UNITE HERE Wants Clean Air Without the Fees at Curator Collection Hotels

A new partnership between Curator Collection Hotels and FreshAir Sensor promises new revenue for hotel owners when guests pay extra for “certified” clean air

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--UNITE HERE, the union for hotel workers in the United States and Canada, wants every guest to have a hotel room with fresh air, free and clear. That’s why the union has launched a new page on its website, www.CuratorCollectionCon.org, to ask why the Curator Hotels & Resorts Collection has partnered with FreshAir Sensor, an air-monitoring company that advocates charging guests extra to ensure “certified” clean air in their hotel rooms.

The “Curator Collection Con” website contains information about this proposed upcharge for the promise of fresh air, as well as details about the customer experience at Curator Collection, where guests can also face an average of $40 in nightly resort fees. These fees can feel like a con: deceptive and unfair.

Curator Hotels and Resorts Collection is a “soft brand” of independent and boutique hotels, which is majority-owned by hotel real estate investment firm Pebblebrook Hotel Trust (NYSE: PEB). In March 2025, Curator partnered with FreshAir Sensor to offer a new air monitoring program called “FreshAir Certified” for rooms at member hotels, lauding the program as a “wellness initiative” to benefit hotel guests.

Curator VP Brent Hayhurst said, “We are excited to have selected FreshAir Sensor as a partner to harness the latest technology to ensure the highest indoor air quality for our members and their guests.”

But FreshAir Sensor describes its program differently. It’s a service that allows hotels to designate rooms with certified “indoor air quality standards” for “a small incremental cost” to guests.

FreshAir Sensor’s Chief Commercial Officer Will Darrah said, “FreshAir Certified turns air quality into a valuable, revenue-generating amenity for hotels,” which can “unlock new profits--without the need to spend CapEx money or take up valuable staff time or resources.”

In fact, FreshAir Sensor says its products "have the potential to gain more than $1.5 billion in new ancillary revenue annually” for U.S. hotels.

Before booking a stay at Curator Collection hotels, travelers should ask themselves: “If I'm not paying the upcharge for certified clean air, then what am I breathing in?”

At the “Curator Collection Con” website, visitors can contact Curator executives to demand that their member hotels stop charging guests extra fees just to breathe.

Visit www.CuratorCollectionCon.org to find out more.