2008 Woodie Awards
Swissotel bans smoking, fines violators heavily
Chicago hotel rewards housekeepers who crack down on rule breakers
Louis R. Carlozo
MCT Campus
Issue date: 2/26/08 Section: The Mix
CHICAGO - Ever since she was a little girl in the Robert Taylor Homes, Linda Davis has hated cigarette smoke. The soft-spoken Swissotel housekeeper, who wears a four-star-crisp white apron and immaculate matching sneakers and socks, winces at the memory of her mom filling her childhood home with billows of smoke.
To demonstrate how it makes her feel, she massages her temples as if fighting off another tension headache - the kind she gets only when facing the remains of cigarettes, pipes or cigars.
Especially cigars. "They're the worst," says Davis, 34, her ever-present smile curdling for a moment in disgust.
Back when her mother turned the family apartment into a smoke box, Davis fought back by flinging open the windows, even when winter weather might discourage it. Now, when Davis walks into a room and catches that telltale scent - and she can always catch it, thanks to her hair-trigger headaches - she sets about freshening the premises, changing the linens.
Then she turns the guest in, for which she gets a $10 reward - while the offender gets a $250 fine.
Swissotel isn't the first Chicago hotel to ban smoking and levy stiff penalties against rule-breakers. But with a top-to-bottom renovation of 632 rooms under way, Swissotel is getting extra tough, paying housekeepers such as Davis for turning in no-smoking scofflaws. Swissotel is the only hotel in the country that rewards staff for collaring smokers in its rooms, according to the American Hotel & Lodging Association.
To demonstrate how it makes her feel, she massages her temples as if fighting off another tension headache - the kind she gets only when facing the remains of cigarettes, pipes or cigars.
Especially cigars. "They're the worst," says Davis, 34, her ever-present smile curdling for a moment in disgust.
Back when her mother turned the family apartment into a smoke box, Davis fought back by flinging open the windows, even when winter weather might discourage it. Now, when Davis walks into a room and catches that telltale scent - and she can always catch it, thanks to her hair-trigger headaches - she sets about freshening the premises, changing the linens.
Then she turns the guest in, for which she gets a $10 reward - while the offender gets a $250 fine.
Swissotel isn't the first Chicago hotel to ban smoking and levy stiff penalties against rule-breakers. But with a top-to-bottom renovation of 632 rooms under way, Swissotel is getting extra tough, paying housekeepers such as Davis for turning in no-smoking scofflaws. Swissotel is the only hotel in the country that rewards staff for collaring smokers in its rooms, according to the American Hotel & Lodging Association.
Be the first to comment on this story