Disney Bans Smoking in Disney Hotels

by Heather Long | More from this Blogger

02 May 2007 11:40 AM

If I ever needed another excuse to stop smoking, then Walt Disney World hotels have just announced one. Beginning June 1, all Disney owned hotels will be banning smoking in their rooms and on their balconies. Disney-owned time-shares will also be banning the smoking of cigars or cigarettes. The hotels and time-share properties will provide designated smoking areas away from the rooms and balconies. This ban will make Disney the single largest resort company to take such a step.

According to Disney World Senior Vice President, Erin Wallace:

We've just continued to see the demand for smoking decline, and in the last several years it has really begun to fall off dramatically. Less than 4 percent of our rooms today are being reserved for smokers. It's time to go the whole way.

Disney World theme parks have long enforced a policy of asking smokers to restrict themselves to desginated areas only within the parks themselves to light up. The Disneyland hotels in California instituted a similar policy last year. Hotels not owned by Disney, but existing on Disney property will not be included in the ban.

According to Wallace, Disney will help smoking guests who wish to rebook their reservations to do so. While the trend against smoking has grown over the last decade, 18% of the population still uses tobacco products. Not smoking in the rooms, I don't have a problem with. Not smoking on an outdoor patio or balcony - that's creating an undue hardship on a guest that smokes. Agree with the habit or not, but segregating them to the opposite side of a hotel (and at the Animal Kingdom Lodge this could be a significant walk) that may take several minutes to reach.

Smoking is a choice and so is staying at Disney hotel

Disney is not alone in their desire to ban smoking in their rooms. This ban is a direct response to the non-smokers who don't want to be exposed to second-hand smoke and I can appreciate that. But smokers beware if you elect to go ahead and smoke on your patio or balcony at a Disney owned hotel after June 1 - because a cleaning fee of $250 to $500 will be added to your bill . The fee will be to replace fabrics and the deep cleaning to get rid of the odor of smoking.

Sure, it's inconvenient, but like I said - if you were looking for another reason to add to your list of why you should quit smoking, this might just be it.

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Learn more about Heather Long

Heather Long is 35 years old and currently lives in Wylie, Texas. She has been a freelance writer for six years. Her husband and she met while working together at America Online over ten years ago.

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