Hoteliers stand to recoup millions thanks to smoking ban

THE hotel sector will save 90 million euros this year under the anti-smoking law, because of a reduction in absenteeism, productivity and a lesser need for cleaning. The sector will also raise an additional 14 million euros thanks to an increase of non-smokers as regular customers of smoke-free establishments. This was the result of a survey presented by the National Committee for the Prevention of Smoking, led by economists Angel López Nicolás and Jaime Pinilla, who question the “dramatic situation” predicted by some hoteliers before the law came into force on January 1. The report claims that smoking “costs” hoteliers 400 million euros a year: 285 million euros in loss of productivity for smoking at work; 10 million euros in absenteeism for smoking-related diseases and 105 million euros for cleaning.