Choice Hotels International’s Comfort Inn is going completely smoke-free from next year, joining sister brand Comfort Suites.
Effective July 1, 2016, it makes the combined Comfort brand, with more than 1,700 properties, the largest in the US with a 100% smoke-free policy, the company said.
The move follows a new focus on wellness at Comfort with a new tagline ‘Rested. Set. Go.’
"This smoke-free initiative is the latest in a series of bold steps the Comfort brand is taking to enhance the guest experience and deliver the needs of today’s business and leisure travelers," said Anne Smith, vice president of brand strategy for Choice Hotels.
"In weighing this decision, we looked closely at guest feedback and hotel performance after Comfort Suites properties went completely smoke-free in 2007 and contrasted that with findings based on similar research performed this year.
"We learned a lot about attitudes toward non-smoking policies at hotels and found that, not only have preferences for smoke-free environments continued to increase, but smokers themselves are more likely to choose 100-percent smoke-free accommodations."
