WATERLOO, IA—Heartland Inns of America, LLC, with 19 locations in Iowa and Wisconsin, announced that it will be the first moderately-priced hotel chain of its size to implement a 100 percent, smoke-free policy.
In response to growing guest demand for comfortable, quality accommodations in a healthy, smoke-free environment, effective immediately all 19 Heartland Inn facilities will be 100 percent smoke free, including all guestrooms and public areas.
“Now guests can sleep and breathe easier in every room at every Heartland Inn,” says Barb Cullinan, director of operations at Heartland Inns of America. “Our operating philosophy has always been ‘do right’ when it comes to our guests and this smoke-free policy is definitely the right thing to do for our guests’ and employees’ health and overall quality of life.”
Heartland Inns guest requests for nonsmoking rooms have steadily increased over the past several years, as more businesses have banished smoking in public areas. Airlines were the first sector of the U.S. travel industry to ban smoking in compliance with a 1990 law.
“We commend Heartland Inns for taking their guests’ health to heart, and for taking a stand in the hospitality industry as one of the first hotel chains in the nation to implement a 100 percent, smoke-free policy,” says Gretchen Tegeler, American Cancer Society, state vice president, Iowa.
In coordination with the American Cancer Society, Heartland Inns last month provided hotel guests with smoking cessation informational materials during the hotel group’s smoke-free policy rollout. Heartland Inns and the American Cancer Society have been partnering since 2002.
Former smoking rooms have undergone the necessary renovations to eliminate smoke odors. Pending each individual room’s need, renovations ranged from special cleaning treatments to replacement of carpets, drapes, bedspreads and other materials. Heartland Inns’ director of operations inspected every former smoking room to ensure its successful conversion. This effort is part of a larger chain-wide renovations project that has been ongoing since last summer and includes a new fresh logo on Heartland Inns’ highway signage.
Upon check-in, guests must initial a form to indicate they will not smoke in a guestroom. Those guests that violate the policy are subject to a $200 cleaning fine.
Heartland Inns of America is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Heartland Midwest Management Group and is headquartered in Waterloo, Iowa. For more information, contact Kimberly Kalkhoff at kimberlyk@heartlandinns.com.
