost about $5 each and the hotel has around 600 bulbs – they each last around 10,000 hours versus traditional light bulbs that last around 1,000 hours.

“These are compact, fluorescent light bulbs,” said Burger, whose company promotes and distributes a variety of “green” items to the hospitality industry. “They’re about four times more energy efficient than a normal incandescent light bulb, which obviously has some nice financial ramifications. But it lessons the utility bill and at the same time, it also has some environmental benefits and it helps reduce global warming because you’re not using as much power.”

The light bulbs are coated on the inside with titanium dioxide, Burger said, and when the ultraviolet ray from inside the light bulb comes in contact with that chemical it warms up. After about 10 minutes, the bulb starts emitting a very low level of ozone, which neutralizes particles that have odors attached to them.

“We want to be the freshest hotel in Springfield,” said hotel General Manager Bethany Martorana.

Martorana said the light bulbs may not be something guests realize are there, but they are able to tell a difference between Krystal Aire and other hotels.

Beyond that, Funk said guests appreciate the hotel’s environmental concerns.

“I think that people have become more aware of the environment around them,” said Funk. “A lot of people have asthma or some sort of lung problem or just plain hate cigarette smoke.”

Niche hotel

The light bulbs are just one more amenity to help the hotel stand out in the crowd.

“When you’re not a major brand and you’re trying to create your own niche, every little thing that you can come up with that can help you to solidify yourself in there or make people more aware of you helps,” Funk said.

“It’s tough competing against the Hamptons, the Holiday Inns and the Drurys of the world when nobody knows who you are.”

But being a nonbranded hotel also has its advantages, said Funk.

“We don’t have to pay any royalty or franchise fees, which saves you about 10 percent of your revenue, and all that flows into your bottom line,” said Funk, who declined to discuss overall hotel revenues. “So even though my occupancies might suffer a little bit because I don’t have the same brand recognition, I also don’t have the same level of expenses.”

Martorana said large groups are especially fond of the hotel because they can be guaranteed all nonsmoking rooms, unlike a hotel that only has a designated number of nonsmoking rooms.

The average cost for a room is $68 and the hotel has a pool, fitness center and wireless Internet access.

Funk said he is continually looking for the right location for another hotel.

“The optimal situation for us is probably to be around a medical community,” Funk said. “I think that’s a good, natural spot for us.”

Krystal Aire Inn & Suites

Owner: Drury Properties Inc.

Founded: March 2004

Address: 2745 N. Glenstone, MO 65803

Phone: (417) 869-0001

Fax: (417) 869-9146

Web site: www.krystalaire.com

Services/Products: Hotel with all nonsmoking rooms

Employees: 18

Did You Know?

Guests at Krystal Aire Inn & Suites sign an agreement that they will not smoke in the room. Violators – which are a rare occurrence – are charged $150. The fee helps offset the three-to-five-day process of cleaning the room from top to bottom to bring it back to nonsmoking status.