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[ INDUSTRY NEWS]
Westin hotels ban all indoor smoking
In January, Westin Hotels & Resorts became the country's first smoke-free major hotel chain when it banned smoking in all rooms, restaurants, bars and public areas at its 77 United States, Canadian and Caribbean properties, as reported by USA Today. Starting in January, guests may only smoke on balconies or in other outdoor areas.
The policy reflects "a demand from guests for a smoke-free hotel experience," said Sue Brush, senior vice president for Westin. "Nobody likes to walk into a smoky guest room, not even smokers."
Westin research showed that 92 percent of its guests request a non-smoking room.
The number of smokers who gripe when put in a non-smoking room is "small compared to the number of people who were complaining about being put in a smoking room" when the hotel was fully booked, said David Hill, general manager of the Topaz Hotel in Washington, D.C., which introduced no-smoking-only rooms in 2004. "It's a huge weight off the shoulders of our (customer) service staff. I will never go back."
For a big chain to make such a major policy shift is "very cutting-edge," American Hotel & Lodging Association President Joseph McInerney said in a statement. "The industry is sure to take notice."
Not all reaction to Westin's new policy was positive, however. After the no-smoking plan was announced, Tom Briant, executive director of the National Association of Tobacco Outlets, sent a letter to Westin CEO Steve Heyer.
In that letter, Briant said that NATO "is recommending to its members and the 40 million Americans who use tobacco products that they no longer stay at Westin Hotels and Resorts."
Briant pointed out that NATO had held its December board of directors meeting at the Westin Hotel in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., and in the future, the association would "patronize other hotels that make accommodations available for all of their guests, including those guests who smoke."
Briant also took umbrage with Westin's policy to assess a charge of $200 to a guest that chooses to smoke. "Since smoking is a legal activity," he wrote, "the $200 charge is, for all intents and purposes, a fine. In other words, Westin Hotels & Resorts has now made a determination that smoking is tantamount to a crime and any guest that does smoke will face a $200 criminal penalty."
In conclusion, he wrote, "In short, the National Association of Tobacco Outlets views your policy as discriminatory and the organization is taking action to encourage its members and Americans who use tobacco products to stay at your competitor's hotels."
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