How To Make Your Home Smell Like A Five-Star Hotel

1. Choose your signature scent.

The best hotels don't switch fragrances every week. They choose one signature scent and let it become part of the experience, so guests remember it long after checkout. Do the same at home. Choose a scent that feels like you and let it greet everyone who walks through the door.

Right now we're obsessed with two winter picks from Aura House:

• Dubai: with notes of sea salt, vanilla, coconut, sandalwood and musk. It's rich, warm, and very "nightcap in the hotel lounge."
• Yellowstone: with notes of pine, cedarwood, and moss. Think fireplace-side cabin, minus the drafty windows.

Antibes, Lavender de Provence and Citrus Groves are also in the lovely mix to set the right mood. Need a hostess gift? The Limited Edition gift sets, such as The Ultimate Gifting Set and the Ultimate Starter Set Bundle, make great gifts too!

2. Upgrade from the candle.

We love candles as much as anyone. But between the open flame, the soot and the constant repurchasing, they're not exactly low-maintenance, especially with pets or kids running around during the holidays.

With the Aura Scent Diffuser, you get everything you love about a candle, with no flame and no soot. And instead of burning out in a matter of hours, the diffuser scents your space for up to 650 square feet and lasts for about a month!

3. Start with a clean base.

Hotel beds smell crisp and fresh because the sheets are laundered that day. Wash bedding, throws and pet beds a day or two before guests arrive. Fragrance works best layered on a fresh base, not covering something up. (Bonus: Aura House scents are all pet safe, vegan and cruelty free.) Even in cooler weather, open the windows for 10 minutes. A quick air-out in the morning helps keep rooms from smelling stale.

4. Scent the spaces guests notice most.

Concentrate your favorite fragrance where first impressions happen: your entryway, main living space and bathrooms. Placing your diffuser near the front door means guests are greeted by coastal or woodsy scents, not by last night's salmon or the dog's favorite blanket. And nothing breaks the luxury-hotel spell like a plastic gadget on the console table. The sculptural and weighty Aura Scent Diffuser is designed as a decor piece. It comes in cream and black and it’s rated 4.8 stars from 1,129 verified reviews. Plus, new colored diffusers arrive Nov. 7, just in time to match your holiday decor! (Active subscribers also get a lifetime warranty.)

5. Set it and forget it (like a five-star hotel would).

A steady, even fragrance is what makes a space feel luxurious instead of "someone just sprayed something." The Aura Scent Diffuser uses waterless, heatless cold air diffusion to turn fragrance oil into a fine mist, with no residue and no water to refill. Choose from four adjustable intensity settings and set timed cycles, so your home smells like a five-star hotel all day, every day, without you lifting a finger.