The Challenge of Indoor Air Quality Management: A Case Study in the Hospitality Industry at the Time of the Pandemic

Sara Zanni; Gabriella Motta; Matteo Mura; Mariolina Longo; Davide Caiulo

The Challenge of Indoor Air Quality Management: A Case Study in the Hospitality Industry at the Time of the Pandemic

2021

Sara Zanni | Gabriella Motta | Matteo Mura | Mariolina Longo | Davide Caiulo

Air quality management represents a reason for concern in indoor environments, especially now that the COVID-19 pandemic has shown how microbial aerosols pose a threat to human health, requiring proper monitoring. This is particularly true in public and working environments, where the turnover of occupants is high. The hospitality sector, in particular, has been severely affected by limitations related to emergency containment, and it needs to redefine its operations in the perspective of a “new normal” in the post-COVID-19 era. Considering the necessity to provide consistent information about indoor air quality, promote adequate management and increase safety, we developed a case study in cooperation with a major hotel in Turin. A sensing network has been implemented based on corporate-grade monitoring devices, compliant with the RESET standards, recently proposed and applied here to the hospitality sector for the first time. The network is able to detect the concentration of gaseous contaminants and fine particulate matter in semi-continuous mode. The study involved areas of the hotel with different purposes, such as guestrooms, hall, kitchen, restaurant and fitness center. Several valuable insights emerged in support of air quality management and pathways for future research can be outlined, based on the innovative dataset developed.

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