Smoke-Free Certified Hotels Announced
Global Wellness Council (GWC) announces the first batch of Smoke-Free Certified™ hotels.
PRESS RELEASE PR Newswire
Apr. 2, 2018, 08:16 AM
HONG KONG, April 2, 2018 /PRNewswire-iReach/ -- Global Wellness Council (GWC) announces the first batch of Smoke-Free Certified™ hotels. These hotels are chosen from hundreds of properties that were anonymously audited by GWC's inspectors between October 2017 and January this year.
The certification program was launched late last year, and is aligned with World Health Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. It incorporates best practices and guidelines from around the world, and attest properties for their smoke-free policy across the 3P of physical property, process and policy and people and participation.
According to the latest report from the American Hotel and Lodging Association, a trade group, the share of hotel rooms that are non-smoking has steadily risen from 74% to 97% over the last decade. Meanwhile, the proportion of hotels that only offer non-smoking rooms has jumped from 38% in 2008 to 85% in 2016.
"Travelers around the world are becoming more conscious about their accommodation. Staying in a completely smoke-free hotel is fast-becoming a must, even among smokers. Via the Smoke-Free Certified™ program, we aim to be a catalyst in spurring more properties to adopt a smoke-free environment. At the same time, we are empowering existing smoke-free properties to better educate prospective guests and employees on the benefit of being smoke-free", says William Ng, president of Global Wellness Council.
"These first batch of hotels are not only smoke-free – they have adopted stringent practices to protect guests from second-hand smoke, and the property itself from damages from third-hand smoke. Any property can be smoke-free and we encourage hotels who aren't to do so. The council's certification is free, but hotels would need to adopt a higher than average standard to qualify", Ng added.
While the percentage of smoke-free hotels exceed 86%, the number of rooms that are smoke-free globally hovers below 50%, posing a challenge both for travelers and hotel owners. GWC aims to endorse another 100 properties by end of 2018 to bring the number of smoke-free certified rooms to 50,000 globally.
Smoke-Free Certified™ Hotels
● Shangri-La Hotel, Beijing (670 rooms)
● Hotel Eden, Rome (98 rooms)
● Intercontinental Paris Le Grand (470 rooms)
● Hotel Bel-Air, Los Angeles (103 rooms)
● Hôtel Barrière Le Majestic, Cannes (349 rooms)
● Rosewood Beijing Hotel (282 rooms)
● The Langham, Melbourne (388 rooms)
● Trump International Hotel & Tower, New York (167 rooms)
● JW Marriot Venice Resort & Spa (266 rooms)
● Sofitel London St. James (183 rooms)
About Global Wellness Council
The Global Wellness Council mission is to democratize wellness for everyone through the GWC Game Changer™ of: information, choice and access. To find out about the Council's initiatives, and be part of this global movement to take ownership of our own wellness, visit www.globalwellnesscouncil.org
Apr. 2, 2018, 08:16 AM
HONG KONG, April 2, 2018 /PRNewswire-iReach/ -- Global Wellness Council (GWC) announces the first batch of Smoke-Free Certified™ hotels. These hotels are chosen from hundreds of properties that were anonymously audited by GWC's inspectors between October 2017 and January this year.
The certification program was launched late last year, and is aligned with World Health Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. It incorporates best practices and guidelines from around the world, and attest properties for their smoke-free policy across the 3P of physical property, process and policy and people and participation.
According to the latest report from the American Hotel and Lodging Association, a trade group, the share of hotel rooms that are non-smoking has steadily risen from 74% to 97% over the last decade. Meanwhile, the proportion of hotels that only offer non-smoking rooms has jumped from 38% in 2008 to 85% in 2016.
"Travelers around the world are becoming more conscious about their accommodation. Staying in a completely smoke-free hotel is fast-becoming a must, even among smokers. Via the Smoke-Free Certified™ program, we aim to be a catalyst in spurring more properties to adopt a smoke-free environment. At the same time, we are empowering existing smoke-free properties to better educate prospective guests and employees on the benefit of being smoke-free", says William Ng, president of Global Wellness Council.
"These first batch of hotels are not only smoke-free – they have adopted stringent practices to protect guests from second-hand smoke, and the property itself from damages from third-hand smoke. Any property can be smoke-free and we encourage hotels who aren't to do so. The council's certification is free, but hotels would need to adopt a higher than average standard to qualify", Ng added.
While the percentage of smoke-free hotels exceed 86%, the number of rooms that are smoke-free globally hovers below 50%, posing a challenge both for travelers and hotel owners. GWC aims to endorse another 100 properties by end of 2018 to bring the number of smoke-free certified rooms to 50,000 globally.
Smoke-Free Certified™ Hotels
● Shangri-La Hotel, Beijing (670 rooms)
● Hotel Eden, Rome (98 rooms)
● Intercontinental Paris Le Grand (470 rooms)
● Hotel Bel-Air, Los Angeles (103 rooms)
● Hôtel Barrière Le Majestic, Cannes (349 rooms)
● Rosewood Beijing Hotel (282 rooms)
● The Langham, Melbourne (388 rooms)
● Trump International Hotel & Tower, New York (167 rooms)
● JW Marriot Venice Resort & Spa (266 rooms)
● Sofitel London St. James (183 rooms)
About Global Wellness Council
The Global Wellness Council mission is to democratize wellness for everyone through the GWC Game Changer™ of: information, choice and access. To find out about the Council's initiatives, and be part of this global movement to take ownership of our own wellness, visit www.globalwellnesscouncil.org
