Woman caught smoking at WL...

[dismedic]

Ignorance of any law in any state is no excuse, This is a state of Florida law not Disney corp If one states speed limit is 70 and another is 65 and you get caught speeding in the state with 65 as the law you have no excuse laws are laws live with it know them .


Disney holds no expectations to inform you the consumer of laws it is entirely up to you the individual to abide by all laws of the state you are in.

Disney can hold you responsible for any damages they deem appropriate this is case law not just a Disney thing. any hotel, motel will and can hold you responsible for " damages" . Yes damages can be as simple as sweeping ashes or decontaminating a room the price tag is set by the owners within reason and will hold up in court. This $250 amount is not in excess Disney most likely has calculated man hours and materials for the correction of any violation of the Florida smoking laws. Damages do not have to be visable with smoke "contamination" the presence of odor constitutes the cleaning and hence billable amount. .

In emergency services we will and can bill you for any type of Haz Mat release. You spill Clorox and dial 911 we will bill you for Hazardous Materials clean up and response. Same goes for smoke odor removal in this case.

 

[mousermerf]

I checked into WL at the begining o the months after the change.

When you check in, they make you sign paperwork that is new and updated and clearly explains the smoking policy. It's in bold print and such. The CM I had even explained flat to me that smoking anywhere but the designated areas would not be tolerated and what all the penalties were in monetary order.

She certainly can't say she didn't know.

 

[mattjs]

Ignorance of any law in any state is no excuse, This is a state of Florida law not Disney corp If one states speed limit is 70 and another is 65 and you get caught speeding in the state with 65 as the law you have no excuse laws are laws live with it know them .


Disney holds no expectations to inform you the consumer of laws it is entirely up to you the individual to abide by all laws of the state you are in.

Disney can hold you responsible for any damages they deem appropriate this is case law not just a Disney thing. any hotel, motel will and can hold you responsible for " damages" . Yes damages can be as simple as sweeping ashes or decontaminating a room the price tag is set by the owners within reason and will hold up in court. This $250 amount is not in excess Disney most likely has calculated man hours and materials for the correction of any violation of the Florida smoking laws. Damages do not have to be visable with smoke "contamination" the presence of odor constitutes the cleaning and hence billable amount. .

In emergency services we will and can bill you for any type of Haz Mat release. You spill Clorox and dial 911 we will bill you for Hazardous Materials clean up and response. Same goes for smoke odor removal in this case.

Depends on what you're goal is. If state A has a speed limit of 70, and state B has a limit of 65, hopefully when you cross into state B there's a sign that clearly states what the new limit is. If the goal is to get people to drive the limit then you put a sign up right at the border. If the goal is to catch people just over the line and make a few bucks then you don't.

I assume Disneys goal here is to get people to stop smoking on the balconies and causing damage, rather than to make a few extra bucks. Call me crazy, but it seems to me that with a fine that high, it's in Disney's better interest to let people know about the law. Let them know that this is a newly enforced policy (for the many repeat guests who may have smoked on their balcony with no issues on their last trip) and avoid uneccessary embarrasing confrontations up front.

Like I said, they could simply say..."You have a non-smoking room, and I just have to mention that we are enforcing a new policy that any smoking either in the room or outside on the balcony, even with the balcony door closed will result in a $250 charge. And we do monitor the balconies including with cameras around the resort."

Or, they could say forget the guest, if they haven't downloaded Florida smoking law, and read the message boards about new Disney smoking policy that's their problem. Like you said it's within their rights to take that approach. Seems a lot smarter to me though to just let people know you have a new policy since their last trip, and breaking carries hefty fine. That's just smart guest relations. Guess we just disagree on this one.

 

[mousermerf]

The woman signed paperwork that clearly states smoking is prohibited and that she would be fined. It's clearly spelled out and the CM's make sure you sign it.

 

[mattjs]

The woman signed paperwork that clearly states smoking is prohibited and that she would be fined. It's clearly spelled out and the CM's make sure you sign it.

If they're doing that then that's the end of the story right there. I'm not a smoker, but like I said, we checked into the Yacht Club a couple weeks ago and there wasn't a peep about this. Not informed, not asked to sign anything, nothing. Seems they just have to get all the resorts up to speed now. Be interesting to hear from some other folks who have checked in recently.........

 

[mousermerf]

Well, i was at WL a few weeks ago and it was blatant.

 

[maelstrom]

As a non-smoker, I'm kind of glad that smoking is no longer allowed on the balconies because I don't want to smell someone else's cigarette smoke on my balcony or have their butts land on my balcony. However, I feel that $250 is a ridiculous amount of money to fine someone because now they need to apparently specially clean the balcony. How do you specially clean a balcony and how could it possibly cost $250? I totally understand it for inside the rooms, as that may require new linens, curtains, upholstery, etc. But on the balcony? Gimme a break. $250 is ridiculous.

 

[Master Yoda]

As a non-smoker, I'm kind of glad that smoking is no longer allowed on the balconies because I don't want to smell someone else's cigarette smoke on my balcony or have their butts land on my balcony. However, I feel that $250 is a ridiculous amount of money to fine someone because now they need to apparently specially clean the balcony. How do you specially clean a balcony and how could it possibly cost $250? I totally understand it for inside the rooms, as that may require new linens, curtains, upholstery, etc. But on the balcony? Gimme a break. $250 is ridiculous.

If the room has to be taken out of service for 1 day in order to clean it the $250 does not even cover the lost revenue for the room let alone what it takes to clean it.

 

[kurros]

If they're doing that then that's the end of the story right there. I'm not a smoker, but like I said, we checked into the Yacht Club a couple weeks ago and there wasn't a peep about this. Not informed, not asked to sign anything, nothing. Seems they just have to get all the resorts up to speed now. Be interesting to hear from some other folks who have checked in recently.........

You should have signed a registration card when you checked in. It's the same one that details your express check-out option and what the credit limit is if you gave a credit card during the check-in process. The last paragraph on the bottom of the card above the signature line mentions the recovery fee charged by the housekeeping manager.

It's possible the cashier may have forgot this step, which can happen from time to time. (They should have left a silent voicemail requesting you come back down to sign one though.)

 

[WDWToddKaren]

If the room has to be taken out of service for 1 day in order to clean it the $250 does not even cover the lost revenue for the room let alone what it takes to clean it.

No smoking on a balcony get fined $250...getting drunk at one of thier bars on property is just fine right???? :shrug:

 

[Emerald Rose]

I applaud Disney for taking a strong stand on enforcing it's non-smoking policy. This woman should not have been smoking at all, balcony or not, in a non-smoking room. The smoke from the balcony can full well permeate into the room itself onto the curtains and rug and maybe even further into the room depending on where she was standing and the direction of the wind. And where was she putting her cigarette butts? I hope they weren't stamped out on the balcony itself or thrown down below. I hate the smell of smoke, it bothers me, and I don't like it one bit when someone smokes on the balcony of my hotel. If I am sitting out side with my family enjoying the nice weather and view, I have to go inside because of the stink of the smoke. This woman knew the policy and chose to not once, but twice, not give a rat's rear about it or anyone else's comfort. :fork: So she got what she deserved in my opinion.

 

[PLTram]

I think the trouble with smoking on the balconies is that if you are a non smoker, you wouldn't want to sit on your balcony and have to smell it.

I've been smoke free and proud for 6 years. If I'm in an enclosed place where many smoke, like a bar or bowling alley, I am annoyed. But if I'm sitting on some large hotel's balcony and I get a brief whiff of someone's cigarette or cigar outside from 10 or 15 feet away, I am not going to feel violated.

Now if that's the rules, she deserves the penalty - but isn't $250 a bit harsh?

I guess it's as harsh as someone getting a free room upgrade when they were confronted by ashes on the balcony...Mein Gott!

 

[MaXXimus]

And where was she putting her cigarette butts? I hope they weren't stamped out on the balcony itself or thrown down below.

From what my wife said the woman had sense enough to put them into a cup of water.

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

From what my wife said the woman had sense enough to put them into a cup of water.

which no doubt she forced her child to drink, such is the height of her evilness.

 

[Anthos]

Meh, as a non smoker I say bravo, but that fine is pretty steep considering the policy only recently went into effect.

 

[Dayma]

If it is a rule, you should follow it or leave. I hate when I go into a room and it used to smell like smoke...

 

[Master Yoda]

No smoking on a balcony get fined $250...getting drunk at one of thier bars on property is just fine right???? :shrug:

They are two entirely different things. The simple act of getting drunk does not damage a room, the act of smoking does. Now drinking, getting drunk, punching holes in the walls and puking over everything does damage a room and should be handled in a similar fashion to the smoking fine.

 

[PurpleDragon]

Well they need to do something about the blatant smokers walking around the parks. We were in MGM on Saturday and there were at least 4-5 people just wandering around with their cigarette in hand. That smell makes me sick.

 

[slappy magoo]

If the room has to be taken out of service for 1 day in order to clean it the $250 does not even cover the lost revenue for the room let alone what it takes to clean it.

Also consider that surrounding rooms might need a deeper-than usual cleaning' Think of your room as the center square in a tic tac toe (or, if you prefer, the "Alice the maid" square). Your room is surrounded by as many as eight rooms, and any one or more of those rooms could have smoke get into it and stink it up. Imagine if, after this woman checked out, as many as 9 customers complain that their room smells of smoke (the new guest in her room and all surrounding rooms). Even without moving or "comping" any customers, some amenities might be proffered to keep those 9 customers happy for their inconvenienes. Incoveniences that, in theory, the total smoking in rooms ban was supposed to alleviate.

And she did it twice! If any rooms changed guests in-between the first and second violation, the manager could conceivably have to appease up to 3 guests per room! (during the first violation, in between violations and after the 2nd violation, unless the violations occurred in the same night or on consecutive nights).

Think in those terms, from the p.o.v. of the resort ms anager who could have as many as 25 people complaining about a room that smells like smoke in a non-smoking resort. Well then, in that worst-case senario, the fines work out to $20 a guest to be used to compensate those guests for their dissatisfaction. That's almost a free dinner, or an hour of watercraft rental. Add in the potential of one or more rooms offline for at least a night to get the smell out (maybe it won't need the total deep cleaning, but I doubt a spritz of Glade would cut it either) and imho, the smoker got off light.

Wow, can't believe it took this long for me to contribute to this thread Hey, Maxx, what hapened? You were all about the smokng in your room and to hell with the fines BEFORE you went on vacation. Why did you wuss out? only smoked in smoking areas...man, I thought you were cooler than that.

 

[mousermerf]

WL's linens and such are brand new. Those are the things smoke gets into and need to be replaced.

I remember when i checked in, the girl at the desk mentioned how much it costs Disney to clean the room - they tear out the carpet even - and that the fees were letting people off easy.