THAME, OXON, U.K.—The United Kingdom’s fastest growing budget hotel chain, Travelodge, became the first major hotel mover in the smoking ban debate by declaring that they will be completely smoke free by January 2008. The budget chain will make all public areas in their hotels smoke free by the beginning of July 2007 but go a step further by eradicating smoking from all rooms completely by the turn of the year.
Travelodge, serving over 6.5 million each year and operating 318 U.K. hotels, made the move following overwhelming feedback on the subject from both customers and staff. Research by the budget chain revealed 92 percent of nonsmoking customers and even 59 percent of smoking customers are in favor of banning smoking in public places.
The “Attitudes to Smoking” study also suggested that customers are willing to vote with their sleep as three in four nonsmokers said that they would prefer to stay in a hotel with a 100 percent no-smoking policy.
“We are always talking to our customers and staff about important social issues such as ‘no smoking’ and the response in favor of the ban has been extremely powerful,” says Grant Hearn, Travelodge’s Chief Executive. Just 12 percent of our customers said that they were smokers and over half of those were supportive of smoke-free hotels.”
In addition, all new Travelodge hotels that open from here forward will have a 100 percent no-smoking policy.
Go to Travelodge.
