U.S. Hotel Rooms for Smokers Dwindling

December 1, 2003

U.S. Hotel Rooms for Smokers Dwindling
December 01, 2003 – The number of smoking-allowed guest rooms at U.S. lodgings is at a record low, and more hotels are going smoke-free.

PricewaterhouseCoopers consulting firm did research in August and found just 16 percent of rooms in eight major U.S. urban markets are set aside for smokers, according to USA Today. That number is down 4 percent from 1998. Hotel chains typically don’t track smoking rooms but report more demand for nicotine-free lodging.

Even smokers are requesting smoke-free quarters, claiming they don’t want to stay in a room that smells like smoke.

The decrease in smoking rooms will continue, but probably at a slower pace because smokers still are numerous. About 23 percent of Americans 18 and older smoked in 2001, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

To read more, go to USAToday.com.