Comments on: What took them so long? http://www.elliott.org/blog/what-took-them-so-long/ Consumer advocate Christopher Elliott's site. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 05:25:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: prefer not to say http://www.elliott.org/blog/what-took-them-so-long/comment-page-1/#comment-2200 prefer not to say Wed, 17 Jan 2007 07:40:28 +0000 http://beta.elliott.org/photos/what-took-them-so-long/#comment-2200 I saw your blog and wanted to respond. I work for a large Marriott Hotel. I do not know the exact numbers on the lost of revenue from smokers refusing to stay with us. I do know we have gained new non-smoking guest loyalty base and it out weighs the losses. In addition, we still have several smokers that stay with us. Most of them are going outside to the smoking area. Others still smoke in the room. When guest smoke in the room, we charge them a $250 cleaning fee. (hope that smoke was worth it) We throughly clean (Ozone, etc...) the room and re-occupy it late on the same day that the smoking guest checks out if needed. So we actually are making more more revenue off going non-smoking. We charge $250. It does not cost that much to have a housekeeper detail the room. It costs at most $30-$40. I saw your blog and wanted to respond. I work for a large Marriott Hotel. I do not know the exact numbers on the lost of revenue from smokers refusing to stay with us. I do know we have gained new non-smoking guest loyalty base and it out weighs the losses.

In addition, we still have several smokers that stay with us. Most of them are going outside to the smoking area. Others still smoke in the room. When guest smoke in the room, we charge them a $250 cleaning fee. (hope that smoke was worth it) We throughly clean (Ozone, etc…) the room and re-occupy it late on the same day that the smoking guest checks out if needed. So we actually are making more more revenue off going non-smoking.

We charge $250. It does not cost that much to have a housekeeper detail the room. It costs at most $30-$40.

]]> By: Diane Holliday-Germain http://www.elliott.org/blog/what-took-them-so-long/comment-page-1/#comment-2199 Diane Holliday-Germain Fri, 21 Jul 2006 17:07:01 +0000 http://beta.elliott.org/photos/what-took-them-so-long/#comment-2199 When Westin Hotels & Resorts announced it would go smoke-free in December 2005, we were the first hotel chain to convert to a 100% smoke-free environment in North America. Going smoke-free was part of Westin's brand commitment to our guests' personal renewal during their stays, and recognizes that our guests and associates are increasingly focused on maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Converting all of our hotels to smoke-free required a significant investment of time and money, but it was worth every bit. To create a truly clean-air environment, we removed all smoking rooms from service for 24 hours and replaced all linens, bedding, drapes and window shears, deep cleaned the walls, hard surfaces, and rugs, and replaced air filters and cleaned HVAC units. Despite predictions that we would lose business, going smoke-free has made us stronger. Customers have been enormously supportive since we went smoke-free. We have also received support from organizations including the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Heart Association and the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA). But most importantly, Westin went smoke-free as part of our commitment to our guests' renewal--the same reason we developed the Heavenly Bed and our world-class spas. And by delivering our guests a smoke-free experience, our business here in Arlington has also gained renewed vitality and purpose, while providing our guests and associates a healthy environment. The fact that other hotel chains are following our lead is good news for travelers, and is good news for the hotel industry. Recent reports from the WHO and the Surgeon General confirm that secondhand smoke is a threat to health, and we are proud to provide our guests and associates a smoke-free environment. In fact, we believe that other businesses should look at ways to promote the health of their employees and customers by going smoke-free. When Westin Hotels & Resorts announced it would go smoke-free in December 2005, we were the first hotel chain to convert to a 100% smoke-free environment in North America. Going smoke-free was part of Westin’s brand commitment to our guests’ personal renewal during their stays, and recognizes that our guests and associates are increasingly focused on maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

Converting all of our hotels to smoke-free required a significant investment of time and money, but it was worth every bit. To create a truly clean-air environment, we removed all smoking rooms from service for 24 hours and replaced all linens, bedding, drapes and window shears, deep cleaned the walls, hard surfaces, and rugs, and replaced air filters and cleaned HVAC units.

Despite predictions that we would lose business, going smoke-free has made us stronger. Customers have been enormously supportive since we went smoke-free. We have also received support from organizations including the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Heart Association and the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA).

But most importantly, Westin went smoke-free as part of our commitment to our guests’ renewal–the same reason we developed the Heavenly Bed and our world-class spas. And by delivering our guests a smoke-free experience, our business here in Arlington has also gained renewed vitality and purpose, while providing our guests and associates a healthy environment.

The fact that other hotel chains are following our lead is good news for travelers, and is good news for the hotel industry. Recent reports from the WHO and the Surgeon General confirm that secondhand smoke is a threat to health, and we are proud to provide our guests and associates a smoke-free environment. In fact, we believe that other businesses should look at ways to promote the health of their employees and customers by going smoke-free.

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