Westin Hotels first 100% smoke-free hotel
chain For
years, hotel chains across America have given allergy-challenged
travelers something to cough about. Not anymore. This past January,
Westin Hotels and Resorts, who own 77 properties throughtout the
United States, Canada and the Caribbean, went 100% smoke-free,
including all guest rooms and public areas.
Certifying rooms as "smoke-free" meant undergoing extensive
preparation by Westin. 2,400 smoking rooms were put through a
meticulous cleaning process that included replacing all soft goods,
deep cleaning and treating all hard surfaces, walls and carpets
to eliminate allergens. All air filters were replaced and each
air conditioning unit was deep cleaned.
"At the heart of all of our decisions is the comfort, well-being
and quality of life for our guests," said Sue Brush, senior
vice president for Westin Hotels & Resorts. "We view
our hotels as a retreat from the rigors of travel. Our goal is
to provide a place where guests can relax and restore their mind,
body and spirit in a healthy way. At Westin we strive to offer
a spectrum of products, services and personal touches that will
help our guests walk out of our hotels feeling better than they
did when they arrived. Industry research, as well as our own research,
confirmed a clear consumer demand for a clean, smoke free hotel
environment."
Westin consumer data shows that 92% of its guests request a non-smoking
room when traveling and do not smoke in any part of the hotel,
including public areas. In addition, Westin conducted a Smoke-Free
Poll(b) that shows the majority of consumers who travel prefer
a smoke-free environment.
The poll found that 86% agree that creating a non-smoking environment is an important first step in creating a healthier environment and 80% prefer when restaurants and other indoor public spaces are free of cigarette and cigar smoke.
In addition, Westin has eight hotels in its portfolio that have a smoke-free policy in place, which has resulted in overwhelming positive feedback from guests.
"We applaud Westin for taking this visionary step on behalf of their guests," said Dr. Cheryl Healton, president and CEO of the American Legacy Foundation, with whom Westin is working to create the brand's nationwide non-smoking environment. "Westin's patrons and staff will benefit enormously from this effort to improve the quality of life for everyone associated with the Westin brand. Like the airlines, we hope it will one day be possible for all hotels to be smoke-free".
"More and more cities are becoming smoke-free and for an entire hotel chain to take this stand is very cutting edge and far ahead of the curve," said Joseph A. Mcinerney, president and CEO of the American Hotel & Lodging Association. "We congratulate Westin on their latest innovation. This follows the success of many trend-setting Westin initiatives and the industry is sure to take notice."
A natural evolution for the brand, the new smoke-free policy is a result of customer data and a clear demand from guests. This ground-breaking policy follows several others introduced by Westin, such as the brand's signature WestinWORKOUT rooms and well-known Heavenly beds.
A designated outside area will be provided at each hotel for Westin's smoking guests.
(Source: Starwood)
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