If you’re debating whether or not to smoke on hotel balconies, it’s a good thing you’re reading this.
This post will answer whether you can smoke on hotel balconies, then explain whether or not you can be fined for it. In addition, it will also discuss the alternative places you can smoke from apart from the balcony.
Here’s if you can smoke on hotel balconies
No, smoking is not permitted on hotel balconies. Most hotels have smoking bans in place, including on hotel balconies. This is due to the possibility that the smoke will distract other hotel guests. Also, smoke can be harmful to others. Some hotels have smoking areas separate from sleeping areas.
How much will you be fined if you smoke on balconies?
On average, if you are caught smoking on balconies, you will be fined between $150 to $300. These charges will be separate from the room payment.
Smoking causes damage to the hotel’s property and causes unrest with other non-smoking hotel guests.
The hotel has to clean everything from the furniture, bedding, curtains, walls, and windows.
That is why they impose such a hefty fine for smoking. If you are a second-time offender, you can pay up to $2000; a third-time offender pays up to $5000.
Can you vape on hotel balconies?
No, you cannot vape on hotel balconies. There are designated rooms set aside for people who want to smoke. However, not all hotels have them. Other hotels require you to smoke when you are no longer within the hotel’s perimeter.
Most people think they can get away with vaping, but it is not very different from smoking.
Hotel owners must pay additional expenses for the other personnel, time, and equipment required to remove cigarette odors from guest rooms.
Typically, housekeepers must apply odor-neutralizing chemicals and perform time-consuming tasks such as cleaning AC filters.
Hotel rooms are often removed from inventory to facilitate cleaning, which increases the hotel’s expenses. Additionally, there is the issue of insurance obligation to consider.
People think that vaping does not leave a smell, but it does. If you continue smoking in the same room, there will be a vape stench over time. Vaping also leaves a smell in the room and can set off smoke detectors.
Nowadays, smoke detectors are built in such a way they can detect when smoke interferes with the light. Also, non-smokers are more sensitive to smoke smell, including housekeeping.
So if you smoke, housekeeping might see the thick vape smoke coming from your room or smell it when cleaning your room. Housekeeping is supposed to report the incident to their supervisor.
The supervisor comes to your room and inspects for any signs of smoking.
If there are any, the supervisor notifies the front office desk, who fines you irrespective of whether you are still in the room or have checked out. Another way the management knows is by using heat alarms which go off in case of smoke or fire.
Other factors include open windows or vents where non-smokers will detect the vape smell.
Where to smoke if you can’t smoke on balconies?
Many hotels try to be accommodating to all people. So they offer designated rooms or floors for smokers. In high-end hotels, smoking rooms have special machinery that keeps the smoke from sticking around, favoring any non-smoker passing by.
Before renting a room in a hotel, ensure you go through its policies to be sure if they offer smoking rooms or not. Although sometimes many hotels will tell you at the front desk that they are smoke-free premises. You can inquire with them, and they can help you know where to smoke.
Smoke-free hotels monitor any smoking activity with smoke detectors and outdoor cameras.
So you still cannot smoke on the hotel balcony. However, people have discovered ways around triggering a smoke detector.
Some people put a sock or a shower cap over the smoke detector and tie it with a rubber band.
That way, you can smoke in your room without any alarms. This is dangerous because, in case of a real fire tragedy, you put yourself in danger and the other people around you.
Also, because you are tampering with a hotel property, you could be charged with vandalism. According to California State law,
“Whoever commits any of the following acts is guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction is subject to imprisonment in a county jail for not more than one year, a fine of not more than one thousand dollars, or both.
Willfully and maliciously manipulates, injures, or destroys any fire protection equipment, fire protection installation, fire alarm apparatus, wire, or signal.” so please refrain from tampering with fire alarms.
You can try the bathroom method where you smoke in the bathroom because there are no smoke detectors.
Also, cigarette smoke sticks in the room. So if housekeeping comes knocking on your door only to find the room reeking of cigarettes, they might alert the management, and you will be fined. To be safe, just go outside the hotel premises or, if the hotel allows it, go to a smoke room.
In other hotels, there are select bedrooms known as smoke-permitted rooms.
These rooms have large signage clearly saying that smoking is allowed. You can ask to rent one of those rooms, and no one will ask you when you smoke.
Do Hotels have smoking rooms?
Yes, smoking rooms are available in some hotels. Some hotels will rent out smoking rooms as hotel rooms, while others will simply have a smoking room where all smokers can visit and smoke.
The smoking rooms are usually inexpensive and have a strong odor of smoke. If you intend to smoke, you can obtain an ashtray from reception.
Smoking rooms have become increasingly rare because non-smokers often complain that they get affected by the smoke. So, if the hotel does not have a designated smoke room, your only option is to go outside.
Also, most smoke rooms do not have smoke detectors; therefore not safe enough.
They have ventilation systems that recirculate the air in the fans and minimize the nicotine stench. If the ventilation system is not there, you can fill cups with vinegar and place them in the middle of the room when smoking.
The white vinegar will absorb the smoke, and afterward, the cups with coffee will clear the room from the nicotine stench. You can also clean the cups with vinegar to remove any smoke stench.
You can also use charcoal that has been activated with baking soda to remove any tobacco smells from the room.
See related: What is an honor bar at a hotel?
Conclusion
So, no, you cannot smoke on hotel balconies. It is illegal, and most hotels have rules barring anyone from smoking anywhere near the hotel’s vicinity. If you try sneaking in a smoke and are caught, you can pay a fine of up to $200. However, in some hotels, some rooms are designed explicitly as smoking rooms.