Wyndham hotels worldwide will soon cater to travelers suffering from allergies and asthma, Wyndham Hotels and Resorts recently announced. As part of the brand's new Wyndham ClearAir initiative, all Wyndham properties will be required to make 10 percent of their room inventory, or a minimum of 25 rooms, allergy-friendly by the end of 2009.

"We want to offer Wyndham guests amenities that are smart, innovative and, more important, useful," Wyndham President Peter Strebel said in a statement. "As travelers continue to focus on wellness, we're excited to offer ClearAir rooms as a healthy amenity for Wyndham guests and meeting attendees."

Already available in eight Wyndham hotels, ClearAir rooms feature walls, carpeting, bedcovers and fabrics that are sanitized and treated with a long-lasting microbial shield that makes them free of odors and resistant to both bacteria and viruses. What's more, they sport medical-grade air purification systems that remove up to 98 percent of all allergens and are cleaned with tea tree oil, which acts as a natural antiseptic and disinfectant in order to maintain clean air conditions.

Meeting rooms at Wyndham hotels will feature similar but even stronger air purification systems; they'll purify air at greater intensity and filter it eight times more frequently than standard air-handling systems in order to achieve 99.9 percent effective treatment of air and surfaces inside hotels' meeting spaces.

Wyndham, which is the first national upscale lodging chain to mandate allergy-friendly rooms, says its ClearAir rooms are a response to guest concerns over rising consumer health issues and costs associated with allergic reactions. One in four Americans suffer from asthma and allergies, it points out, citing the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America. This page is protected by Copyright laws. Do Not Copy