Cigar Party to Be Exception to Hotel's Smoke-Free Rule

After Marriott International announced that its U.S. and Canadian hotels would go "100 percent smoke-free" last year, the company famous for its tidy ways said it would train its housekeepers to spot evidence of smoking.

On Nov. 20, at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square, housekeepers won't have to search very hard. The hotel is scheduled to host Cigar Aficionado magazine's Big Smoke, billed as a celebration of "the pleasures of a fine cigar." A $200 ticket includes more than 25 handmade cigars. Smoking is encouraged.

So much for 100 percent smoke-free. The event, which was also held last year, has outraged the anti-smoking organization Action on Smoking and Health, whose executive director, John F. Banzhaf III, is accusing Marriott of violating a promise to its customers -- namely, that its hotels would be smoke-free.

In a letter to the company, Banzhaf wrote, "Staging such an event would be clearly contrary to -- and make a complete mockery of -- Marriott's pledge to its millions of customers to be '100 percent smoke-free.' "

"I think this is a very big deal," said Banzhaf, who is also a law professor at George Washington University.

Marriott officials said exceptions to the 100 percent smoke-free policy have been granted to fulfill previous agreements. "You can count them on one hand," said John Wolf, a Marriott spokesman. "Where there are existing contracts such as the Big Smoke, we honor our contracts."

However, "We will not be seeking new business from groups that smoke," Wolf said. "The bottom line is we are committed to our smoke-free policy, and we will continue to work toward a smoke-free environment in our hotels in the U.S. and Canada."

Banzhaf said Marriott's move not to seek new business from groups that smoke "is a step in the right direction. It shows that they can't just renege on a promise and hope that nobody notices and get away with it. They can't."

Regarding the Big Smoke, a lawyer from Marriott's general counsel office said in a letter to Banzhaf that the company was "taking all reasonable steps to minimize the impact of this event on other guests."

The event will take place in a "closed meeting room space" that will be "equipped with air filtering and ventilation equipment," the letter said.

"The room will be cut off from the rest of the hotel's air recycling system -- during the event and for approximately 24 hours thereafter -- so that air from the meeting space will be exchanged exclusively with the outdoors and not with other parts of the hotel."

After the event, the air filters will be replaced and a specialized service will "perform a thorough deep cleaning of the meeting room space," the letter said.

Marriott officials didn't say how much all the cleaning would cost, but it will probably be a bit more than the $200 to $300 cleaning fee the hotel chain charges guests for smoking in its rooms.