A few really bother me (mushrooms, for example, as I’m allergic). Garlic, fish, ginger—none of those bother me. But they certainly could bother others.
A strong incense smell would bring me images of the 60’s, which would be pleasant. 
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I use incense at home so it wouldn’t bother me as a guest. But as a host, I don’t allow guests to burn anything in the rentals, telling them that it’s against our insurance company’s policy.
(No idea if it really is but if it isn’t it should be - and it works. 
)
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Oh wow! I mean like, everything and everyone in the purple school bus is infused with patchouli, it’s sooo groovy! Far out!
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Oh my goodness! I STILL use patchouli!
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My favorite scents have always been ambergris and sandalwood. I never did go for pathchouli personally.
What’s funny is that most people I’ve talked to think that ambergris, because it’s often just called amber in perfumes, is derived from amber- petrified tree sap. You can’t squeeze a scent from a stone, though. Ambergris is something whales regurgitate and is found floating on the surface of the ocean. It’s essentially whale puke.
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You walk up to the person and politely say “I know you love perfume, but did you know that you can go ‘nose blind’ to your use? I have allergies and asthma and while I understand you like to smell pretty, in a closed office it is affecting me and possibly others. I can’t breathe around your desk. Please either use less (spray the air and walk under the mist) or not at all. I’ve had to move because of it.”
She’ll either lose her shit or understand. Next stop, HR. You’ve been moved, ask others if it bothers them.
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I love brussels sprouts, too. But they can stink. Roast them in a 425 oven
“Oh but it’s natural!” As if nature isn’t out to kill us in multiple creative ways. Spiders! Snakes! Australia’s top ten deadliest creatures in the world!
Baking soda for soft surfaces, a vinegar and water solution left on the dresser and washing hard surfaces down with a vinegar, water, and Dawn detergent solution.
It’s rampant here and it gives me an asthma attack. 
Thanks for the tips. There are about 1 million Melaleuca trees near where I live so maybe that is why the air smells so sweet.
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Like the poor people living near the Sriracha factory in CA. All that burning chilli and garlic was causing their eyes to water. They had to shut it down for a couple of weeks to retrofit better air pollution extractors and rumours went round they were shutting down for good and the price of a bottle of Rooster sauce sky rocketed. I must admit I stocked up too and I live in Oz.
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Thanks for the replies. I do say in my rules not to burn incense or candles as much for safety reasons as residual smells. But some people do anyway and I’ve been making a big effort to reduce the number of rules to close to zero and put up with the occasional transgression so I don’t end up on Tik Tok. It probably helps I have sliding glass doors onto a deck overlooking the sea. So if someone does get a whiff of patchouli or lavender they can air the place out pretty quickly and the sea air smell covers up a lot of suspicious odours, just ask my dog Spike.
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I’ve had over 300 guests reviews and the only complaint I’ve had was due to the previous guest’s 3 dogs peeing inside and being fed home made smelly food indoors in winter with the heating turned up. Even I could smell it upstairs with all the doors closed. They thought it was cat pee it was so bad. I comped their first night I felt so bad.
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I have a similar situation. Because I live in the tropics, windows and doors are always open (no, I don’t have AC). Floors are tiled, no upholstered furniture or drapes (simple curtains held up by clip rings, easy to take down and wash) to absorb odors. Smells dissipate quickly.
One of my guests used a lot of essential oils. Her room and bathroom smelled quite strongly of it (it was actually nice smelling to me) but it was all gone with a one day airing and cleaning.
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