Marriott going 100% smoke-free

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/19/AR2006071902003.html

Marriott International Inc., the nation's largest hotel chain, said yesterday that it will ban smoking in its nearly 400,000 hotel rooms in the United States and Canada, casting the decision as less about public health and more about taking care of the bottom line.

Two decades ago, about half the company's rooms were set aside for smokers, but demand has steadily dropped, with only 5 percent of customers now requesting smoking rooms. At the same time, complaints about cigarette odor have increased, and company officials have struggled to address the issue.

Marriott, which will enforce its ban by charging violators $200 to $300, follows that of the Westin Hotels & Resorts chain, which late last year announced it was making all 77 of its properties smoke-free. Since then, business has grown stronger, said Sue Brush, a senior vice president with Westin, which is owned by Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide Inc.

 

All kinds of businesses will soon see the financial wisdom in this kind of policy.

Now if they could just make a bunch of mainstream smoke-free casinos in Vegas, I'd really have a good time!

 

Heck, if only one casino went smoke free, they'd be booked solid 365 a year.

 

Bravo Marriott. I'm tired of smokers indirectly affecting people with their nasty-ass habit. And P.S. smokers, you don't look cool.

 

Thanks Marriott! I hate checking into a motel/hotel and the clerk saying, "We don't have any non-smoking rooms."

Then I promptly go to Wal Mart and buy two big candles and a hearty can of body spray.

 

First time I saw the thread title, I thought it said "Mariotti." ???

 

It will be interesting to see the first casino do this.

 

The casinos are too afraid of letting a person sitting at the table get up to go out for a smoke, though.

They want them to sit there until the money dries up. Smoking lets them do it.

Still, I could see a wing of a casino floor become smoke free and all rooms. But it's going to take a major leap of faith for a casino to do that.

Marriott/Westin business travelers aren't the same as Vegas party travelers.

 

It's that subtle suicidal tendency that is a shared trait among smokers and heavy gamblers.

I understand your point.

 

The casino in Windsor has just laid off almost 300 people. They cite various reasons, including the recent strict Ontario smoking laws.

(No smoking in any public buildings, whatsoever. That includes all bars, including outdoor patios (with a few exceptions), bingo halls, pool halls and casinos.
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WINDSOR, Ont. (CP) — Ontario's Casino Windsor says it is laying off 297 unionized and 32 non-union staff due to a slowdown.

Casino official Holly Ward says the reasons include a provincial smoking ban, the U.S. exchange rate and high gas prices.

She says construction at the facility is also driving customers away.

However, Ward says renovations to the gaming floor should be done by the end of the year, so some workers will be called back.

Ontario's ban on smoking in public places took effect May 31st.

Bingo parlour operators predicted a drop in customers because of the ban and some have warned that layoffs or closures would be inevitable.

 

Bars in NYC worried after their ban.
They're as packed as ever.