Marriott bans smoking; first local hotel chain to set policy

Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal - October 20, 2006 by John Vomhof Jr.Staff Writer

Marriott Hotels has snuffed out smoking in all of its hotels, making it the first smoke-free chain in the Twin Cities.

The policy change reflects an increased demand for non-smoking rooms and will help differentiate Marriott locally for the time being. Despite the costs and logistics involved with the switch, other hotel operators are expected to follow suit in the years ahead.

Minneapolis-based CSM Lodging operates 31 Marriott-branded hotels nationwide, including 15 in the Twin Cities. CSM President Rob Dann said he thinks it makes sense for the brand to go smoke-free.

"Being a non-smoker, I can't sleep in a smoking room," he said. "I have a real issue with it and I think a lot of people happen to feel the same way."

Guest response to Marriott's non-smoking format has been "overwhelmingly positive," except at the extended-stay hotels.

"In the extended stays, the jury is still out," Dann said. "We'll see how it goes."

CSM has lost some business as a result of the changes. One guest who had lived in one of CSM's hotels near Milwaukee for almost two years recently checked out because he couldn't smoke in his room anymore.

CSM tries to give smokers first-floor rooms so they can easily step outside and smoke. Even that can be tricky though, because Marriott does not allow smoking within 20 feet of its buildings.

Marriott also is cracking down hard on guests who disobey the non-smoking policy, slapping them with a $250 fine to cover the costs of removing the smell of smoke from the room. The penalties are less severe in Minnesota though, where state law caps such fines at $100.

CSM spent tens of thousands of dollars to rid its smoking rooms of odors and convert them to non-smoking rooms. For some rooms, it cost as much as $4,000 to repaint the walls, replace the carpet and dry-clean the bedding and drapes.

If the non-smoking format is successful, CSM might expand it to its six non-Marriott hotels.

Other hotels in the market surely will keep an eye on Marriott as they considering going smoke-free in the years ahead. Many hoteliers say they aren't going smoke-free yet, but they expect to do so eventually.

The next smoke-free hotel chain in the Twin Cities most likely will be Westin, which plans to open its first Minneapolis location next spring. The White Plains, N.Y.-based chain eliminated smoking in its hotels earlier this year.

Minneapolis-based Graves Hospitality Corp., which owns some Marriott hotels, will not implement a non-smoking policy for its Graves 601 Hotel in Block E.

"We have considered it and basically passed on it," Graves Hospitality President Benjamin Graves said, noting that the hotel draws many European travelers, many of whom smoke.

The Marquette Hotel in downtown Minneapolis allows smoking in about 10 percent of its 281 rooms, but expects to gradually convert to smoke-free over the next few years.

"The trend seems to be that in a couple years there will be no more smoking rooms," Marquette Hotel General Manager Gerard Viardin said. "This is a transition time, so for the time being we will stay 90 percent non-smoking and 10 percent smoking, and then slowly eliminate completely the smoking rooms."

Many smokers prefer non-smoking rooms anyway, because of the cleaner smell, he said.