In hotel rooms, smoking is prohibited, and those caught will face severe fines. Gone are the days when individuals could smoke wherever they wanted, as seen in vintage movies and even video documentaries showing people in government offices, meetings, and medical clinics. However, because this generation is more health-conscious than previous generations, smoking is no longer as fashionable as it once was. Smoking indoors and in public settings is not difficult to police these days, thanks to the fall in the number of smokers. Of course, many people can still get away with it in private. Is it easy to spot them? Hotels have no way of knowing if you smoked in your room.

Hotel management has methods for detecting cigarette smoke in their rooms. So, how do hotels know whether or not you smoked in your room? With the help of tools and technology, it progresses from the most basic to the most complex.

1. The scent of cigarette smoke lingers on the surfaces where it has swirled around. It could be on the same chair as the smoker and the seat next to them. Smoke odors can also be found on pillows, draperies, luggage, and other goods. This is true even after the smoker has exited the room. It doesn’t take a thick, long plume to fill a space with the smell.
2. The wind can also detect a smoker. When the wind blows in the opposite direction of a plume of smoke, the latter is pushed into space, like a hallway.
3. Nonsmokers are better at detecting the smell of smoke than smokers. A hotel’s housekeepers are keen on spotting this.
4. Housekeepers are familiar with every corner and crevice of the hotel room they clean and sweep daily. This involves rummaging into trash cans.

Smoking Activity Detection Technology

Even when no one is around, how can hotels know you smoked in the room? In terms of the more advanced method of detecting cigarette smoke in hotel rooms, a sensor known as a FreshAir Sensor not only detects nicotine, cigarettes, and marijuana but also notifies hotel management of a smoking occurrence. This smoke detection device is cloud-connected, allowing hotel owners to be told. This is how hotels know whether or not you smoked in your room.

Joe BelBruno and Jack O’Toole created this ground-breaking invention to reduce smoking prevalence. Both of these business entrepreneurs know that smoking is a health hazard for smokers and nonsmokers. BelBruno, a professor and sensor technology expert, and O’Toole, a business traveler who hops from hotel to hotel, are an ideal match.

This sensor is often used in hotels. The gadget is wall-mounted, but there is also a ceiling-mounted variant available. Attempts to disconnect it from a wall would also inform the hotel management and system owners because it is cloud-based. As a result, this tidy little anti-smoking device is tamper-proof.

However, it must be replaced if the sensor has identified three or more smoking occurrences. This is done to keep the gadget sensitive and razor-sharp while detecting cigarette or marijuana smoke in the room. According to the founders, the sensors are relatively simple to repair and install.

The sensor is noteworthy since it is impregnable. Using cloud-based technology, the sensor also informs the guest’s credit card company that smoking has occurred, ensuring that there is no disputing once the behavior has been recognized. The founders also included this option to assist hotels that have had a high number of cases of guests denying their smoking and, as a result, not paying the fines.

The creators of this device are also aware that the fines imposed by hotels on smokers are unlikely to generate a profit. A room that has been heavily smoked in will require a thorough cleaning. The outright cost of deep cleaning services is about $200, and consider how much money a hotel’s cleaning budget will have to spend.

When Someone Is Caught Smoking, What Should You Do?

What procedures do hotels follow when smoking is detected? Now that we know how hotels know you smoked in the room, what methods do they follow when smoking is detected? They normally adhere to the following guidelines:

1. When a housekeeper notices smoking in a room, he immediately informs his supervisor.
2. The supervisor verifies this by inspecting the room and reports the incident to his immediate boss for confirmation.
3. Depending on business policy and norms, the direct superior, such as the housekeeping manager, performs an ocular inspection and raises the problem with the next leaders to whom he directly reports.
4. The front office manager, also reported in step 3, fines the visitor by charging the amount to his credit card, regardless of whether he is still checking in.
5. If the guest challenges the smoking event, an incident report is filed to document everything.