The Economist reports that fewer hotels are offering smoking rooms; in fact, the proportion of hotels that only offer non-smoking rooms has jumped from 38% in 2008 to 85% last year.
According to the latest report from the American Hotel and Lodging Association (AHLA), a trade group, the share of hotel rooms that are non-smoking has steadily risen from 74% to 97% over the last decade.
It’s worth noting that the AHLA was a core partner of tobacco giant Philip Morris in various schemes to stop smokefree hotel policies such as the PM Options program. As more cities and states included 100% smokefree hotels in their smokefree laws, followed by the the adoption by the hotel chains Westin and Marriott of their smokefree policies in 2006 for North America, smokefree hotels started to become the new norm.
The best thing you can do is stay at 100% smokefree hotels and let them know you are there because it is smokefree. If you find yourself at a hotel (including casino hotels in complexes) that is not 100% smokefree indoors, clearly express your preference for smokefree in your online travel reviews, hotel surveys, and even in an email to the hotel. Bonus points if you copy the visitors bureau complaining about secondhand smoke! Some brands, such as Hyatt, still do not support smokefree policies.
