Would You Pay Extra for a Non-Smoking Hotel Room?

Baggage fees at the airport. Endless pitches for upgrades and insurance at the car rental counter. Resort fees and minibar charges at the hotel. Extra fees are an irritating but inescapable part of every trip — and now there’s a new one to worry about.

Skift reports that the Bellagio Las Vegas is charging $30 per night to guarantee your choice of a smoking or non-smoking room. (Other options this fee will ensure you: a high or low floor, a room near the elevator or with a pool view, or a room that does or does not connect with the one beside it.)

It’s one thing to charge extra for something like a pool view or a connecting room; these could be considered perks or upgrades. But a non-smoking room? For travelers with asthma, allergies or other breathing issues, this isn’t a preference — it’s a necessity.

This policy doesn’t favor smokers either. Skift points out that if they aren’t willing to shell out extra for a smoking room guarantee but then get caught lighting up in a non-smoking room, they’ll be hit with a $250 penalty. This type of charge is actually pretty common; many hotels want to avoid the inconvenience of deep-cleaning a room to remove the cigarette stench, and the hefty penalty serves as a deterrent. So why would the Bellagio force guests to pay extra to get into the type of room in which they belong?

Here’s hoping this isn’t a trend that catches fire (pun intended!) across the hotel industry.

Would you pay an extra fee to guarantee a smoking or non-smoking room?