Cities Across America Vote On Smoke-Free Public & Work Places

FreshStay.com's ever-expanding network of smoke-free hotels says the movement is good for guests, employees and owner/operators alike.

Today - Election Day - a plethora of cities and counties will vote on proposed smoke-free ordinances for public and work places. FreshStayTM and its mushrooming network of smoke-free hospitality properties applaud these efforts, saying they're good for all involved.

Already this year, 100 cities and counties - a record number - have enacted strong smoke-free ordinances, says Bronson Frick of the non-profit lobbying group Americans for Non-Smokers' Rights. 'The trend is very much going toward smoke-free,' Frick adds.

Ray Burger, president of Pineapple Hospitality, which in January founded the FreshStayTM online network of hundreds of non-smoking hospitality properties, concurs.

'The smoke-free movement is sweeping the nation because it protects our planet and our people, and we can clearly see now that, when marketed properly, it helps protect and grow businesses as well,' Burger says. 'After today's ballots are cast, we're projecting another stampede of hotels, resorts, lodges, inns and bed-and-breakfasts to announce they're going smoke-free and joining FreshStay.com.'

Cases In Point
The Four Seasons Motor Inn comprising three buildings already has taken two of its facilities completely smoke-free. Now, the Kalispell, Mont., complex has just six smoking rooms available out of its total inventory of 99 guestrooms. Michelle Powell, director of sales and marketing, says the third building very well might follow suit and become entirely smoke-free by the end of 2007/early 2008 after an ongoing renovation is completed.

'We get a lot of visitors from California, which is a smoke-free state (for public spaces), and time and again they tell us how much they truly appreciate our smoke-free public areas policy as well as our wide range of non-smoking rooms,' Powell says.

Powell says the inn's housekeeping staff like it as much as the guests.

'It's much easier for the housekeepers to clean non-smoking rooms, and our room cleanliness and guest satisfaction scores are better,' Powell adds.

The Four Seasons Motor Inn is a member of FreshStayTM. Powell says the FreshStay.com online directory should help the inn and hundreds of fellow member properties ban together to co-promote each other and their collective cause - clean indoor air for all.

Bob McGowan, general manager of the 225-room Crowne Plaza Valley Forge in King of Prussia, Pa., says the hotel worked hard in recent years to decrease its smoking rooms inventory to 14 guestrooms (about 6 percent of its inventory) - and went 100-percent smokefree on May 1, 2006.

'Granted, we had just a few smoking rooms, but we received legitimate complaints that smoke was bellowing out of these rooms, into the hallway and, in some cases, into the nearby non-smoking rooms of other guests,' McGowan said. 'We had the same problem before with our lounge, where tobacco smoke was spilling into our lobby and restaurant. Now, we're proud to say we're 100-percent smokefree.'

McGowan first heard about FreshStayTM by word of mouth and in the media. Having since joined the network, he sees even greater value.

'More and more people - consumers, travel agents and the media - are visiting FreshStay.com, and more and more properties are signing on every week. Why wouldn't we want to be a part of that?' McGowan asks.

Elana Bramley, sales manager for the 80-room Historic Ramada in downtown Vancouver, Canada, said the property had 16 smoking rooms on the second floor until going completely nonsmoking in November 2005.

'A lot of hotels across Canada, and across the globe for that matter, are making the move to
smoke-free,' Bramley says. 'But it's still a competitive differentiator for us - especially since we were one of the first midmarket, limited-service hotels in our area to make the upgrade.'

Bramley recalls how times have changed: 10 years ago, it wasn't uncommon for 25 percent or more of a hotel's rooms inventory to be smoking designated.

'Smoking rooms have such an overwhelming, pungent smell that most smokers don't even want to stay in them,' she adds. 'Plus, hotels were constantly dealing with cigarette burns on bedding, carpeting and furniture. Going smoke-free protects the health of our guests and employees as well as our assets.'

About Pineapple Hospitality
Headquartered in Saint Charles, Mo., Pineapple Hospitality(TM) is an EPA ENERGY STARTM partner bringing fresh ideas to hospitality guests' doors and owner/operators' bottom lines - including FreshStay(R) (www.FreshStay.com), Environmentally Sensitive Amenities, the greenSPA luxury amenity and dispenser system, energy-efficient lighting, Guestat programmable thermostats, Oxygenic water-efficient showerheads, the Nature's Mist deodorization system, and dozens of other products/programs and ZAPLEXTM remote control protectors. To get a taste of Pineapple's sweet solutions helping thousands of hotels bolster business and cut costs, visit www.pineapplehospitality.net or call Ray Burger at 636-922-2285.

Smoke-Free States
Fourteen states have passed strong smoke-free laws:
• California
• Colorado
• Connecticut
• Delaware
• Hawaii
• Maine
• Massachusetts
• New Jersey
• New York
• Rhode Island
• Montana
• Utah
• Vermont
• Washington

Note: In addition, Idaho, South Dakota, North Dakota, and Florida have laws that cover most public places.

Source: FreshStayTM, 636-922-2285, www.FreshStay.com.

Smoke-Free Countries
Many countries, including:
• Bermuda
• Ireland
• Italy
• New Zealand
• Norway
• Scotland
• Spain
• Sweden
• The U.S. Territory of Puerto Rico

Source: FreshStayTM, 636-922-2285, www.FreshStay.com.


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