Guests who smoke

[JBloggs]

I had guests check out and only when I found her soda-can did I see the cig butts and realize she was a smoker. She must have not smoked often or much and kept it to herself.
I had a discussion with innkeepers I met but did not know until last week that assured me that if they FOUND OUT any of their guests smoked they would ask them to leave.
Now surely you cannot regulate something someone does outside the Inn, if you say a smoke free property and they smoke in their car?
I found this to be a very absurd policy to enforce. Like the guest who has stayed here on occasion who has one beer each evening on the porch and one cig. This is his routine. He is in no means trying to be offensive to anyone.
(Sorry if this is a can of worms, I know smoking is a big taboo at some inns, esp re fire danger and innkeepers feel strongly about it. Just for the record I don't smoke, I hate smoking, but I also don't appreciate people who stink of B.O., had to throw an entire sheet set away as I couldn't get the B.O. smell out of them, so this is another thing I don't like.)

 

[Morticia]

Smoking IN the inn would get you the boot here. Smoking outside is their own funeral. Just shut the doors and windows and don't blow the smoke into the house.

 

[Innkeeper To Go]

I know some inns that have a strictly no smoking anywhere on the property policy but honestly I think those super strict policies backfire. Guests who hear no smoking think they will be able to smoke somewhere outside. If they can't, they'll end up smoking in their bathroom and blowing smoke out the window.
I think it behooves an inn to have a designated smoking area that's far enough from the building to ensure smoke doesn't get into any doors/windows.
Trying to regulate unhealthy behavior is a losing proposition. Like Morticia says, it's their funeral.

 

[Joey Camb]

We have a small gazibo outside at the back for smokers with an ash bin to put the *** ends in. This has worked well and the area is tidy. It provides them a small shelter from the elements and helps prevent them from smoking in the shower cubicle. We have a sign in every bedroom saying we will charge $120 dollars for anyone caught smoking in the room as it takes at least one day to get the smell out so we charge for the lost business (in theory) we havn't had to do it yet. I would point out that it is illegal to smoke in hotels/B&B etc in this country so most know the drill and if they are caught the gov can fine them $120 on the spot.

 

[Breakfast Diva]

If I had a no smoking policy anywhere on the property, I would have lost out on 5 room nights this week. This is not typical for us, but it certainly can impact the bottom line.
I don't smoke, I hate smoke and I won't go into any establishment that allows it inside. Having a place outside for smokers to go is a wise idea. We have friends who's first experience in a b&b was at a property where they could not smoke anywhere on the property, including inside their car. Obviously, they would never go back, and I'm amazed that they ever tried another b&b.
There are ways to make it work without making people feel like they are criminals or horrible people. Of course the great thing about owning your own b&b is that it's your rules. I think we should cut some people some slack. Fortunately, encountering guests who smoke is getting rarer and rarer.

 

[JBloggs]

We have a small gazibo outside at the back for smokers with an ash bin to put the *** ends in. This has worked well and the area is tidy. It provides them a small shelter from the elements and helps prevent them from smoking in the shower cubicle. We have a sign in every bedroom saying we will charge $120 dollars for anyone caught smoking in the room as it takes at least one day to get the smell out so we charge for the lost business (in theory) we havn't had to do it yet. I would point out that it is illegal to smoke in hotels/B&B etc in this country so most know the drill and if they are caught the gov can fine them $120 on the spot..

" We have a sign in every bedroom saying we will charge $120 dollars for anyone caught smoking in the room as it takes at least one day to get the smell out so we charge for the lost business"
Just $120 quid, that's a bargain! I discovered that for some smokers, they are willing to pay the price when they need nicotine bad enough. I upped mine to $300 or $400 I can't recall now, but it is more than one room night now. I remember the guests checking in after we had a smoker in one room once, who argued they did not smoke, and they did. Ashes in the window seal. This ain't my first rodeo, I keep telling people.

 

[JBloggs]

My mother was here for Mother's Day (along with the dead possum stuck under our floor in our closet and all that mess)...She stood on the porch and tossed her butt off the porch into my gardens. My Dad said "Why did you do that!" She replied "Well, there is no ashtray here!"
Yes, you read correctly, M-O-T-H-E-R. Lovely isn't it.
I told her, Mom I have an ashtray at the pond, I don't want anyone smoking on this old porch, it is a tenderbox. Later on I saw her stubb one out IN THE MULCH in the garden, you know the highly flammable dried out bark/mulch. We have have a high fire alert out right now. DOH!

 

[Morticia]

I actually had a guest tell me at check-in, after seeing the small smoking charge stipulated, "Oh, it's $100 extra to smoke. Cool."

If my son smoked, I'd say you met him! It can be a problem to set fines for certain guests. They think the way my son does...it's not meant as a deterrent, it's just weighing the punishment vs the crime.

 

[Innkeeper To Go]

We have a small gazibo outside at the back for smokers with an ash bin to put the *** ends in. This has worked well and the area is tidy. It provides them a small shelter from the elements and helps prevent them from smoking in the shower cubicle. We have a sign in every bedroom saying we will charge $120 dollars for anyone caught smoking in the room as it takes at least one day to get the smell out so we charge for the lost business (in theory) we havn't had to do it yet. I would point out that it is illegal to smoke in hotels/B&B etc in this country so most know the drill and if they are caught the gov can fine them $120 on the spot..

" We have a sign in every bedroom saying we will charge $120 dollars for anyone caught smoking in the room as it takes at least one day to get the smell out so we charge for the lost business"
Just $120 quid, that's a bargain! I discovered that for some smokers, they are willing to pay the price when they need nicotine bad enough. I upped mine to $300 or $400 I can't recall now, but it is more than one room night now. I remember the guests checking in after we had a smoker in one room once, who argued they did not smoke, and they did. Ashes in the window seal. This ain't my first rodeo, I keep telling people.
.

I discovered that for some smokers, they are willing to pay the price when they need nicotine bad enough.

I actually had a guest tell me at check-in, after seeing the small smoking charge stipulated, "Oh, it's $100 extra to smoke. Cool."
And he was totally serious.
I, of course, told him that it would be that for each occurance and that we'd ask him to leave if he repeatedly violated policies. That the policy was, in fact, no smoking in any rooms.
The charge has to be enough to keep them from smoking. I think $250 is the very minimum to have any impact as a deterrent. And it sure costs that much to clean the smoke from the room again!

 

[Innkeeper To Go]

I actually had a guest tell me at check-in, after seeing the small smoking charge stipulated, "Oh, it's $100 extra to smoke. Cool."

If my son smoked, I'd say you met him! It can be a problem to set fines for certain guests. They think the way my son does...it's not meant as a deterrent, it's just weighing the punishment vs the crime..

Oh yeah, it was completely about weighing the pros and cons and he thought it would be worth it. No harm meant at all. It was as though he was reading the policy as a checklist where you choose which ones you're willing to pay the fee on.
That's why I think those policies have to have some bite to them. The penalty needs to outweigh the perceived benefit to guests like that.

 

[Samster]

I have no idea how those innkeepers would enforce that. Give every guest a mandatory sniff test for tobacco products when they come back to the B&B? Good grief. Smokers will smoke.
And depending on where you live, a lot of people smoke. That's the case here. We have no smoking on the porches but allow smoking on the patios. That was the best compromise that I could come up with. There was no way that I wanted people flicking their butts off the porch into the shrubs and mulch. On occasion, we relaxed the policy (like if it was pouring down rain) so that the guest didn't jump out of their skin. lol!

 

[Copperhead]

We allow smoking is designated areas and also have a fine for smoking in other areas. A compromise is always good,. I feel. But there was a B&B in our area (since closed) that was a 'no smoking on the property' type. And there's no problem with that in general except that this lady must have drilled each prospective guest. I was unaware of this until one morning at breakfast I hear a couple telling the others at breakfast of his call.
He said he had called this other place first and after several minutes hearing her tell him over and over of the policy and then (as he put it) accusing him of lying that they did not smoke, he hung up and called us. He told the others that he had no clue why she went on and on and more importantly why he had spent so much time on the call in the first place!
I have had only 1 person smoke in our rooms and he was charged the extra fee. He did try to fight it through AMEX, but AMEX backed us in this battle. When we submitted the reply, we broke down the charges in this manor: the extra cleaning fee and the regular room charge for the night the room was out of order.

 

[JBloggs]

I think chewing tobacco is the worst, it reeks!

I began this thread as I saw other state is about to go non-smoking and the fight was on, Louisiana.

 

[egoodell]

We have a small gazibo outside at the back for smokers with an ash bin to put the *** ends in. This has worked well and the area is tidy. It provides them a small shelter from the elements and helps prevent them from smoking in the shower cubicle. We have a sign in every bedroom saying we will charge $120 dollars for anyone caught smoking in the room as it takes at least one day to get the smell out so we charge for the lost business (in theory) we havn't had to do it yet. I would point out that it is illegal to smoke in hotels/B&B etc in this country so most know the drill and if they are caught the gov can fine them $120 on the spot..

We started out as a no smoking property but have had such great and considerate guests (smoking in their car, or only outside) that we allow smoking on the back deck and outside porch. But they have to ask us to bring ash trays. Our register when they sign in states they are responsible for one night's rate if they smoke in the rooms to give us a day to air out and clean curtains, etc.
One has to be careful since smokers' clothes smell of smoke. We have found odors in the rooms often while they are here, but when they pack up and leave, the odor leaves with them once we open the windows.
Riki

 

[Samster]

I think chewing tobacco is the worst, it reeks!

I began this thread as I saw other state is about to go non-smoking and the fight was on, Louisiana..

Yes, the worst!! And needless to say, there are lot of folks in the South that use dip, chew, snuff, etc. I would gag when I found empty water bottles and soda cans with their nasty tobacco spit in it. Blech!! For some reason, they didn't get the whole "no tobacco products" in the houses and guest rooms. But how to prove that they weren't chewing tobacco outside? hmmm.... I guess they were as considerate as they could be. ICK!

 

[Breakfast Diva]

We have a small gazibo outside at the back for smokers with an ash bin to put the *** ends in. This has worked well and the area is tidy. It provides them a small shelter from the elements and helps prevent them from smoking in the shower cubicle. We have a sign in every bedroom saying we will charge $120 dollars for anyone caught smoking in the room as it takes at least one day to get the smell out so we charge for the lost business (in theory) we havn't had to do it yet. I would point out that it is illegal to smoke in hotels/B&B etc in this country so most know the drill and if they are caught the gov can fine them $120 on the spot..

We started out as a no smoking property but have had such great and considerate guests (smoking in their car, or only outside) that we allow smoking on the back deck and outside porch. But they have to ask us to bring ash trays. Our register when they sign in states they are responsible for one night's rate if they smoke in the rooms to give us a day to air out and clean curtains, etc.
One has to be careful since smokers' clothes smell of smoke. We have found odors in the rooms often while they are here, but when they pack up and leave, the odor leaves with them once we open the windows.
Riki
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It sounds like you've found the right system for your property. I would imagine that if they were forced to smoke in their cars that their clothes would reek even more of smoke. bleeeecccchhhh

 

[gillumhouse]

In WV smoking inside a 6 rooms or less B & B is against the law. However, last I heard, the use of tobacco is not illegal. I am too cheap to smoke - always have been. But I am not about to make someone feel like a scumbag because they have a habit I do not like - therefore I have a crystal ashtray on the porch.
Things have turned around 180 degrees - it used to be the non-smoker had to put up with it and shut up and now the smoker is treated like a criminal. However, the governments of every State will be in a world of hurt if everyone quits - them there "sin taxes" pay for a lot of things in the general fund.
I do not like the smell of smoke and do not want it in my rooms. I had only one guest disrespect that and they must have stood in an open window because they were too lazy to come down. Most smokers today are so used to being treated like criminals, they are ultra-considerate and automatically go out to smoke. Not saying anyone should change their policy. Just stating mine.