Pubs see scents on smells

Pubs and nightclubs are looking at the use of artificial scents to disguise the smell of stale beer and sweat that used to be masked by cigarettes before the smoking ban.

West Midlands-based Mitchells & Butlers (M&B) has been testing the scents of ocean breezes and freshly cut grass at four of its Scottish pubs.

M&B, which adopted the name of the historic Black Country brewing business, manages 2,000 pubs in the UK.

Oliver Devine, senior marketing manager at the Sizzling Pub Company, part of M&B, said: "Appetising food smells have increased but others are less attractive, such as stale food and beer, damp, sweat and body odour, drains and - how do you put this nicely? - flatulence."

The chain has already tried out an "ozonic" fragrance that attempts to emulate the scent of a sea breeze at four suburban pubs in Edinburgh and Glasgow, where a smoking ban was introduced 12 months ago.

"We are considering trialling the smell of leather, which suggests luxury and indulgence, and cut grass, which is clean and domestic," said Mr Devine.

Despite Mr Devine's positive comments, M&B has decided against the scheme.

In a statement today the company said: "Mitchells & Butlers does not use artificial scent in any of its businesses with the exception of four pubs in Scotland, which have been involved in a small-scale trial of aroma systems. At no time was the scent of tobacco considered as part of this testing.

"The trial will shortly conclude and we have no intention of installing these or any other aroma systems in our pubs."

But other companies have a different opinion, notably the company's biggest nightclub chain, Luminar.

Luminar, which owns 122 nightclubs across Britain, has already started pumping a scent over the dance floors of some of its bigger venues, including its flagship Oceana nightclubs in Wolverhampton, Birmingham, Coventry, Uxbridge, Kingston-upon-Thames and St Albans.

The initiative is now being rolled out across all Oceana and Liquid nightclubs. The firm's quest to sniff out England's sweetest scent, to mask the unpleasant odours of sweaty bodies and spilled beer, led them to poll 3,000 adults.

It found the favourite scents were freshly cut grass, the sea and fresh flowers.

Luminar has combined these natural scents into a perfume called Hydro-Spa which it will be pumping into its venues via existing air conditioning units.

Hotels are also looking at the use of scents. Jeff Mariola, president of Rentokil Initial's ambience division, which is supplying Marriott hotels with bar perfumes, has suggested that the aroma of malted hops could encourage beer drinking and mask the smell of drinks trodden into the floor.