Room to Breathe (RTB) are an exhibitor at Cruise Ship Interiors Design Expo Europe. Providing safe, clean indoor environments for the hospitality industry, Room to Breathe supply a certified ‘Peace of Mind’ to cruise lines, hotels, and accommodations worldwide. Today we’re talking to Gordon Bruce, Director, about how the cruise lines can move forward with confidence, and why Room to Breathe is an essential on board.
Thanks for speaking with us today. To start with, can you tell us a bit about the history of Room to Breathe, and your experience?
Room to Breathe was conceived mid 2019 and launched just towards the end of the year. Room to Breathe is based upon our products that were part of our ‘Kill, Prevent, Protect’ biosecurity system. By adding some additional products and services we created Room to Breathe to be a softer image for the hospitality sector. I have personally been involved with these products for the past 10 years raising awareness and trying to educate people regarding the potential harm from poor indoor air. My colleague Dr Chris Pearson has been on this journey for over 20 years and has found that human nature has not allowed these groundbreaking solutions to be really difficult for people to identify with.
Can you give us a brief outline of your product and why it is necessary on cruise ships?
Like any indoor space our system is vital to reduce the impact from ‘unseen’ contaminates. In the hospitality sector, and in particular hotels and cruise ships, these issues are magnified with the high turnover of guests, living habits and cleanliness. Transfer of infectious disease has always been an issue in these environments – and no one needs to be told how uniquely dangerous this can be when a ship sets sail.
How cruise ships will be designed and run in the future is a topic currently in contention. What would be your key message to the industry about how to move forward?
Our key message would be to not change too much, if at all. With the proper foresight and planning, existing materials and design do not need to be overhauled.
So where does RTB fit into that?
Room to Breathe and our partners have no impact on design and where required we can work with designers or on some R&D to create solutions that will always be applicable to any indoor space and to any equipment considered as appropriate for protection.
How does your product provide ROI for cruise lines?
Before the onset of the Global Pandemic we saw Room to Breathe as a premium or upgrade offering to tap into that market of allergy sufferers, chemical sensitive people, and generally those aware of the potential from poor air. However, this has shifted to becoming the evolution of indoor spaces rather quicker than we thought. The cost of ‘peace of mind’ versus a provider without Room to Breathe is where the value lies. With an eye on occupancy and either surcharge, price holding or increase cost can be clawed back easily and therefore provide an opportunity to increase revenue.