Thank You for Not Smoking

Bravo Marriott!

Marriott Intl. just announced it is banning smoking in all of its hotels in the United States and Canada, all 2,300-plus properties across all 10 of its brands, from Courtyard to Ritz-Carlton. This is a brave and wonderful move, and I hope the hotel chain will be rewarded with business because of it.

Smoking is not only banned in the 400,000 rooms it controls, but in bars, restaurants, meeting rooms and all other public areas. Better yet, designated smoking areas will be at least 25 feet away from hotel entrances.

I say "Bravo!" I hope our industry supports this and any other hotel chain that follows suit — like Starwood, which banned smoking in 77 of its Westin properties in January.

There are few things worse than being greeted with a blast of smoke at check-in, while waiting for the valet or trying to enjoy a meal. My personal favorite is the yahoo who smokes in the elevator, all the while pretending he's not by hiding the cigarette behind his back.

The debate — if there ever really was one — over second-hand smoke is settled and the "I have a right to smoke too" claim is about as tired as a four-hour flight on a 20-year-old MD80.

I hope more companies like Marriott get on board with this. Starwood needs to expand its ban to all of its brands, as do Hilton, Hyatt and all the rest. Convention centers should do the same. They all need to make the bans effective, and then enforce them.

Keep smokers away from the building, not huddled at entrances. That's what makes Marriott's ban so good — it's complete in scope.

If anyone has a problem with this, please let me know. Perhaps we can talk about the myth of global warming as well.