Can hotels refuse guests a smoking room? What are consumer rights in this area?

[txirimiri]

I can see both sides to this.

People may have a reasonable expectation that they can smoke in the room.. they may be foreign for example, as if that explains everything...

But anyway, people might expect to be allowed smoke, and may not ask for a smoking room, as why would they?, they may never have experienced a no-smoking hotel.

I live in a country where there is no smoking ban and I have travelled fairly extensively. I have yet to come across someone who has 'never experienced a no-smoking hotel' and would not ask for a smoking room if they were smokers - pretty much all hotels everywhere have smoking and no-smoking rooms, irrespective of their policies in public areas

 

[thedaras]

I started a thread about something similar a while ago,maybe check that out and see what replys were given..

Interesting that those who told the hotel they required a smoking room ,where always facilitated in the end...

I would think there would be little chance of them turning down any customers these days,and most will do what they can ,under threat of taking your cutom elsewhere..

 

[AlbacoreA]

That's fine, as long as it's made clear.. otherwise the hotel may have mis-sold the room.

In the OPs case... Susie wasn't aware it seems that the hotel was totally non-smoking, if she made the booking without being told this I think she should receive a full refund. If the hotel refused to give a full refund I'd say that they'd be wrong to do so.

I'd say its bad business to refuse a refund.

However I don't see that a hotel mis sold anything. if you have special requirement, its up to you mention it on booking.

 

[JoeB]

Taximiri.. In Ireland we have completely no smoking hotels, so asking for a smoking room does you no good, they don't have any, just large fines for smoking.


I don't see smoking as a special requirement... that's the point, but times do indeed seem to be a-changing. My examples.. no-one would consider having sex to be a special requirement, and a customer could be rightfully upset if the hotel had a rule banning it.

My own view is that a smoker should not have to specially ask if smokers are accommadated, it should be assumed that smoking is allowed, at least in some rooms. But this seems to be changing, and I can see a day, not too far off it appears, when smokers must ask.. however I don't think that day is today, and the OP didn't ask, and was dissapointed when she arrived.

 

[AlbacoreA]

Seems to be a problem of perspective here.

Smokers don't notice the impact smoking has on others. Ignoring the health issues for a moment, or the law. Smokers usually don't even notice the smell of smoke, whereas its very noticeable to others. A non smoker usually can't stand the smell of smoke, especially stale smoke in a room and off everything in a room. Smoking permeates everything in the room, and stains walls, ceilings etc. So its not like you can open a window and then re-rent the room as non smoking room. Cleaning a smoking room back to the level of a non smoking room is a major job. That has a cost. By smoking in a room you make it off limits for non smokers. That is also going to have a cost impact. As there are more customers who are non smokers.

Therefore it in no way similar to sleeping, or sex which were the ludicrous comparisons made earlier.

When you go to another country you should be aware of the rules/laws. Ignorance is no defence.

 

[AlbacoreA]

...OP didn't ask, and was dissapointed when she arrived.

Did the OP say that?

 

[Dicette]

There is no right to smoke.

I was at a Massive Attack gig a few years ago and they had a ticker-tape thingy going in the background relating to peolple's freedoms being compromised and human rights violated - most items were along the lines of Rendition Flights etc - all very noble, then in the middle of it was "The Right to Smoke" - have to say, they lost me there.

Re smokers, smoking in non-smoking rooms - this is a big issue for hotels - as a non-smoker on more than one occasion I have asked to change rooms, when I have been assigned a "non-smoking" room that smells of smoke.
As the majority of people are non-smokers, it makes business sense for a hotel to have a majority of their rooms designated non-smoking.