Hotel vape detectors: complete guide to choosing and installing sensors

The impact of vaping in hotels

It’s essential to be aware of the possible risks and outcomes if vaping takes place throughout a hotel.

• Health risks to your guests and your staff
• Legal compliance
• Liability if vaping affects the health of guests
• Impact on guest satisfaction
• Time and costs associated with cleaning guest rooms or public areas
• Potential damage to your property
• Loss of revenue

These consequences can occur because vaping releases harmful chemicals and particles into the air. The vapor eventually disperses and settles on surrounding surfaces, such as curtains, beds or furniture. Vaping also leaves an odor, which can linger for hours after only a brief vaping session.

Health risks

Vaping has been linked to lung damage, heart disease and other serious health conditions. While the primary risk is to the person vaping, inhaling the vaping particles can also affect other people in the vicinity in the same way as ​‘passive smoking.’

Guests who want to avoid the health risks will naturally expect your ​‘smoke-free’ rooms to be safe. That makes it essential to maintain the condition of the room with a form of deterrent and detection, such as a hotel room vape detector.

Your staff are also at risk, particularly those who clean or inspect rooms. Anecdotal evidence from hotel staff indicates that most are aware of vaping as soon as they enter a room, but that does not prevent them from occasional or repeated exposure to health risks.

Legal compliance

In some areas, local or state authorities may require hotels to provide smoke and vape-free environments. Check with your local authorities to see if any regulations apply. If they do, you will need to have vape detectors and clear no-vaping policies in place to ensure compliance with regulations.

Liability

Hotels have a duty of care to all guests, so if one or more of your guests suffers ill health because of vaping residue, you may be liable to claims against the hotel.

Guest satisfaction

Guests may be upset by the presence of vaping odors. The study by the National Institute of Health found that this can impact guest satisfaction and lead to poor reviews that can damage your hotel’s reputation.

Additional cleaning

Vaping leaves particles that settle on all areas of a guest room, which increases the cleaning burden. Hotel staff will have to deep clean carpets, bedding, curtains or blinds and furniture surfaces. Opening a window to ​‘clear the air’ will not always remove the odor or the residue.

Property damage

The residue from regular vaping and smoking can be difficult to clean and may cause damage to the fittings in the room, which can increase refurbishment and replacement costs. Vaping can also increase the risk of fire, which could increase costs even further. Additionally, vape juices that are used in vape devices are often spilled, leaving a persistent smell and potentially irremovable stains to surfaces.

Revenue loss

If a room has to remain out of use for a longer period before it is completely clear of residue or odor, you will lose revenue from that room. That may also cause problems if guests have booked for extended stays and can’t be accommodated in other rooms.

What are hotel vape detectors?

Vape sensors in hotels take two forms – hand-held devices or units mounted on a wall or ceiling.

• Hand-held devices enable staff to carry out routine inspections or spot checks on rooms or public spaces where there is a suspicion of vaping.
• Mounted units resemble smoke detectors and enable continuous remote monitoring of guest rooms.

A hotel vape detector incorporates sensors and lasers that measure the presence of tiny particles suspended in the air. When the laser hits a particle, the light is deflected and hits the sensor, triggering a notification or alert. They are often placed on ceilings in hotel rooms and bathrooms, where vaping incidents are most likely to occur.

Hotel vape detectors can send alerts immediately via Wi-Fi or other communication channel to a smartphone or computer, which allows your team to respond quickly to the notification. While hotel vape detectors resemble hotel cigarette smoke detectors, they are highly sensitive and designed to detect even small amounts of vapor or other prohibited chemical particles in the air.

The most sensitive hotel room vape detectors can distinguish different types of particles. This enables the sensor to distinguish between vaping and chemicals in products such as hair sprays or deodorants. The sensors can also detect and distinguish particles of different prohibited substances, which makes them useful as multi-purpose hotel smoke detectors, hotel nicotine detectors or devices for detecting cannabis, marijuana and other substances.

While hotel vape detectors are essential for maintaining a safe and healthy environment in guest rooms, they can also be used to manage public spaces where vaping or smoking is prohibited. The ideal range is between 200 and 300 square feet.

What are the benefits of using vape detectors in hotels?

Hotel vape sensors can provide your hotel with many important benefits:

• Simplified detection: Vape detectors in hotel rooms allow you to keep guest rooms vape-free without staff intervention. This saves staff time and ensures that you are fully aware of room conditions at all times.
• Faster response: Real-time alerts from hotel vape detectors enable staff to respond quickly to vaping incidents and take appropriate action.
• Increased revenue: Vape monitoring devices help you maintain a clean, vape-free environment, which encourages repeat bookings and positive word-of-mouth referrals, ultimately boosting occupancy rates and revenue.
• Reduced risk of damage and cleaning costs: Vape sensors can also reduce the risk of damage from longer vaping sessions. As vaping residues require additional time-consuming cleaning, installing vape detectors in hotel rooms can help minimize unnecessary cleaning costs.
• Stronger policy enforcement: Fast detection and response make it easier to enforce no-vaping policies. Your staff can identify the rooms and individuals who have been vaping with supporting evidence from hotel vape detectors.
• Improved guest and staff safety: Implementing vape detectors in hotels and strengthening no-vaping policy enforcement helps create a cleaner, healthier and safer environment for guests and staff.
• Greater guest satisfaction: A healthier environment can improve guest satisfaction and reduce the risk of complaints and poor reviews, which could harm your hotel’s reputation.

Hotel vape sensors: key features & considerations

Vape detector hotel systems have a wide variety of features, functionalities and levels of performance, so it’s important to assess your hotel’s operational needs before selecting a particular model.

Below are some of the features and considerations to take into account when choosing a vape detector solution for your hotel:

• Sensor accuracy: Accurate sensing ensures that the unit does not register false positives.
• Multi-substance sensors: While a hotel vape sensor’s primary function is to detect vaping, advanced models can distinguish and detect tobacco smoke, cannabis, THC and other substances. This may also reduce the need for multiple types of devices, like hotel smoke detectors.
• Air quality monitoring: In addition to detecting vaping, advanced sensors can distinguish other harmful particles in the air, providing an important air quality monitoring tool. 
• Noise alerts: Some hotel vape detectors offer noise detection capability, which can help reduce noise complaints or alert staff to potential harm such as gunshots or aggressive behavior 
• Smart notifications: You can select different types of notifications, including email, text and app alerts, which can be directed to designated staff members for rapid response.
• Integration capabilities: If you select hotel vape detectors built to open standards, you can integrate them with other security, environmental and smart building management systems. With a fully integrated system, you can detect incidents from a central point, improving safety throughout the site.
• Vandalism alerts: To prevent deliberate damage to hotel vape sensors, you can select models that incorporate an audible alarm if someone interferes with the unit.

Detect and prevent vaping in hotels: The HALO Smart Sensor

As mentioned, hotels can use vape detectors to secure areas where hotel security cameras are not permitted to detect vape aerosols and particulate. When these stimuli are present, the sensor system’s alarms are automatically triggered. Some vape detectors also have adjustable alarms and triggers to reduce false positives. For example, Motorola Solutions’ award-winning HALO Smart Sensor.

This all-in-one sensor can alert and differentiate between vaping, cigarette smoke and vaping with THC. It also has the ability to detect when individuals are deliberately trying to hide vaping behavior by using masking agents like cologne or other aerosols to cover up the distinct smell of marijuana or other vaping odors.

While vaping in hotels is a growing concern, there are many other safety considerations hospitality leaders must address. Physical security is a major factor for any organization, and the HALO Smart Sensor helps hotels achieve peace of mind with high-quality sound detection capabilities to alert staff of sound abnormalities like gunshots or aggression. Additionally, HALO’s health index and indoor air quality readings help hotels identify pollutants that can impact indoor air quality, creating a safer environment for staff and guests.

How much do hotel vape detectors cost?

Implementing vape sensors in hotels is an important investment in the health and safety of your guests and staff as well as your reputation.

While the costs may be significant, they are balanced by the potential savings on cleaning and damage repairs and the additional income stream from cleaning charges and fines.

The costs cover a number of areas:

• Equipment costs: Wallor ceiling-mounted units cost on average $500 — $1000 each, with cost varying by included features.
• Number of units: Individual guest rooms will require a single unit. Larger shared spaces may require multiple sensors to provide adequate coverage.
• Installation costs: Some sensors require professional installation, which is an added cost.
• Running costs: You should consider running and maintenance costs, such as energy charges for mains-powered units, battery changes, and regular testing.

Implementing vape detectors in hotels

Before planning and purchasing equipment, it’s important to assess the hotel site to identify areas where hotel vape sensors will be needed.

Location

The location where vape detectors are placed is key to ensure complete and accurate coverage of hotel facilities. Vape detectors should be placed in a combination of private areas, high-traffic areas and common public areas where people are likely to congregate. Key areas that should be of priority for hotel vape sensors include:

• Entrances
• Reception
• Hallways and lobbies
• Meeting and conference rooms
• Retail areas
• Restrooms
• Recreation areas, such as gyms, pools and changing rooms
• Stairwells and elevators

Conducting a thorough physical security assessment can also help determine the best locations to place vape sensors in conjunction with other security considerations.

Installation

If you are implementing vape detectors in large open spaces, you may need to install multiple units to provide adequate coverage.

Hotel vape detectors are commonly installed on walls or ceilings, but other considerations like power availability may also impact sensor placement. Additionally, hotels should plan for the temporary unavailability of rooms for booking during the installation.

Connectivity

To enable notifications, you can connect detectors to existing data or Wi-Fi networks. The units can be powered by mains, batteries or a Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) system that provides both power and connectivity.

Integration

Where possible, hotel vape detectors can be integrated with security technology, building and environmental management systems to enable central management and increase situational awareness of all hotel facilities that impact guest health and safety.

Guest information and signage

To ensure that guests understand your policies on vaping, you should provide information via reception and install signage in all rooms and areas where vaping is prohibited.

Maintenance

Hotel vape detectors like hotel smoke detectors need regular testing and maintenance to ensure they continue to operate reliably.

Professional support

If you are planning a large implementation, you may need professional support to plan, install, integrate and maintain your vape detector hotel system. Professional security system integrators can also help you customize your system so that it meets your specific operational requirements.

Conclusion

Vaping in hotels can significantly impact your guests, staff and reputation. To ensure a safe environment throughout your site, consider implementing hotel vape detectors to help enforce no-vaping policies and minimize the risk of property damage, additional cleaning and poor reviews by enabling continuous air quality monitoring and rapid response.

While all hotel vape detectors provide those important benefits, consider the latest models, like Motorola Solutions’ HALO Smart Sensor, which offers a wide range of advanced features to strengthen detection and overall physical security.