by Tom Isler |
June 01, 2008
The 632-room Swissotel Chicago not
only slaps guests with a $250 fine for violating its nonsmoking
policy -- it slips cash to the housekeeping staff for ratting on
smokers.
The bounty is modest: For each reported
violation, a staff member gets $10. According to a hotel
spokesperson, during the first four months under the new policy, 34
guests paid for smoking violations; 30 were exposed by the
housekeeping team.
The $250 fine is designed to deter
smokers, as well as to cover the costs of -- and lost revenue
resulting from -- an aggressive cleaning procedure that takes
anywhere from 24 to 72 hours, during which time the room is
unavailable for occupancy.
The fine also protects the hotel’s
ongoing $17.5 million investment in room renovations. Most of the
Swissotel’s rooms are finished now, and the remaining 70 will be
updated by year’s end. The property also has plans to expand its
meeting space to 50,000 square feet at a cost of nearly $50
million, to become available next summer and fall.