More Hotels Ban Smoking in Rooms –the Implications for Vacation Rentals
In what could fast become trend in the hotel industry, the availability of rooms where guests may smoke is shrinking.
This is the conclusion of an Orlando Sentinel article by Christopher Boyd. He points out that hotels are just the latest flash point in a cultural shift against smoking. Westin led the way with a ban against smoking in all of its 77 properties in the United States Canada and the Caribbean. The article quotes a Westin executive who said they made this move after concluding that only 4 percent of their guests smoked in their rooms.
The article goes on to say that as popular as smoking bans are with some guests, smokers continue to represent a niche. If enough hotels ban smoking, a genre of hotels that cater to smoking might appear.
This trend has obvious implications for vacation rentals. In our own operation, we found it necessary to ban smoking in our cabins years ago. Like most vacation rental owners, we did not have enough units to set some aside for smoking. However, the advantage of vacation rentals, including condos, is that most have an outdoor deck or porch where smokers are free to indulge their habit. Therefore, unlike hotels, vacation rentals can still attract a fair amount of smoking guests.
Complete Smoke Signal article
