By Dana Miller, Hotel News Now
August 23, 2018
NASHVILLE, Tennessee—As more states in the U.S. are legalizing the medicinal or recreational use of marijuana, hoteliers are seeing opportunities to attract those consumers to book at their properties.
But to run a business associated with marijuana, there are plenty of legal concerns that must be taken into consideration, according to panelists speaking on the “Higher performance? Hotels and the marijuana phenomenon” panel at the Hotel Data Conference.
“We think that generally it’s creating a boom for the (hotel) industry,” said Michael Blank, principal of Woodmont Lodging.
Vipul Dayal, the director at large for the Asian American Hotel Owners Association, agreed it’s a niche that needs to be treated as an amenity right now. He said boutique hotels will have more luck than brands would with incorporating cannabis, but “five years from now it’s going to be a booming economy.”
