Hotels
Smokefree travel - including transportation and lodging - is popular and becoming more prevalent each year. ANR encourages travelers to speak up for and expect smokefree hotels both in the U.S. and when traveling internationally.
Tip: Be sure to add smokefree air to your online reviews of hotels on Trip Advisor, Yelp, Flyer Talk, and other travel sites.
Background
In
just the past five years, 100% smokefree hotels have gone from being almost
non-existent to becoming practically the national norm. The trend started with
individual properties around the U.S. and then expanded to chains.
In 2006, the year of the landmark Surgeon General's Report on secondhand smoke, Westin (a Starwood brand) announced the first national 100% smokefree hotel policy for all its properties in the U.S., Canada, and the Caribbean. This was a huge turning point for the industry. At the time, a Westin hotel's restaurants and bars may have been one of the few smokefree eating or drinking options in an entire city (Charlotte, North Carolina comes to mind) before smokefree laws were in place.
Westin's groundbreaking policy created a domino effect and was expanded upon
by Marriott,
which adopted a smokefree policy for all of its U.S. properties, as well as
across all its entire portfolio of brands (including Marriott, J.W. Marriott,
Renaissance Hotel, Ritz-Carlton, Fairfield Inn, Courtyard by Marriott, Residence
Inn, and Spring Hill Suites.)
Other 100% smokefree hotel chains in the U.S. include:
- Comfort Inns and Cambria Suites (two brands of Choice Hotels)
- Shilo
Inns
- Heartland
Inns
- And many independent smokefree hotels across the US, such as the legendary Greenbrier Hotel and Casino in West Virginia.
Encouraged
by the success of Westin's (and Marriott's) smokefree policies, Starwood in
2008 extended a 100% nationwide smokefree policy to its Sheraton hotels and
eventually to all of Starwood's U.S. properties across all its brands (including
the W Hotels, Aloft, Sheraton, Westin, Le Meridien, Element by Westin, Four
Points by Sheraton, The Luxury Collection, and St. Regis.)
Despite health evidence about the serious health hazards of smoke inside a building, other major U.S. hotel chains, unfortunately, have NOT yet adopted smokefree policies, including Hilton (and its brands such as Hampton Inn), Holiday Inn, Hyatt, Best Western, and others. Although there may be some individual properties within these brands that are now smokefree, nonsmokers' have to research it hotel by hotel, which can be a challenge for travelers. Plus staff in these hotel brands often still has to clean smoking rooms or work in smoke-filled environments. Nonsmokers may wish to avoid brands without consistent smokefree policies, given how irresponsible this is in the face of the health facts.
Legislation
A growing number of cities and states now require hotels to be 100% smokefree indoors, including guest rooms. Currently, all hotels and motels (including guest rooms) must be smokefree in Wisconsin, Michigan, Nebraska.
International
Westin expanded its landmark policy to Ireland, Scotland, New Zealand, and Fiji and to more individual properties around the world. But it is disappointing that both Starwood and Marriott have been slow to expand their smokefree policies internationally. Many more countries have enacted strong smokefree laws in recent years, so we encourage hotel chains to expand their smokefree policies worldwide.
| Smokefree
News |
|
Smoking
in hotel rooms increasingly barred Hilton
Worldwide Has Directed All Their Hotels To Install Smoking Shelters Why
read the fine print when booking hotels? Westin
Hotels Opens New Smoke-Free Hotel in Paris Brian Povinelli, the brand's global brand leader, said, 'Westin Hotels
& Resorts is excited to further expand its portfolio of international
smoke-free properties and ... GREENE:
Pioneer who banned smokers at his hotel First, I wanted to find out if Lyndon Sanders was still alive. Second, I wanted to find out if he was feeling triumphant. The answers: Yes, and yes. "Every time I hear about a hotel that doesn't allow any smoking at all, my heart beats a little bit better," he said. Sanders, 82, has moved to Fredericksburg, Texas, but 30 years ago,
when he had his world-changing idea, he lived in Dallas. That was where
he decided he would build and operate a new kind of hotel. ... More
hotels go completely smoke-free Hotels, motels and other lodgings are following the trend of airlines and passenger-train operators by banning smoking throughout their premises. Some are doing it voluntarily, as public awareness about the health dangers of secondhand smoke grows. Others are being forced by a growing number of state and local laws. More than 12,900 lodgings serving the public in the USA are now smoke-free throughout, a USA TODAY analysis of data from AAA, the American Automobile Association, finds. That's nearly 4,600 more than in November 2008, when USA TODAY first analyzed AAA data. "The smoke-free hotel trend has finally caught up with the rest of the movement," says Bronson Frick, associate director of the Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights. "Airlines went smoke-free in 1990, and California was the first state to enact a strong smoke-free law that included restaurants and bars in 1994. It took the hotel industry until 2006 to catch on that there was public demand and support for smoke-free hotels." ... MGM
Grand to rescind $20 fee to 'guarantee' non-smoking room The MGM Grand hotel in Las Vegas recently started charging guests $20 a day fee to "guarantee" a non-smoking room. Seriously. If you didn't click the box on its website, you were at risk of winding up with a sour-smelling smoking room that even many smokers don't want.... MGM
Grand Should Immediately Rescind Fee to Guarantee Non-Smoking Room WASHINGTON, Feb. 16, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following is a statement by Matthew L. Myers, President, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids: The MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas should immediately rescind the new $20 per day fee it is charging customers to "guarantee" a non-smoking room, as reported by Tribune Media Services. No one should have to pay extra to avoid exposure to a harmful substance that causes lung cancer, heart disease and other serious illnesses. What will MGM charge for next? A room without asbestos? One with a sprinkler system or fire alarm? One without bed bugs? According to the U.S. Surgeon General, tobacco smoke contains more than 7,000 chemicals, including hundreds that are toxic and at least 69 that cause cancer. Studies have found that toxic residue from cigarette smoke remains long after a cigarette has been extinguished, lingering in carpets, sofas, clothing and other materials. It is also absurd that MGM would charge guests extra for non-smoking rooms when such rooms actually save hotels money by reducing cleaning costs. In fact, many hotels charge a hefty cleaning fee – usually several hundred dollars – when guests smoke in a non-smoking room ... Latest
hotel fee: A charge for non-smoking rooms Some
hotels are banning smoking Azita Arvani recently returned from a trade show in Las Vegas, where she requested a nonsmoking room at her resort. It didn't matter. "Smoke came in through the central air conditioning units," said Arvani, a Los Angeles technology consultant. "I usually don't have any problems with hotels and smoking. Except when I go to Las Vegas." That makes two of us. I've never been to Nevada's largest city without
spending at least a few moments of every day gasping for fresh air. There's good news for nonsmoking hotel guests: The scales are about to tip in your favor this summer when Wisconsin's Act 12 takes effect, and the Badger State becomes the first in the nation to ban smoking in all hotels. . . . . Here's how smokers circumvent the rules: After checking in, they light up in their rooms and flush the evidence down the toilet. Then they phone the front desk to complain about the odor of cigarette smoke, and when an employee offers to move them, they decline, saying they've already unpacked. ... Managing
Smoke-Free Expectations Potomac Hospitality Services and the Charlestowne Hotels management
group collectively are bringing 22 new 100% smoke-free properties to
the FreshStay's family of 4,800 . Potomac Hospitality Services and Charlestowne Hotels combined offer
22 properties that have completely eliminated smoking on their properties,
adding to the comprehensive list of more than 4,800 other FreshStay.com
hotels, motels and B&Bs. ... Sheraton
Puerto Rico Convention Center Hotel & Casino to Open in ... ...At 20,000 square feet, the hotel`s casino, which is operated by CCHRP Hospitality, will be the largest in Puerto Rico and will offer a circular casino bar and entertainment space - the first in Puerto Rico. The 'smoke-free' 24-hour casino will feature 448 slot machines, 16 table games, a full player`s reward program, state-of-the-art specialty video, sound and light features and the island`s first multi-denominational slot machines. ... FreshStay.com
Targets 10000 Smoke-Free Hotels By End Of 2009 More
hotels go completely smoke-free Amid growing public concern about the dangers of secondhand smoke,
the number of lodgings prohibiting smoking indoors has tripled in three
years, according to a USA TODAY analysis of American Automobile Association
data. JD
Power and Associates Reports: Hotel Guests Are Considerably ... Nearly nine of 10 guests (89%) say they prefer a smoke-free hotel environment in 2008, compared with 79 percent in 2006. Hawaii
hotels fining smoking scofflaws Smokers who light up in a non-smoking hotel room in Hawai'i may may find themselves paying several hundred dollars more for the room cleanup. Travel Hawaii, a Hawai'i-based Internet retailer, has set up a database -- www.travel-Hawaii.com/smoking.html -- that details the smoking policies of hotels throughout the state. Travel Hawaii owner John Lindelow said his company updates the information as policies shift. "This is a rapidly changing area of hotel policy, so we make a lot of phone calls to stay on top of what the hotels are doing," he said. So far, the top charge goes to Aqua Palms & Spa in Waikiki, with a $500 fee to clean a smoke-free room there. Hawaii
Hotel & Condominium Smoking Policies In November of 2006, the state of Hawaii instituted a strict new smoking law. As a result, many Hawaii hotels declared all of their guest rooms to be smoke-free. This has been a boon to non-smokers, of course, who no longer have to enter a hotel room with that telltale odor of "smokers past" lingering in the air. However, smokers aren't happy with such policies, as they won't be able to stay at smoke-free hotels unless they stash their habit for the length of their stay, or only smoke "off premises" or in designated areas, which are usually outside any public area in the hotel, e.g. places like parking lots and other outside areas that are at least 20 feet from any doors or windows. Some entire Hawaii hotel chains have declared all of their rooms to be smoke-free. These include: * Outrigger and OHANA Hotels Hawaii * ResortQuest Hotels Hawaii * Marriott Resorts Hawaii London's
Marriott West India Quay goes smoke free Study
Finds That Europeans Prefer Smoke-Free Hotels A recent survey of more than 12,000 hotel guests in Europe found that nearly 72 percent of French hotel guests now prefer a smoke-free environment, even beyond their room, suggesting that the French may embrace their planned 2008 smoking ban. This year’s J. D. Power & Associates European Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index Study also revealed that 69 percent of hotel guests across Europe prefer a nonsmoking environment, not far off from the 79 percent of hotel guests in North America wanting smoke-free hotels. The lowest group to support smoke-free hotels was 57 percent of the guests who live in Spain, and the highest group to endorse no-smoking hotels was 76 percent of British and Swedish travelers. Hotel
Industry Goes Cold Turkey on Smoking Westin's Bold Experiment Pays Off, Triggers
Trend NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- It wasn't easy for Sue Brush to kick the habit. "I had a few sleepless nights," the Westin Hotels senior VP-marketing said of the chain's decision to halt smoking in its 77 North American hotels. Marriott
Goes 'Smoke-Free' at All Hotels in North America - More Than 2,300 Properties
and 10 Lodging Brands Marriott International, Inc. (NYSE: MAR - News) announced today that all of the Company's lodging brands in the United States and Canada will become 100 percent smoke-free. Heartland
Inns to Go Smoke Free
"Now guests can sleep and breathe easier in every room at every Heartland Inn," said Barb Cullinan, Heartland Inns of America, director of operations. "Our operating philosophy has always been 'do right' when it comes to our guests and this smoke-free policy is definitely the right thing to do for our guests' and employees' health and overall quality of life." Take
a Deep Breath in ... Out. Again. There's Something Different in the Air at New
Virginia Marriott Westin
Hotels in Australia & Fiji to go smokefree in July 2006 Westin Hotels & Resorts is to become one of the first hotel chains in Australia and Fiji to introduce a smoke-free policy. Beginning July 31st, The Westin Sydney, The Westin Melbourne and The Westin Denarau Island Resort & Spa Fiji will be totally smoke free and join Westin’s 77 North America hotels that introduced a smoke-free policy this past January. This new policy also reinforces Westin’s new brand positioning around personal renewal and offering guests the services, products and amenities that allow them to relax, rejuvenate and restore during their stay. Starwood
offers new extended stay brand A year after launching its aloft Hotels brand, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. announced plans for an "upper upscale" extended stay brand inspired by its Westin Hotels brand. Code named "Project
ESW," Starwood said in a release that the new brand will feature a sophisticated,
residential product designed to be more home-like in an industry saturated with
look-alike brands and generic features. Hyatt
launches smoke-free guarantee to top-tier |