It is essential to prevent smoking in your hotel rooms because solicited and unsolicited smoking in hotel rooms threatens your hotel and costs you more money. Designated smoking rooms already require more money and effort from staff. Your team will have to clean them more thoroughly and more often. Smoking room or non-smoking room, no guest wants to enter their room and be greeted by the smell of cigarettes. All hotel rooms must be cleaned. But, if smoking rooms are putting your cleaning team behind schedule, it may not be worth the potential complaints from guests if their rooms are not ready on time. At least with smoking rooms, cleaners know to expect the cleaning will take longer. However, suppose they enter a non-smoking room to find that the previous guests have smoked cigarettes or marijuana in the room. In that case, this unexpected event can result in severe time loss and huge annual costs for your business. Research completed by FreshAir Sensor found that unsolicited smoking in American hotels can cost hoteliers about $5.4 billion annually. So, let’s examine why and how we can prevent smoking in your hotel.
Why smoking rooms cost more
As you know, the smell of smoke gets on everything. Of course, your cleaning team turns down rooms regularly, but cigarette smoke clings to furniture and even ruins paint. If you frequently have to repaint and replace furniture, these costs increase quickly over time. Cleaning hotel smoking rooms require special cleaning tools with chemicals that neutralize the smell. You may also have to purchase new sheets and furniture more frequently if they become burned from making contact with cigarettes. When unsolicited smoking costs your business around $5.4 billion annually, imagine the extra cost of smoking rooms. To keep up with hotel smoking rooms, you are paying for additional cleaning tools, extra staff, more time, and extra supplies. Not to mention furniture replacement due to smell and cigarette burns. Because of the specialized needs hotel smoking rooms require, hoteliers often have to remove them from inventory while they are unclean. When smoking occurs in your hotel rooms, you are pouring significant amounts of money down the drain. By preventing this, you can save money and allocate it more efficiently.
Smoking rooms aren’t in demand
Hotel smoking rooms are not in demand like they were back in the day. This is because our idea of health has become more advanced. We are all aware of the health costs associated with cigarette smoke. However, interesting trends have shown that even smokers aren’t looking for hotel smoking rooms. Many hotels still offer a designated outdoor space for smokers, but people do not look for smoking rooms as frequently. Hotel smoking rooms require more effort and company resources to upkeep a demand that does not match. The rising demand for non-smoking rooms is a societal reflection, especially prominent in the United States, of how smoking is viewed today. Of course, people still smoke. But that number had dramatically decreased since the mid-1960s when it was most popular.
Second-hand smoke
A common misconception about hotel smoking rooms is that they prevent second-hand smoke from occurring. Not only can it waft out of the room and into hallways or through windows, but smoke from cigarettes lingers for around five hours. This means that if you aren’t exposing incoming guests to second-hand smoke, you are exposing your staff to it. Given that we are living in a post-pandemic world, this may have implications more dangerous than ever before. Research has found that smokers and individuals exposed to second-hand smoke are at a greater risk of catching COVID-19. While vaccines are now readily available, viruses mutate, and it is essential to protect your staff. Not only is it decent to do, but it will also help keep your business from potential understaffing. When you protect your team, you protect your business.
How to prevent smoking in your hotel
It can feel like an impossible task to keep guests from smoking in your rooms. However, there are ways to prevent guests from smoking in your hotel rooms. The best way to do this is by installing Alertify. Alertify is a small, plug-in device that uses sensors to monitor whether guests have been smoking cigarettes or marijuana in your rooms. Alertify also monitors noise decibel levels, temperature changes, and how many people are in your hotel room at one time. The device operates with a low-power draw, so the extra cost to your business will be minimal. Alertify’s customizable notifications alert you in real time if any of these activities have occurred. You can view all actions online to keep track of these ongoings in your hotel rooms. This portal shows you general and individual reports of what activities occurred, when, and for how long. Prevent smoking in your hotel and save money today with Alertify.
