Singapore opens first smoke-free hotel

Royal Plaza on Scotts general manager, Patrick Fiat, said the hotel made the decision after noting an increasing number of business travellers were requesting non-smoking rooms. At the time of its closure, Royal Plaza on Scotts had only three no-smoking floors, compared to eight floors three years ago. "Before going totally nosmoking, we had to refuse business due to the overwhelming requests for no-smoking rooms," said Fiat. He added: "Approximately 90 per cent of all requests are for no-smoking rooms at point of booking. We took this a step further and decided make the Royal Plaza on Scotts a totally no-smoking hotel." Fiat added the hotel hoped to pave the way for other properties in Singapore. More than 250 Singapore hotels have no-smoking floors, but they still maintain designated smoking areas within the hotel. Singapore is renowned for its stringent laws against smoking in public. Smoking is currently banned in shopping complexes, underground pedestrian walkways and restaurants. By July, the ban will extend to Singapore's 900 bars and clubs.