Tag Archives: Smoke-Free

by | September 29, 2013 · 6:05 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Issues: Michigan Hotel Renovates Rooms To Accomodate Smokers (And Medical Marijuana Users); “Smoke-Free Air Laws” Do Not Apply To Outside Patios

“…Under the state’s Smoke-Free Air Law, which went into effect in May 2010, tobacco smoking is prohibited inside places where Hotel Guest Smoking Issuespeople work, including hotels, bars and restaurants. But the law doesn’t apply to smoking outside — hence the patios…The law also doesn’t mention cannabis smoke… Betty Aldworth, deputy director of the National Cannabis Industry Association, said “marijuana-related tourism is the fastest-growing sector of the marijuana industry…states with both medical marijuana laws and a flourishing health care industry — such as Grand Rapids — destinations for ill people to legally use medical marijuana.

The Howard Johnson franchise on 28th Street in Grand Rapids has seen occupancy soar since owner Bob Sullivan made a seemingly unfashionable business decision: accommodate smokers. And not just the tobacco variety. Sullivan caters to marijuana smokers, as well.

Twenty rooms already have been renovated to accommodate smokers. And by the time Sullivan’s done, 60-80 of the hotel’s 155 rooms will allow smoking — accommodating medical marijuana patients as well as tobacco smokers.

Michigan legalized medical marijuana in 2008, and Grand Rapids decriminalized marijuana last year — making possession of a small amount a civil infraction, similar to a parking ticket.

Occupancy at the Howard Johnson has seen an increase every weekend, Sullivan said. “Every weekend, every one of those rooms is sold.”

Sullivan, who himself does not smoke cigarettes or marijuana, estimates occupancy is up 50 percent since he started renovating the rooms.

Renovations have included opening up each room with sliding doors and installing a patio with a tall fence around it to provide privacy — “a little smoking area for each room right at the door,” Sullivan said. “Otherwise, people have to go outside the lobby doors.

For more: http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20130929/NEWS/309299981/smokers-tokers-light-up-hotel-owners-occupancy-rates#

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by | May 14, 2013 · 6:21 am

Hospitality Industry Health Risks: “Non-Smoking Rooms” In Hotels With Partial Smoking Bans “Are As Polluted With Third Hand Smoke” As Smoking Rooms, New Research Demonstrates

“…Air nicotine levels in smoking rooms were significantly higher than in non-smoking rooms; (but) they were also 40% higher in smoke free hotelsnon-smoking rooms of hotels operating partial smoking bans than in those operating total bans…findings demonstrate that some non-smoking guest rooms in smoking hotels are as polluted with [third hand smoke] as are some smoking rooms…”

Non-smoking rooms in hotels operating a partial smoking ban don’t protect their occupants from tobacco smoke, reveals new research published online in Tobacco Control. The researchers analyzed the surfaces and air quality of rooms for evidence of tobacco smoke pollution (nicotine and 3EP), known as third hand smoke, in a random sample of budget to mid-range hotels in San Diego, California.

Ten hotels in the sample operated complete bans and 30 operated partial smoking bans, providing designated non-smoking rooms.

Non-smokers who spent the night at any of the hotels, provided urine and finger wipe samples to assess their exposure to nicotine and a cancer causing agent found specifically in tobacco smoke—known as NNK—as measured by their metabolites cotinine and NNAL.

The findings showed that smoking in hotels left a legacy of tobacco pollution in both smoking and non-smoking rooms. A partial smoking ban did not protect the occupants of non-smoking rooms from exposure to tobacco pollution.

For more:  http://blogs.bmj.com/tc/2013/05/14/new-study-partial-smoking-bans-in-hotels-fail-to-protect-guests-from-tobacco-smoke/?q=w_tc_blog_sidetab

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by | February 17, 2011 · 12:20 pm

Hospitality Industry Health Risks: Hotels Increasingly Going "Smoke-Free" As Guests Demand "Healthy Environments"

The American Hotel & Lodging Association says, however, that there are 50,800 lodgings of 15 or more rooms throughout the country. Many lodgings not rated by AAA are likely to be smoke-free, says AAA’s Michael Petrone.

A growing number of state and local governments have recently passed laws restricting smoking in hotels and other public places. And AAA, which annually inspects lodgings and has the most extensive list of smoke-free ones, approves and rates only about 31,000 lodgings.

  • Westin Hotels & Resorts said it was responding to guests’ demands for a healthy environment and became the first chain to go smoke-free at its U.S. hotels.
  • Marriott, the nation’s largest hotel company, made nearly all its more than 2,500 U.S. hotels smoke-free several months later.
  • Marriott subsidiary The Ritz-Carlton, Walt Disney, Sheraton, Comfort Suites and a few other chains followed with all smoke-free U.S. hotels.”

We will continue to see either properties go entirely smoke-free or increase non-smoking rooms not only in the United States but around the world,” says Joe McInerney, president of the American Hotel & Lodging Association.Hyatt Hotels & Resorts — which has two smoke-free brands, Hyatt Place and Hyatt Summerfield Suites — agrees.

“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.”

For more:  http://travel.usatoday.com/hotels/story/2011/02/More-hotels-go-completely-smoke-free/43823744/1

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by | February 9, 2011 · 8:36 am

Hospitality Industry Health Issues: Hotel Management Must Recognize The Growing Importance Of Having "Smoke-Free" Rooms And Public Spaces As Publicized By Websites Such As "FreshStay.com"

“…FreshStay.com will only list hotels that are 100% smoke-free as part of its industry-leading directory of  non-smoking hotels…”

“…members of FreshStay.com have eliminated smoking not just in guest rooms, but also all meeting rooms, restaurants and other public spaces…”
 

“The difference between a non-smoking room and a 100% smoke-free hotel can make all the difference to a health conscious traveler, or to the growing number of Americans who suffer from allergies, asthma and other sensitivities,” says Ray Burger, Founder of FreshStay. “Members of FreshStay.com consistently receive outstanding feedback from their guests, which is why we always say Frequent Breathers prefer FreshStay. Those guests are then more likely to return because they know their room will be clean and smoke-free every time – guaranteed.”

Below are states with smoke-free laws and the percentage of rooms that must be “smoke-free”: 

  • 100 percent: Michigan, Wisconsin
  • 80 percent: Arkansas (only if there are more than 25 units), Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska (see story), New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio
  • 75 percent: Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Washington
  • 65 percent: Montana
  • 50 percent: Arizona, Louisiana (casinos and gaming centers excluded), Rhode Island
  • 35 percent: California 

For more:  http://www.hotelnewsresource.com/article52093.html

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by | January 31, 2011 · 5:13 am

Hospitality Industry Guest And Employee Health: Studies Of "Smoke-Free" Law In Wisconsin Show "No Adverse Economic Effects"

 “This is excellent news for employers and employees in the hospitality industry,” says Gail Sumi, Wisconsin government relations director for the American Cancer Society.

“This study, like dozens of similar studies nationwide, offers more proof that going smoke-free does not pit business against health, but rather is a common sense health law that keeps workers and employers both physically and fiscally healthy.”

Wisconsin’s six-month-old smoke-free law seems to be working well, according to a new study of the experience of five cities by the University of Wisconsin.

The study – focusing on the effects of Wisconsin’s municipal smoke-free ordinances in Madison, Appleton, Eau Claire, Marshfield and Fond du Lac – found no adverse economic effects throughout the hospitality industry including bars and restaurants.

    Performed by the UW Carbone Cancer Center, the newly released 15-page study compared economic data between the five Wisconsin cities that enacted smoke-free ordinances before the statewide law took effect in July 2010 and similar cities where workplace smoking was still permitted.

    The results showed bars and restaurants in the smokefree cities continued to do well under the ordinances. In fact, in virtually every smokefree community the number of Class B alcohol licenses rose after the ordinances took effect and employment remained strong despite the recession.

Fore more:  http://newsofthenorth.net/article/Top_Stories/State_Headline_News/Smokefree_law_not_hurting_hospitality_industry_study_says/105786

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