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A Smoking Good Strategy There are still people that want to smoke in hotel rooms. And certain hotels don’t plan to ever go completely smoke free. Thursday, November 12, 2009 Caryn Eve Murray

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In Chester, Illinois, six hours south of Chicago, Reids’ Inn has, in many ways, changed to keep pace with the times: The Best Western welcomes small pets, has free WiFi and high-speed Internet access, offers satellite TV and has microwave ovens. It has an exercise facility, too.

But one hotel practice hasn’t changed since the inn’s opening day: Smokers are still welcome, and a small percentage of the 46 rooms are designated just for them.

At a time when state and municipal laws around the country are banning cigarettes from workplaces, restaurants and other public spaces, Reids’ Inn leaves out the welcome mat, along with the ashtrays – at least in their guest rooms. In 2008, the Smoke-free Illinois Act brought that state into line with a growing number of others, banning cigarettes from almost every public space, from schools to shopping centers to eateries. And the Chester establishment, of course, complies with that law.

But welcoming smokers into the hotel’s rooms is hardly unusual, or even an act of defiance, for this establishment, said assistant manager Beth Reid. The hotel is simply following in the footsteps of its own successful history, doing what it has been doing consistently since opening in 1994.

“If we had just built this hotel this year, we would have had to have all our rooms nonsmoking,” said Reid. “But all I know is that this went over really well here. We have just a few smoking rooms and everybody seems to be fine with that. Our guests are all very happy, the smokers as well as the nonsmokers.” In short, smokers get the welcome, and the accommodations, they expect.

While other brands such as Westin, Sheraton, Aloft, Element and Four Points by Sheraton have moved into the realm of smoke-free hospitality in response to laws and public sentiment, Starwood – Westin’s parent company, “offers smoking options,” said spokeswoman Gabrielle Etrog Cohen.

“We are in the hospitality business and our doors are open to all guests,” Cohen wrote in a recent e-mail. “Everyone is welcome at our hotels.”

But, she added, the other brands remain smoke-free because research indicates that is what most of their customers want. In 2006, Westin Hotels & Resorts led the way by becoming the first upscale brand to go smoke-free. That same year, Marriott also enacted the policy, covering its Courtyard, Residence Inn, Fairfield Inn and other brands.

No smoking means just that: no lighting up anywhere inside the building. Not even in the guest rooms. It is a step that the airline industry took more than 15 years ago, and many hotels recognize the importance of taking that step.

“Being smoke-free is about meeting our customers’ growing demand for a healthy, clean and comfortable smoke-free environment. Research shows that consumers, both smokers and non-smokers alike, want a smoke-free hotel environment,” Cohen said.

“Westin conducted a poll that shows 88% of consumers believe business need to take steps to provide customers with healthier environments and 81% of consumers hate when they stay in a non-smoking room and it smells like smoke.”

Cohen said that because one of Westin’s brand platforms is wellness, going smoke-free ties directly in with that.

Although the market clearly favors people who don’t smoke (or who have kicked the habit), smart business strategy still says, for many in the industry, that serving the customer – especially the smoking customer – can pay off.

One web site, www.smokingwelcome.com, provides a global, though hardly exhaustive, list of sites where guests can freely light up. It is strong evidence that a market is still there for smokers who want an option.
     
The giant InterContinental Hotels Group, whose seven brands at 4,300 properties worldwide include Holiday Inn, Staybridge Suites and the Crowne Plaza, exercises that option. Likewise, Hilton Hotels’ Embassy Suites offers a smokers’ welcome, reserving 75 percent of its rooms for nonsmokers and outfitting the remaining rooms to be smoker-friendly.

IHG has found that these are options that customers – smokers and nonsmokers alike - say they want, said Sarah Ann Soffer, public relations manager for midscale brands.

She said IHG’s policy, which is consistent across its brands in Canada and the U.S., indicates a minimum of 75 percent of an establishment’s rooms should be set aside for non-smokers. “This is the percentage that has been around since July of 2006, but we actually revise these policies constantly,” she said.
 
“Our hotels and franchise hotels have to abide by local laws in their area,” Soffer said. “But right now we have no plans to go 100 percent smoke free.” That may not be forever, she said, but it is definitely the way things are for the foreseeable future.

“Our reservation agents interact with our guests all the time ... and if we start to see a change in guest demand or booking patterns, or we cannot accommodate people based on the current standards … we would definitely reconsider. It is all about giving our guests the best experience and meeting their needs and demands when they travel.”