Outrigger Enterprises Inc. officials said prohibiting smoking in the hotel makes good business sense as more guests are asking for smoke-free rooms because of preference or allergies to smoke.

Outrigger also hopes a smoke-free hotel will build loyalty among repeat visitors.

Hotels in Hawai'i typically designate about half of their rooms for smokers and half for nonsmokers, said Barry Wallace, Outrigger's senior vice president of operations.

"There's been an increasing demand for nonsmoking rooms in our industry in the last few years," Wallace said. "Many of our nonsmoking guests that come here are really disappointed that there's second-hand smoke and the odor in the air ... When you're in Hawai'i one of the things that you want to experience is the smells, the flowers, the aromas of Hawai'i."

Some hotels on the Mainland are smoke-free and several smaller tourist properties in Hawai'i such as bed-and-breakfasts and condominiums also promote smokeless environments.

The Palms Cliff House with eight suites in Honomu on the Big Island, for one, has been smoke-free since it opened in 2001.

"I think it's a very smart thing to do," said innkeeper John Gamble. "We get maybe one person out of 100 who ask about smoking."

But the Ohana property is the first large Hawai'i hotel that hospitality, tourism and health officials say they know of that will be smokeless.

Hawai'i attracts many travelers from Asia who smoke and hotels often reserve rooms for those who light up.

Ohana budget hotels, however, tend to draw fewer Asian travelers and more Mainlanders.

Health officials and anti-smoking advocates cheered Ohana Reef Lanai's designation as a smokeless hotel and said they hope it will lead to similar moves by other hotels.

"There is growing awareness and appreciation for the benefits of smoke-free environments," said Dr. Chiyome Fukino, the state's health director.

Fear of the cancer-causing properties of tobacco and distaste for the smell of cigarettes have led to a ban on smoking in some public and private spaces, including Hawai'i restaurants.

The 12-story, 110-room Ohana Reef Lanai will not allow smoking in any rooms, lanai or public areas of the hotel.

Smoking in Buzz's Steakhouse in the hotel's lobby is also prohibited.

Outrigger operates or has under development 49 hotels in the Pacific region, including 18 owned or managed in Waikiki.

Plans call for the company to offer the Ohana Reef Lanai to those looking for nonsmoking accommodations.

"We feel that if we can say we have a hotel that's all nonsmoking it'll gain the interest of a great number of people," Wallace said. "This is something that people really want."

The company is cleaning or replacing fabric, carpeting, furniture, wall coverings and air filtration systems to prepare for the debut of the smoke-free hotel on Nov. 20. The opening will coincide with the American Cancer Society's "Great American Smokeout."

"The demand for smoke-free has definitely gone up," said Stephen Jiang, director of health initiatives at the American Cancer Society Hawai'i Pacific.

At the unveiling, Outrigger will also be giving out free quit-smoking kits with gum, herbal tea, a stress ball, teeth-whitening toothpaste and a stop-smoking pamphlet.

Outrigger has notified guests holding reservations for smoking rooms at Ohana Reef Lanai that they will be transferred to other Ohana hotels.

If there is a strong demand for rooms at the smoke-free hotel, Wallace hopes to expand the nonsmoking policy to another property.

A study published in June and conducted by Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, N.Y., on New York's smoke-free regulations concluded restaurants and hotels that go smoke-free will not lose money, and may gain revenues.

But smoker Bob Speck of Hawai'i Kai isn't convinced.

"I think they'll lose business," Speck said. "I've never even run into a hotel before where you could not even smoke in the guest rooms."