When Hotel Guests Complain About Tobacco, Electronic Cigarettes, and Cannabis: Lessons for Implementing Smoking Bans

We analyzed reviews on from a random sample of N = 477 hotels in ten large cities in the US to examine how well existing policies protect guests from exposure to tobacco, electronic cigarette, and cannabis (TEC) smoke. We examined the association between complaints per 100 reviews with hotel smoking policies, star rating, cost, brand, and location. Of all TEC complaints, 80% were associated with thirdhand smoke residue lingering in hotels from previous guests. Compared to the hotel brands with the best records, the two worst-performing brands had 3.4- and 3.6-times higher complaint rates (P < .001). Hotels with <= 2-star ratings had twice the complaints as higher-rated hotels (P < .001). Compared to 100% smokefree hotels, those offering designated smoking rooms had a 35% higher rate of complaints (P < .05). The success of some hotel brands demonstrates it is feasible to protect guests by fully committing to, implementing, and enforcing 100% smokefree building policies.

Automated summary

We analyzed reviews on a random sample of 477 hotels in ten large cities in the US and found that 80% of tobacco, electronic cigarette, and cannabis (TEC) smoke complaints were related to thirdhand smoke residue in hotels from previous guests. The worst-performing hotel brands had significantly higher complaint rates, and hotels with 2 stars or less had twice the number of complaints compared to higher-rated hotels. Hotels that offered designated smoking rooms also had a higher rate of complaints compared to 100% smokefree hotels. The success of some hotel brands demonstrates the feasibility of fully committing to and enforcing smokefree policies to protect guests.