When Samantha Armstrong sees a $250 charge on her hotel bill, she’s told it’s because she smoked in her room. Just one small problem: Armstrong doesn’t smoke. Read more “There’s no smoke in my hotel room, so what’s this $250 charge?”
Tag: SMOKING
What’s this $50 ‘other’ charge on my rental car invoice?
Hertz dings Jonathan Beyer for smoking in his rental car. But wait — he doesn’t smoke.
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Is something wrong with Hotwire’s smoking filter?
When Michelle Palenschat books a room through Hotwire, she ends up in a smoking room. Can the company do that? And is it possible to get a refund?
Read more “Is something wrong with Hotwire’s smoking filter?”
The travel industry cracks down on smokers
Landra Osmus doesn’t smoke. So when she checked out of the Comfort Suites at Sabino Canyon in Tucson, Ariz., recently, she almost choked on her bill, which included a surprise $150 cleaning fee.
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Smoked out of the Days Inn
Question: I have a concern that I tried addressing with a specific Days Inn and with Wyndham, which owns Days Inn, but have not received a response. I recently stayed at the Days Inn in Fernandina Beach, Fla. I made a reservation for a non-smoking room and was given a smoking room when I checked it.
I spoke with a manager, who told me he was sorry he couldn’t offer me a non-smoking room. The only rooms the hotel had left to sell were smoking rooms.
So, my question to Wyndham is: Is it their policy to accept a reservation for a non-smoking room when no such room exists? I wrote to Wyndham, but after several emails, it stopped answering.
Read more “Smoked out of the Days Inn”
The Travel Troubleshooter: Hotel burns nonsmoking guest with fee
Question: I prepaid for a room at the Ace Hotel New York through a site called Jetsetter.com recently. I had stayed at Ace Hotel in Palm Springs a year ago with a group, and had been thoroughly impressed with my stay.
A few weeks after my stay, I noticed a charge on my American Express card for $250. I inquired with American Express regarding the charge and after a couple of weeks Amex informed me that, Ace charged me a smoking fee.
There’s just one problem: I don’t smoke.
In fact, I suffer from allergies and can’t even be around people who smoke. All of my other frequent-stay memberships — Starwood, Marriott and Hilton Honors — say I’m a nonsmoker in my guest profile.
Is this just another way for hotels to make money? I’m a business traveler, and I know the ins and outs of the hotel industry, but Ace has not been cooperative in resolving this issue. Any help you can provide to shed some light on this ridiculous charging practice would be much appreciated. — Bernardino Suva, Los Angeles
Answer: Ace shouldn’t have charged a smoking fee unless you smoked in your room. If you’re a nonsmoker and are allergic to cigarette smoke, it’s unlikely you’re responsible for fumigating your quarters.
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Ridiculous or not? A $20-a-night fee to “guarantee” a non-smoking room
Editor’s note: I’ve changed my Wednesday feature, “That’s ridiculous!” to make it more interactive. Now you can vote on whether a new fee or practice is — or isn’t — ridiculous. By the way, if you’ve seen something outrageous that you’d like to nominate, please send me an email.
When Teri Salmons clicked on the MGM Grand’s website to reserve a room recently, she found an “unbelievable” new fee.
Next to options for early check-in ($20) and late check-out ($20) she saw a $20 per day fee for “guaranteeing” a non-smoking room.
That’s right. You have to pay extra if you want to stay away from the smoke.
“Most hotels are either all non-smoking these days, or at least the majority of their rooms are non-smoking,” says Salmons, a Baltimore-based consultant. “What will they think of next — pay toilets?”
Read more “Ridiculous or not? A $20-a-night fee to “guarantee” a non-smoking room”
Can this trip be saved? They didn’t have my smoking room, so who pays to fix it?
Like 21 percent of other Americans, Larry Vail smokes. Having a room where he can light up is important when he travels, so when he booked his accommodations at the Sunset Jamaica Grande Resort & Spa through Bookit.com, he made sure it was a designated smoking room.
“This was our fifth trip to Jamaica and we have always reserved a smoking room without any problem,” he says.
Not this time.
Even though the all-inclusive resort offers smoking rooms online, and even though Bookit.com says he had one, he didn’t get one when he checked in.
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Thanks a lot, Hotwire! I’m stuck with the worst room in the house
Here’s a phrase you hear a lot in my line of work: You get what you pay for.
Helene Goldberg thought she’s found a bargain on a hotel room at a Country Inns & Suites property in Phoenix last month. But there was a catch.
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Hotels try to kick the smoking habit
After President Obama’s negative comments about Sin City and his subsequent mea culpa (“I love Vegas — always have!”), I realize that this might not be the most prudent way to start a column. But how do you fire up a discussion about smoking in hotels without mentioning America’s capital of secondhand smoke?
Azita Arvani recently returned from a trade show in Las Vegas, where she requested a nonsmoking room at her resort. It didn’t matter.
“Smoke came in through the central air conditioning units,” said Arvani, a Los Angeles technology consultant. “I usually don’t have any problems with hotels and smoking. Except when I go to Las Vegas.”
That makes two of us. I’ve never been to Nevada’s largest city without spending at least a few moments of every day gasping for fresh air.
Read more “Hotels try to kick the smoking habit”