SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA—Sydney’s Courtyard by Marriott North Ryde Hotel has became a smoke-free property, in response to strong and consistent feedback from guests. The hotel’s move coincides with World No Tobacco Day, a global event to highlight the dangers of smoking. Effective immediately, “smoking rooms” no longer will be available in the 196-room hotel, located at the corner of Lane Cove and Talavera Roads in the Macquarie business precinct. “Our smoke-free policy is in line with increasing public concern and opinion against smoking in public places,” says Louise Byrom, general manager of the Courtyard by Marriott North Ryde....

SAINT CHARLES, MO.—Hot on the heels of Starwood Hotels & Resort’s announcement that its Westin Hotels would go smoke free, entrepreneur Ray Burger has launched a new Web site for hotels that are smoke free. As of late March, the online directory at www.freshstay.com had grown to 200 hotels. “An average of five smoke-free properties is added to the online directory every day,” says Burger, president and founder of Pineapple Hospitality Inc., which owns and manages the site. “Already, most states and 100 cities are represented. Dozens of national and regional brands as well as management companies,...

HOUSTON—Many years ago hotels began introducing nonsmoking rooms for their guests—maybe a few rooms, then adding 10 more, then a section of one floor, then a whole floor, etc. Today, almost certainly, the majority of guestrooms at most U.S. hotels are designated as nonsmoking. As the years have passed, we have all come to understand that tobacco causes cancer. Second-hand smoke has also been proven to be detrimental to our health and possibly cause cancer. Legislation and lawsuits regarding tobacco use have impacted our society so profoundly that tobacco use and its effects have been hugely reduced. As a result,...

PLYMOUTH, MASS.—Linchris Hotel Corp. announced that the company’s newest property, the Hilton Garden Inn, located at Exit 5 on Route 3 in Plymouth, Mass., will be a completely smoke-free hotel. All guestrooms, as well as the hotel’s Pavilion Lounge, its front lobby and common areas, will follow the same nonsmoking policy. The Hilton Garden Inn was scheduled to open in May 2006. The decision to make the Hilton Garden Inn smoke free reflects Linchris’ commitment as a leader in its industry in regards to the health and well being of its guests and employees. The Hilton Garden Inn...

BOISE, IDAHO—ProTeam Inc., a Boise-based producer of commercial vacuum systems, is partnering with Florida’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to provide indoor air quality technology to hotels in the Florida Green Lodging Program. ProTeam’s full line of vacuums includes HEPA-media upright vacuum cleaners. The company also is a corporate leader in promoting cleaning systems that improve indoor air quality and enhance health and safety. “The last thing anyone wants while vacationing or attending a conference in Florida is to get sick because of poor indoor air quality or cleaning,” says Mathew M. Wood, ProTeam president. “Our efforts...

SAINT CHARLES, MO.—FreshStay is adding 20 to 30 properties per month to its rapidly growing network of smoke-free lodging establishments. Launched in January, the www.freshstay.com online directory of hotels offering better indoor air products and practices already has more than 225 nonsmoking member properties, including an increasing number of boutique hotels, extended-stay properties and resorts coast to coast. Ray Burger, president of Saint Charles, Mo.-based Pineapple Hospitality, revealed the states and cities that are most active in the nation’s growing smoke-free lodging movement as follows: Top Five States in FreshStay Directory California—47 smoke-free lodging properties in...

SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS—Friedrich Air Conditioning Co. San Antonio, Texas, maker of the C-90A electronic air cleaner, announced that it is introducing second-generation air cleaning technology with even better effectiveness ratings. The new C-90B, which will replace the C-90A, features high Clean Air Delivery Rates (CADR) for pollen, dust and tobacco. The C-90B is AHAM rated for up to 506 square feet and boasts clean air delivery rates that are up to 18 percent higher than its predecessor. The C-90B boasts a pollen CADR of 421. Like its forerunner, the C-90B air cleaner uses three-stage cleaning for maximum results....

CHARLOTTE, N.C.—ScentAir, a leading provider of scent branding solutions for retailers and brand marketers, has signed a nationwide agreement with Omni Hotels to incorporate ScentAir’s scent machines and a signature fragrance into each of the luxury hotel brand’s properties. ScentAir, with distribution partner Muzak LLC, signed the agreement. Muzak, a music and audio messaging provider, is distributing ScentAir’s scents and scent machines in conjunction with its music service as a way to complete the sensory branding experience for its clients. Omni Hotels has been crafting its own experience for customers for years. The company chose a fragrance...