JBauer

I side with the OP here. Fight the charge. Don't look for sympathy on this board because you can always tell by the responses that it's a bunch of cranky conservative folk. Go with your gut on this and don't let these people dissuade you.

Doc Savage

This does raise a bit of a sticky question; what is to prevent hotels from using the "funny smell allegation" as a way to enhance revenue? I've worried about it a bit a couple of times when a room had a slight smoky odor (someone had obviously smoked there) and they had no other "non-smoking" rooms available. I've made a point to have them note in the res that I detected a smell and tried to change rooms so I wouldn't get stuck with a charge.

Soccerdad1995

I agree completely that this all depends on the wording of the specific policy. That said, I don't believe that most hotels go out of their way to confront guests with policies that are worded as bad (for the guest) as what you are suggesting.

The OP didn't name the hotel or even the state, so I couldn't find the policy for this specific property, but as a more general point, here is the policy on the web site of a hotel that I picked at random (Westin Memorial City Houston TX):

Smoking Policy

In keeping with our Breathe Westin® initiative, all guest rooms and public spaces are 100% non-smoking. A $200 cleaning fee will be charged to any guest who violates the smoking policy.


This is on a full page of various policies. I have stayed at this hotel and do not recall initialing an exhaustive list of policies, so I would guess that any policy the guest agrees to is not much more legalistic than this one.

If the OP's property has a similarly worded policy, then I stand by my earlier post. The OP will tell their cc company what happened and it will be up to the property to prove that the OP violated their policy. The burden of proof will be on the hotel, not the OP with regard to the cc dispute.

wobbly wings

All smoking policies state that if you smoke in your room you will be charged. The OP nor his friend smoked in the room. It follows he or she cannot be charged. Some smell of smoke can come from clothes, hair or any product used for smoking. As a non-smoker I find all smokers smell of smoke whether they smoke in my presence or not. I find that quite disgusting but this is not a matter of taste nor a moral call on pot. I do not like it when my room has a tiny bit of smell of smoke, most likely due to the previous occupant being a smoker. I open the window or ask for another room if it's really bad or if the smell is in the bed linen too.

However the OP cannot be charged as it did not violate the no-smoking policy.

How facts get established and where the burden of proof resides is an altogether different matter that has nothing to do with whether or not the charge should be contested.

iflyjetz

How long do you think an individual hotel could abuse this policy? In today's internet age, I submit that it wouldn't last very long.

Conversely, the hotel has to spend additional money to deep clean a room that a customer stunk up. If that cost is initially borne by the hotel, that cost will be passed on to everyone in the form of higher room costs. I don't want to pay higher hotel costs because someone brought their marijuana - smoked or not - into their hotel room.

Marijuana, whether smoked or not, is a very stinky plant. And that smell lingers long after the marijuana is no longer present. Just look around the internet and you'll see that there's been a lot of similar complaints by marijuana users in hotels being charged for cleaning the room after marijuana was present.
http://www.northcoastjournal.com/hum...nt?oid=2737883
(also read the comments here http://www.thecannabist.co/2014/04/1...tel-room/9123/

yyz-kin

Lets equate this to tobacco. So, they found some tobacco in the room - was it tobacco that they found or was it the ashes from a cigarette that they found? If they found ashes, that's the proof in the pudding and a fee should apply. If they found tobacco, they are assuming that you smoked which has no grounds for legal basis.

iflyjetz

You guys keep getting hung up on smoking vs not smoking marijuana in the room. A couple of problems with that:

1) The OP never revealed the name of the hotel so we don't know if they have a deep cleaning clause at their discretion (due to smells or contaminants in the room) or if their policy solely mentions smoking in the room.
2) Marijuana doesn't need to be smoked in a hotel room to absolutely trash it out in terms of leaving a strong smell behind that lingers long after the marijuana has been removed from the room.

By the OP's own admission (crumbs left behind in the room), the marijuana was opened in the room, allowing it to stink up the room.

pinniped

So...should hotels in general be able to apply smoking charges?

This is probably how it goes down often:

- Rooms stinks and has smoking materials left behind in it.
- Hotel charges guest $200.
- Guest calls and denies smoking. (Must have been the *prior* guest, right? Probably Michael Irvin's cousin...)
- Guest threatens to dispute charge.

Does the hotel simply cave at that point, and only collect the $200 from smokers who don't protest? Or do they hold their ground?

If they hold their ground, and the guest disputes the charge with their credit card issuer, who ends up winning in that case?

MSPeconomist

For starters, it would depend a lot on the credit card used, and probably the cardholder's history with them. Too many disputes would look bad.

LovetoTravel83

Unless they were valid disputes.

throwtheaccountaway

This was a Westin in California. The hotel did charge a Starwood Amex branded credit card a $200 smoking fee. I received an updated folio reflecting the charge at the end of the day.

The agent at the Westin said that the presence of the substance (crumb and odor) prompted the need for a deep clean of the room, to remove the smell. The conversation and issue did not appear to be about smoking or not smoking.

karenkay

honestly, while i wouldn't want to check into a room that smelled of weed, and the hotel did have to deep clean the room, the fact remains that you guys didn't smoke in the room. i'd call my credit card company and ask for a chargeback. worst thing that happens is they tell you no, and you're no worse off than you are right now.

best thing is that you get your $200 back...and know that in the future, you prepare the pot somewhere other than the hotel room!

good luck, and please keep us posted.

i wonder if hotels will have to change the verbiage on their smoking policies to cover incidents like 'smelly room' without alluding to actually smoking in it.

mikeef

This. It's not really a smoking charge, per se, no matter what they call it. If you could smoke in your room without leaving an odor or any remnants, there wouldn't be a problem. This is really a deep cleaning charge, with smoking being the usual culprit. Somebody who has access to the policy could check, but my guess is, it reads something along the lines of, "if your room is smelly enough that we have to do a cleaning after you leave, we're going to charge you for it."

Mike

factory81

E-Cigs and Vaporizers have made smoking in rooms without leaving any odor or remnants a reality.

In fact, I wonder if e-cigs have cut into the the revenue that hotels made on smoking charges - and the next strategy to make up for that loss is to pursue more things like this. (e.g. we found a crumb of what either could be oregano or marijuana - either way - we are charging you $200)

JBD

This following is OT, as much of this thread is, but felt compelled to reply to this:

"Precious few people". You really believe that pot wasn't smoked to excess prior to its classification of medicinal/legal in some places?

I for one was a pothead (been clean and sober for over 30 years now). I had many friends just like me. We smoked every day, all day long. I did that for 12 straight years until I got sober in AA. Others I know never stopped (and try to convince me to try the "new" weed!)

I lived in the same apartment for 10 of those 12 pot years, and you better believe those walls were yellow - as well as the pages in my books, lamp shades, drapes, etc.

This would only make sense if second hand smoke ONLY came from the exhalations of the smoker.

Back to the topic: regarding the scent from unsmoked buds, we all usually kept our travel stash in film canisters - but I guess they don't exist anymore!

Party on.