Hotels: smoke gets in their eyes
Act 12 this summer makes it official: the state of Wisconsin joins the long list of others that have limited or snuffed out smoking altogether.
Only about a dozen states have no smoking restrictions, according to Ryan Patrick, an analyst at MayaTech Corp., which tracks state legislation.
“Many hotels have also banned smoking voluntarily,” he said.
Among them are Westin Hotels & Resorts, which became the first smoke-free brand in early 2006. Marriott followed later that year, and Sheraton Hotels & Resorts put up the "no smoking" signs in 2008.
“Not everyone is happy with the limits,” reports travel advocate Chris Elliott.
Some hotel owners, for example, believe that going smoke-free might hurt business.
The Wisconsin Innkeepers Association, a trade group for the state’s hotels, is trying to amend Act 12 to allow hotels to designate up to a quarter of their rooms as smoking.
"Customers are asking for smoking rooms," said Trisha Pugal, the association’s president.
"We’re afraid if there are no smoking rooms, they’ll go over to another state or they will smoke in the rooms, anyway."
Guests who smoke aren’t likely to be pleased, either. "With any rule or regulation, someone will find a way around it," said Derek McElroy, the general manager for the Doubletree Hotel Boise Riverside in Boise, Idaho.
By David Wilkening
David
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