Choice Hotels International made it official this past week. According to the company, its Comfort Inn brand has joined Comfort Suites in offering guests 100 percent smoke-free rooms at its more than 1,800 franchised hotels across the U.S. and Canada. Comfort is now the largest hotel brand to allow travelers to enjoy a smoke-free stay, the company says. That is good news for travelers staying at Comforts and even better news for those workers who previously still had to deal with second-hand and third-hand smoke.
It amazes me, given what we know about the ill effects of smoking, that many hotels still allow it, but a big tip of the hat to Choice Hotels and Comfort owners/franchisees for seeing the value in a smoke-free environment.
According to Choice, the Comfort brand strategy team dug deep into consumer research and guest insights to understand the changing attitudes toward smoking policies at hotels. Findings revealed that preferences for smoke-free environments have increased and even smokers are more likely to choose smoke-free accommodations. Rolling out the nonsmoking initiative also offers Comfort brand franchisees operational advantages, including better room conditions and ease of maintenance, reduced customer complaints and less complicated inventory management, all of which help to create a better stay experience for guests.
Survey Results & Smoking
Almost all of the U.S. hoteliers participating in the recently published Green Lodging Survey, a production of Green Lodging News and Greenview, said they offer a 100 percent nonsmoking environment for guests. Just 16 percent of respondents in the Asia Pacific region, however, said they offer a 100 percent nonsmoking environment. In the recently published 2016 Lodging Survey, an AHLA, AHLEF, STR production, 85 percent of respondents said they offer 100 percent nonsmoking rooms.
The trend toward offering a 100 percent nonsmoking environment has certainly been building for years. I recently spoke with Mary Hynes, Director of Corporate Communications for MGM Resorts International, and she confirmed that the company’s Delano, Aria, MGM Grand, Vdara, Signature at MGM Grand, Monte Carlo, New York-New York, Luxor, Circus-Circus, Mirage, MGM Grand, and Excalibur are now 100 percent nonsmoking in guestrooms. Of course smoking is still allowed in casino space in these Las Vegas hotels but at least travelers, housekeepers and others no longer have to deal with tobacco toxins in the air in guestrooms.
I encourage Choice Hotels and others in our industry to continue to move toward a 100 percent smoke-free environment around the world—not just in North America.
Green Lodging News Adds PragmaTech Ltd. as Directory Partner
Green Lodging News welcomes PragmaTech Ltd. as a Green Product & Service Directory partner. PragmaTech’s Pandora Intelligent Network is a unique and powerful blend of hardware and software designed to help uncover the truth around waste generation habits, Pandora can become the “eyes and ears” of waste equipment, bringing significant transparency, accountability and business intelligence. Users of Pandora can also experience:
• 30%-50% savings off waste haulage bills;
• preventative maintenance solutions, reducing unnecessary and costly service calls; and
• asset management services to track the health of equipment, allowing for maximized equipment up-time and life-cycle planning.
To learn more, contact Gabe Vinizki at (647) 453-0351 or GabeV@Pragmatechltd.com.
Who is Your Sustainability Champion?
Green Lodging News is always looking to profile sustainability champions in our Personnel Profile section. If you would like to nominate someone for this section of Green Lodging News, contact me at (813) 510-3868, or by e-mail at editor@greenlodgingnews.com.
Looking for Guest Columnists
Every two weeks Green Lodging News posts a new guest column on its website. (Click here for examples.) The guest column also appears in the weekly e-newsletter. Green Lodging News is currently in need of industry experts to contribute occasional guest columns. Experts may include consultants, architects, designers, suppliers and those who own or operate green lodging establishments. Columns may be articles that take a stance on a particular subject or be strictly educational in nature. Columnists benefit by having their photo included along with a one paragraph description of their company. Interested in writing a column? Contact Glenn Hasek, publisher and editor, at (813) 510-3868, or by e-mail at editor@greenlodgingnews.com.
Planning Advertising for 2017?
Green Lodging News is accepting reservations for advertising spots for 2017. Many excellent spots are available on our new website, in the weekly e-mail newsletter, and Green Lodging Survey. Many Green Supplier Spotlight dates are also available. Interested in receiving a 2017 media kit? Be sure to contact me as soon as possible at (813) 510-3868, or by e-mail at editor@greenlodgingnews.com. Media kits can also be accessed by clicking here. Thank you to all of those companies that consistently support Green Lodging News.
Newsletter & Green Supplier Spotlight Circulation
The circulation of our weekly e-newsletter and Green Supplier Spotlight currently stands at 5,088. Thank you to our new subscribers for signing up. Be sure to encourage your colleagues to do the same. There are “subscribe” links on the Green Lodging News home page. You may also e-mail editor@greenlodgingnews.com to be added to our list.
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As always, I can be reached at editor@greenlodgingnews.com.
