Hotel Guests Hit with Surprise $500 Smoking Fees

Unexpected charges are piling up at hotels across the country as new smoking-detection sensors raise questions about accuracy.

Rhode Island Trip Turns Sour

What was supposed to be a weekend of celebration quickly turned stressful for Jessica Sathre. The Arizona nurse practitioner flew to Newport, Rhode Island, to see her son graduate from the Navy Officer Candidate School. After three days of festivities, she went to check out of her hotel—only to find her bill had jumped by $500.

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The hotel accused her of smoking in her room. Sathre says she’s never smoked or vaped and even offered to take a nicotine or THC test to prove it. But the charge stood.

“That put a damper on everything,” Sathre said. “It was just beyond frustrating.”

Not an Isolated Case

Months later, travel journalist Zach Griff had the same experience at the very same hotel. He was charged $500 after a sensor detected smoke in his room, even though he says neither he nor his wife has ever smoked.

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The couple was traveling with their eight-month-old daughter, which Griff said should have made it obvious they weren’t breaking the rules. After being denied a refund, he turned to social media—and his story quickly went viral. That’s when others started sharing similar experiences.

“It was pretty clear that so many other people have had this happen, too,” Griff said.

Sensors Under Scrutiny

The hotel uses smoke-detection sensors designed to pick up vaping, nicotine, and marijuana use. These devices are being marketed to hotels as a way to enforce no-smoking rules and even boost profits. But complaints are rising from guests who insist the sensors are getting it wrong.

In Boston, Michelle Rogge was charged $500 while staying at a Seaport hotel. She was shown a graph printout from the sensor but said she never smoked. Another guest, John Krizan, was hit with two separate $500 charges after the sensor in his room triggered twice.

The companies behind the devices defend their accuracy, though they acknowledge sensors can sometimes react to things like steam, aerosol sprays, or cooking fumes.

What Hotels Are Saying

Some hotel groups insist the devices aren’t meant to be used as automatic punishment. Instead, they say the technology should be paired with human follow-up. Brent Hayhurst of Curator Hotel & Resort Collection explained that for his group, sensors are viewed as a protection tool, not a revenue stream.

“It certainly is not meant to be a blind enforcement tool devoid of human touch,” Hayhurst said.

Smoking in hotel rooms can lead to high cleaning costs, but as vaping becomes more common and marijuana legalization spreads, the issue is growing more complicated.

How to Protect Yourself

Guests like Sathre and Griff were eventually refunded, but others weren’t so lucky. Rogge, who paid with a debit card, has not been reimbursed. Krizan managed to get his bank to overturn his charges.

Travel experts suggest taking precautions:

Ask if a hotel uses smoking sensors before booking.
Check your room for any lingering smoke smell and document it at check-in.
Always review your bill before leaving.
Pay with a credit card, which offers more options to dispute surprise charges.

For Sathre, the ordeal left a lasting impression. “It’s going to change how I travel, where I stay, and the questions I ask before I book,” she admitted.