InterContinental San Francisco to Test Out Molekule Air Purifier

The four-star 556-room InterContinental San Francisco announced its plan to test out devices from air purification company Molekule. The hotel will introduce the company’s product in 30 guest rooms and assess how they affect sleep quality and allergy symptoms in the following four months.

Molekule has designed its devices to destroy air pollutants at a molecular level. This ensures that they are not simply caught on a filter and then later re-released back into the air, as can happen with traditional HEPA filters. The company’s technology uses photo electrochemical oxidation to destroy bacteria, mold, dust and toxic gas.

This partnership with InterContinental San Francisco is the first of its kind for Molekule. To measure the devices’ impact, participating guests can volunteer to log and share their sleep and breathing experience before and after their hotel stay. InterContinental San Francisco expects the pilot program to reach over 1,000 guests between January and May this year.

According to Molekule’s CEO Dilip Goswami, high foot traffic, frequent use of cleaning products and windows that are not frequently opened all present hotels with unique challenges to maintaining air quality. Since research has linked air pollution to worse sleep, the project presents a new way for hotels to try to improve sleep quality, outside of using high-quality linens, deluxe mattresses and noise-cancelling technology.

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