SAINT CHARLES, MO.—Pineapple Hospitality announced that two new hotel management groups have joined FreshStay.com, the largest online directory of 100 percent smoke-free hotels in the world. Potomac Hospitality Services and Charlestowne Hotels combined offer 22 properties that have completely eliminated smoking on their properties, adding to the comprehensive list of more than 4,800 other FreshStay.com hotels, motels and B&Bs.
“Potomac Hospitality and Charlestowne Hotels are two well-known, well-respected management groups in this industry, so we are excited they see the benefits and are leading their properties to be smoke free,” says Dave Janicke, FreshStay’s CBO—Chief Breathing Officer. “It’s clear that those guests who desire healthy travel have made finding nonsmoking properties a priority, and those hotels that continue to allow smoking on site are missing out. Working with FreshStay.com, we hope to connect these two groups and all of their smoke-free properties to the growing ranks of socially responsible travelers everywhere.”
Charlestowne Hotels is a full-service hospitality management company, based in Charleston, S.C. Charlestowne offers a diverse portfolio of managed properties, featuring upscale, boutique and smaller luxury inns, as well as several branded properties. As one of the largest hotel management companies on the Southeast coast, the company employs more than 100 years of cumulative experience in the hospitality industry.
Responding to Consumer Demand
“Most of our 22 hotels are smoke free, and the ones that are have been that way for years,” says Justin May, corporate revenue manager for Charlestowne Hotels. “Over the past six to seven years, we’ve seen a dramatic shift in what the consumer wants, and that especially includes nonsmoking properties. We’ve seen our smoke-free properties see a greater demand as time goes on.”
May says maintaining the highest levels of guest satisfaction primarily is what drives the management company’s hotels to be smoke free. Eliminating smoking eliminates a number of problematic issues, such as keeping smoking rooms clean as well as free of tobacco odor. Going 100 percent nonsmoking also saves housekeeping labor and money—as carpet, wallpaper and guestroom furniture typically last longer.
“Charlestowne Hotels joined FreshStay.com to partner with a company that embraces the same concern for the overall guest experience that all our properties do,” says May. “It just makes sense to partner with a company that shares a similar vision and wants to provide guests with the most comfortable hotel experience as possible.”
Over the past 25 years, Potomac Hospitality Services has been involved in the development, ownership and management of more than 4,000 hotel rooms in the Mid-Atlantic region. The company’s portfolio of 11 hotels is focused on the Washington, D.C. area, with several other properties in Philadelphia and Chicago.
‘A More Crisp Product’
“Because of health trends and the comfort of our guests, we have a strong belief that our properties should remain completely smoke free,” says Jerry Early, vice president of sales & marketing for Potomac Hospitality. “In part the move to smoke free is being driven by the major hotel brands and local regulations. But more than that, not allowing smoking gives us a more crisp product. The rooms feel much cleaner and it’s easier to maintain a consistent level of excellence throughout our properties.”
Early says that because of the growing momentum toward smoking bans in public places, the need to be smoke free is elevated more than ever. The customer’s expectation is a clean, refreshing room—one that doesn’t smell like smoke or heavy fragrances used to temporarily mask tobacco smell. The best smell is no smell.
“Working with FreshStay.com is a great partnership for us because healthy travelers expect nonsmoking properties, and FreshStay helps them find us,” Early says. “The population that wants this is growing and this is a movement we’re excited to be a part of.”
Go to Freshstay.com.
